macumba

[ muh-koom-buh ]

noun

1. a Brazilian cult incorporating the use of fetishes and sorcery and deriving largely from African practices.

Macumba

/ maˈkumba /

noun

1. a religious cult in Brazil that combines Christian and voodoo elements

Word History and Origins

Origin of macumba¹

Borrowed into English from Portuguese around 1935–40

Example Sentences

“Nobody wants macumba here,” one of them told Figueiredo, using an ethnic slur, according to testimony he provided to authorities.

From Washington Post