Little Essay on the Breaking of Xangô

The Breaking of Xangô, or Day of the Breaking, was an event of religious intolerance that occurred on February 2, 1912, in the city of Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil, consisting of the destruction of religious centers and the persecution of followers of African-derived religions. On that day, babalorixás and ialorixás (priests and priestesses) had their religious centers invaded by an armed militia called the League of Republican Combatants, followed by an enraged crowd, and witnessed the forceful removal of their sacred objects and paraphernalia from the temples, which were then exposed and burned in a public square. In protest of this event, every year there is a gathering and parade of followers and supporters of Afro-Brazilian religions.