Pomba Gira and the Quimbanda of Mbùmba Nzila
by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold
A significant study on the cult of Pomba Gira, this is the most comprehensive work in the English language on the Devil’s mistress, whose Brazilian cult has bewitched so many. It is a book that those seeking congress with the current of strong female magical sexuality have long desired. A beguiling spirit, Pomba Gira gives solace to the broken hearted, vengeance for the wronged, and a fierce path for those that would take her as muse.
In Pomba Gira and the Quimbanda of Mbùmba Nzila, Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold gives explicit workings, baths and waters, her songs and chants. Her plant allies among the nightshades are described in a full herbarium. The attractions and dangers for both men and women who make cult to her are presented, as are her many faces. Pomba Gira has origins in the witchcraft of Portugal, the Basque Country as well as Congo and the native influences of Brazil. The witchcraft fusion makes her cult particularly accessible to Westerners whose own traditions share much ground with Quimbanda. Frisvold carefully unravels the skeins, revealing her origin in historical figures such as Maria Padilha, but more deeply still through archetype and myth to the very essence of her skin shedding nature. He finds the origin of her name in Congo, the cult of divine possession amongst the slave camps of Brazil, and brings us through to her more modern manifestations and his personal work with the Queen of the Fig Tree in Hell. As an initiate and devotee, he gives an insider’s view with the same respect and experience he demonstrates in Palo Mayombe: The Garden of Blood and Bones. We walk through the Queendoms of Lyre, Cemetery, Sepulchres, Streets, Crossroads, Wilderness, Soul, Oceanshore and Calunga.
The workings of twenty four different Pomba Giras are given, from Cigana the gypsy to the split skull face of Rosa Caveira. Through the razor blades in honey, the cigarette smoke and the sweet anisette spilt in the graveyard, Pomba Gira takes seductive shape.
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Table of Contents
Prelude
Skin Shedding Nocturnal Cults
Saravá Pomba Gira: An Ouverture
The Snake at the Erotic Crossroad
The Soul of Quimbanda
A Retinue of Passion and Blood
Woman of Seven Husbands
The Kingdom of Sulfur
Catalog Spiritu Pombanzila
Cadenza
Glossary
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13 erotic pen & ink studies by Enoque Zedro, and over 40 pontos riscados.
Paperback Edition
232 pages. Sewn paperback, printed on 90 gsm paper, cover image by Enoque Zedro.
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Press, reviews, endorsements
Interview with Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold and Carl Abrahamsson on the Rendering Unconscious podcast - watch on YouTube here
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About the Author
Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold, a native of Norway and resident of Brazil since 2003, is a behavioural psychologist, anthropologist and master brewer (Capirotagem Cervejaria).
During the last 25 years he has travelled extensively in search of traditional wisdom and spiritual legacies, with a particular focus on African and Afro-derived traditions along with what is generally defined as traditional witchcraft in Europe. This has led to deep involvement with several streams of wisdom, such as traditional Ifá, Haitian Vodou, Palo Mayombe, Quimbanda and a rich knowledge of witchcraft from diligent commitment and involvement with various recensions of the 'witches’ way.’
Frisvold is a pragmatist with an interest in spiritual philosophy, occult history and the aesthetic language used to describe and understand tradition, spirituality, sorcery and witchcraft, as exemplified in his books Palo Mayombe, Pomba Gira, Exu and Ifá.
Beside brewing, research and writing, Frisvold arranges workshops, courses and events of a spiritual and psychological orientation, as well as initiations at his grange in the Brazilian countryside, Villa Draconis, with his wife, Katy. They also offer spiritual, magical and astrological services and products through the Sacred Alchemy store. Articles, news and updates can be found on his blog, the Starry Cave.
