Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bonfim

Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bonfim Review

North of the Centro Histórico, the Itapagipe Peninsula extends into the bay. Atop a hill is Salvador's iconic Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bomfim. It's central to African religious traditions because of its patron saint, Oxalá, the father of all the gods and goddesses in Candomblé mythology. Here each Thursday before the third Sunday in January is the Lavagem do Bonfim ritual; a procession of baianas—women dressed in petticoat-puffed white dresses and adorned with turbans and ritual necklaces—comes here to wash the steps with holy water. Built in the 1750s, the church has many ex-votos (wax, wooden, and plaster replicas of body parts), left by those praying for miraculous cures. Outside the church, street vendors sell a bizarre mixture of figurines, such as St. George and the Dragon, devils, monks, sailors, and warriors. The morning mass on the first Friday of the month draws a huge congregation, most wearing white, with practitioners of Candomblé on one side and Catholics on the other. The church is 8 km (5 mi) north of Cidade Histórico.