Diversidade e origem das espécies vegetais utilizadas em terreiros de Umbanda em Minas Gerais, Brasil

Abstract

Plants are a fundamental element in Umbanda, a genuinely Brazilian religion that blends traditions from African religions, Kardecism, Catholicism, and the indigenous peoples of Brazil. Thus, this work aimed to conduct a bibliographic survey of the plant species used in Umbanda terreiros in Minas Gerais state, classify them according to their origin, and gather information on the introduction of those species that are exotic to Brazil. Searches were conducted in the Google Scholar and SciELO databases, selecting studies that presented lists of plants used in Umbanda terreiros in the state. For the identification and classification of the species, the websites Flora do Brasil/Reflora and Plants of the World Online were consulted. Only articles that included data on Umbanda along with other African matrix religions were found. 129 plant species were identified, with 53 being native and 76 exotic. The sharing of species between different regions and religious traditions was observed, indicating the importance of cultural ties in the choice of plants used. Among the native species, those associated with the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes stood out, while among the exotic species, Asia presented the highest number of species, with 43 records, followed by Africa, with 31. Most of the Asian species were related to food and medicinal uses, while the species of African origin showed a greater connection to religious uses. This survey for the state of Minas Gerais presented a higher number of exotic plants than the one conducted for terreiros of African matrix religions across the entire national territory. The results highlight the scarcity of specific studies on the plants used in Umbanda in Minas Gerais and show that, in the works found, different religious traditions are often treated together, making it difficult to understand the plants specific to each tradition.