Bamboxe Obitiko and the nineteenth-century expansion of orixa worship in Brazil: case study of an afro-atlantic network/Bamboxe Obitiko and the nineteenth-century expansion of orisha worship in Brazil/Bamboxe Obitiko et l'expansion du culte aux orixas au Bresil : un reseau religieux afro-atlantique/Bamboxe Obitiko y la expansion del culto a los orichas en el Brasil

Nago freedman Rodolfo Manoel Martins de Andrade (Bamboxe Obitiko), remembered in oral traditions in Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Lagos, was one of candomble's most renowned historical figures. Weaving oral tradition and archival research, the paper traces his path in Brazil. The first part of the paper examines his enslavement in the twilight of the Atlantic slave trade and his relationship to Marcelina da Silva, ialorixa of the terreiro Ile Axe Iya Nasso Oka. Next, the paper addresses his travels to Lagos and different parts of Brazil, placing special emphasis on his time in Rio de Janeiro, where he gained a substantial following as a religious leader among the city's West African (Mina) population. The paper also discusses his link to the alferes (ensign) Candido da Fonseca Galvao, popularly known as dom Oba II, whose father was compadre of Marcelina da Silva.