Congá

Overview

The Umbanda temple "Vovó Maria Conga and Caboclo Sete Flechas" has existed for 55 years in Catalão, a city founded by the Spanish bandeirantes that is located at the countryside of Goiás. The central figure of the temple is the priest Dona Maria Helena, also known as Vovó Maria Conga, namesake of the entity whom she has walked with since when she had been called to serve spiritually for her city - having to abandon her Catholic tradition. Maria Helena defends her space amid difficulties and practices linked to religious syncretism, deeply rooted in Brazilian cultural reality, referring to her terreiro as a house of "Umbanda branca".