English
macumba
Macumba comes from Portuguese macumba ‘any Afro-Brazilian religion, especially but…’, and goes back to Kimbundu makôba.
- Kimbundumodernmakôba
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentmacumba‘any Afro-Brazilian religion, especially but not limited to Candomblé, Umbanda’
- Englishearliest quotation 1988same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Kimbundumodernmakôba
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentmacumba‘any Afro-Brazilian religion, especially but not limited to Candomblé, Umbanda’
- Englishearliest quotation 1988same form
Earliest quotation: 1988, Jorge Amado, Captains of the Sands: “And later on at the Gantóis macumba, Omolu, bedecked…”
Every English word from Kimbundu makôba
Today it means
noun A type of Afro-Brazilian folk religion combining elements of Roman Catholicism with traditional African religious beliefs and practices; or a specific cult or ceremony of such religion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Kimbundu makôba / macumba