Mestre Jair Gabriel, pioneer of the UDV

José de Anchieta Torreão de Sá*

| April 24^th, 2018

Today, April 24^th, is the birthday of Mestre Jair Gabriel da Costa. On this day, he is commemorating 68 years of life. The second child of José Gabriel da Costa (Mestre Gabriel, the founder of the Center) and Raimunda Ferreira da Costa (our dear Mestre Pequenina), Jair Gabriel participated in the creation of the Beneficent Spiritist Center União do Vegetal on July 22^nd, 1961.

Just before turning 9 years old, he drank the Vegetal for the first time on April 1^st, 1959, the same day on which José Gabriel da Costa received the Vegetal from the hands of Chico Lourenço, a gentleman that distributed the Hoasca Tea in the rubber tapping regions of the Amazon forest.

The first time that José Gabriel da Costa promoted himself to Mestre and prepared the Hoasca Tea, his son, Jair Gabriel, was his main helper. On that day, Mestre Gabriel taught him to beat the Mariri in the same way that we still do today. Through his participation at the start of the União do Vegetal, Mestre Jair came to be part of the Council of the Recordation of the Teachings of Mestre Gabriel, since it’s creation on April 17^th, 1987.

Mestre Jair is a founding associate of the very Center and three more Núcleos. The first was Núcleo Mestre Iagora, of which he was its first Representative Mestre, which he frequented with his mother and all of his family.

Some time ago, the waves of life conducted him to Salvador, Bahia, where he met an Italian woman who captivated him. He married Ermanna Cavazzoli and began a new cycle in his life. In this new cycle, he started Núcleo Salvador on February 2^nd, 1997, having been its first Representative Mestre. This was the first Núcleo to be opened in Bahia after the 4^th Region branched out (giving origin to the 10^th and 11^th Regions).

Recently, on November 15^th, 2017, Mestre Jair started yet another Núcleo in Salvador, Sultão das Matas (Sultan of the Forests). This name was used by his father, José Gabriel da Costa, in the work that he did in umbanda, in a period before the creation of the União do Vegetal. In that time, José Gabriel presented himself as Sultão das Matas. This entity even became the godfather of Mestre Jair, when he was a child, at the behest of Mrs. Pequenina.

Sometime later, after the creation of the União do Vegetal, Mestre Gabriel revealed to his family that Sultão das Matas was him, that he used this name to aid and orient people. It was because of the connection with this story that Mestre Jair chose this name for the newest Núcleo of the 4^th Region (Bahia and Sergipe).

On this day, our homage to this pioneer that helped bring the União do Vegetal from the rubber tapping regions of the forest to the urban centers and, on his way, also became an accomplished and renowned visual artist, whose works have been on display in many places in Brazil and overseas.

*José de Anchieta Torreão de Sá is General Assistant Mestre of the UDV.

Read also: Mestre Jair Gabriel, from the rubber tapping regions of the forest to the seashore 

Translation Coordinator: Isabel Cavalcante, member of the Body of Counsel of Núcleo Jardim Florescendo (Gainesville, FL – USA) | Translated by: Martin Brendecke, member of the Instructive Body of Núcleo Claridade Divina (Seattle, WA – USA) | Revised by: Jonathan Spoliansky, member of the Body of Counsel of Núcleo Jardim Florescendo (Gainesville, FL – USA).