Mãe Menininha do Gantois

Maria Escolástica da Conceição Nazaré was born on 10 February 1894 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, into a family whose matrilineal line, tracing its heritage to the city of Abeokuta in Nigeria, had led the Candomblé temple known as Terreiro do Gantois since its founding in 1849.

Initiated as a devotee of the Orixá Oxum at just eight months old, Maria Escolástica, who became known as Mãe Menininha, meaning 'Mother Little Girl', was selected to become the temple's senior priestess in 1922 at the uncharacteristically young age of 28.

For sixty-four years, Mãe Menininha led the Gantois temple, becoming a spiritual counsellor and inspiration to generations of prominent Brazilian artists, intellectuals and politicians, including writer Jorge Amado, artist Carybé, and musicians Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia.

Mãe Menininha's openness and her consistent presence at both Catholic mass and Candomblé rituals, embodying Bahia's tradition of religious syncretism, helped dispel the widespread prejudice that had long surrounded Afro-Brazilian religious practice in Brazilian society.

By the time of her death in 1986, Mãe Menininha was the most beloved and widely venerated Candomblé priestess in Brazil, having helped end discriminatory restrictions including the requirement that practitioners obtain police authorisation to perform rituals; her home in Bahia is today preserved as a memorial and museum, and the Terreiro do Gantois remains a nationally protected cultural monument.