A pai-de-santo or pai de santo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpaj dʒi ˈsɐ̃tu]) is a male priest of Candomblé, Umbanda and Quimbanda, the Afro-Brazilian religions. In Portuguese those words translate as "father of saint", which is an adaption from the Yoruba language word babalorisha, a title given to the African religion's priests. Baba means "father", and the contraction l'orisha means "of orisha". As a product of the syncretism, the word orisha (elevated or ancestral spirit) was adapted into Portuguese as "saint".
In the Afro-Brazilian religions the priests are the owners of the tradition, knowledge and culture and the ones responsible to pass it on to the new generations because there are no sacred written books.
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