This article discusses the topic of domination and counter-power using the example of some specific moments of the history of the Candomble. Based on reflections about recent theoretical anthropological and postcolonial perspectives on culture, identity and power, the author tries to show that the Candomble is a disputed terrain not only internally, but also with reference to its outer boundaries. As anthropological perceptions get closer to postcolonial concerns it helps us to get a better understanding of how social agents weave power relations through the articulation of signs and signifiers while promoting acts of identification and delimitation; and how this process contributes to the construction and deconstruction of the scenarios of domination and counter-power.
Black resistance; Candomble; identity; difference; anthropological; postcolonial theories