The observation of a contemporary occurrence led to the reconsideration of the thesis that Umbanda reflects historical processes and holds deep social memories. There are indications that such resource has been applied to the reflection of childhood abandonment, guiding care taking and solidarity practices that retribute the talents attributed to child "street people", based on the recognition of their participation and their "mystic" insertion in the social life. This article aims at analyzing ritual performances of "Little Eshuses" and statements of these umbandist pantheon's characters and of their followers. It is supposed that lending an ear to these collective meditations and to the way they reflect the short circuit between the excluding society and the childhood ferocity contributes to the understanding of how the sectors which most give away their lives to such horror interpret it and signify to themselves. It is concluded that Umbanda thwarts segregation and extermination - both physical and symbolic - of those children by means of their deep inclusion in the heart of religious experience.
Street children; ethnopsychology; social memory; psychology and religion; Umbanda