Umbanda is a dynamic and varied Brazilian spirit-incorporation tradition first recorded in the early twentieth century. This article problematizes the ambiguity of categorizing Umbanda as an ‘Afro-Brazilian’ religion, given the acknowledged centrality of elements of Kardecist Spiritism. It makes a case that Umbanda is best categorized as a hybridizing Brazilian Spiritism. Though most Umbandists belong to groups with strong African influences alongside Kardecist elements, many belong to groups with few or no African elements, reflecting greater Kardecist influence. Kardecist elements are universal in Umbanda; Africana elements are not. Kardecism is a western esoteric tradition and a key factor in the emergence of a wide variety of Latin American Spiritisms, including Umbanda. Labelling Umbanda as ‘Afro-Brazilian’ fails to acknowledge the beliefs and practices of the many Brazilians who practice other forms of the tradition. This case study of the categorization of religions – looking at scholarly ideology, race, historical origins, doctrine and practice – emphasizes the need to look at specific contexts and to avoid broad generalizations.

中文翻译：

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乌汶达：非洲风还是神秘？

翁巴达（Umbanda）是二十世纪初首次记录下来的充满活力的巴西精神融合传统。鉴于公认的卡尔德派精神主义要素的中心地位，本文对将乌干达归为“非洲巴西裔”宗教的含糊之处提出了质疑。可以证明，最好将Umbanda归类为杂交巴西精神主义。尽管大多数Umbandists都是与Kardecist元素一起在非洲具有强大影响力的群体，但许多人则属于非洲元素很少或没有非洲元素的群体，这反映了Kardecist的影响更大。Kardecist元素在Umbanda中很普遍；非洲元素不是。Kardecism是西方深奥的传统，也是包括Umbanda在内的各种拉丁美洲精神主义兴起的关键因素。将Umbanda标记为“非洲巴西人”并没有承认许多采用其他形式传统的巴西人的信仰和做法。这份关于宗教分类的案例研究-考察学术意识形态，种族，历史渊源，学说和实践-强调必须考虑特定的背景并避免广泛的概括。