The Rabelados (from the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

''rebelados'', "rebels") are a religious community primarily found in the interior of the island of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

of Cape Verde. They were among the groups which revolted against the liturgical reforms of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

introduced in the 1940s, isolating themselves from the rest of society.

History

In the 1940s the Catholic Church sent various priests to Cape Verde to replace local priests and introduce alterations in the celebrations of the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

and other religious customs, particularly religious education. Some groups amongst the population rebelled against these alterations. Known in the

Cape Verdean Creole Cape Verdean Creole is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken on the islands of Cape Verde. It is also called or by its native speakers. It is the native creole language of virtually all Cape Verdeans and is used as a second language by t ...

language as ''rabelados'' ("rebels"), they came to practice their earlier traditions in secrecy. Forced to form cohesive groups in order to survive, the Rabelados community primarily took refuge in the interior of Santiago, in inaccessible mountainous areas, primarily around the municipalities of Tarrafal and Santa Cruz. In those semi-clandestine, isolated conditions, they preserved their religious and cultural traditions, and independence, in the face of the Catholic hierarchy and political powers.

Modernity

The largest community of Rabelados currently live in Espinho Branco. They are primarily involved in agriculture, fishing, and handcrafts. Their religious ceremonies take place on Saturdays or Sundays. On those days they do not work, but travel long distances on foot to ceremonial locations, and fast until mid-afternoon. The community has recently become more open to the outside world, and academic studies of the community. Academic Júlio Monteiro wrote his work ''Os rebelados da ilha de Santiago de Cabo Verde'' (Centro de Estudos de Cabo Verde, 1974). In 2004 a CD was produced with religious chants of the Rabelados, including traditional themes rarely encountered elsewhere: ''Cânticos sagrados de Cabo Verde - A litania dos Rabelados'' (Abidjan/Quintalvideo). The painter Misá has also worked researching the culture and traditions of the community, having guided Rabelado painters, such as Tchetcho, to participate in ARCO, Feira Internacional de Arte Contemporânea de Madrid, in February 2007.

References

External links

* Text by Luís Carvalho, in ''Fragata'' (review by TACV), reproduced i
Cabo Verde - As Ilhas da Morabeza

Primeiro Ministro visita comunidade dos Rabelados (Prime Minister visited the Rabelados community)
February 9, 2007.{{in lang, pt Religion in Cape Verde History of Santiago, Cape Verde Independent Catholic denominations 1940s in Cape Verde