Mestre Paixão, friend of the Mestre and of the UDV

Ivo Marcelo Barbosa da Paixão*

Silas Barbosa da Paixão**

Raimundo Pereira da Paixão (Mestre Paixão) was born on April 8^th, 1933, in the city of Salvaterra (Pará), the son of Oswaldo Alves da Paixão and of Elisa Pereira da Paixão. He moved to Porto Velho (RO) at the age of 14, and began to frequent the Saint Benedict drum circle (batuque de São Benedito) that belonged to his godmother, Ceci Lobo Bittencourt, known as Chica Macaxeira.

It was the same batuque [note: batuque is an Afro-Brazilian religion of Orishas involving drumming) that José Gabriel da Costa, Mestre Gabriel, frequented before creating the União do Vegetal. At that time, Raimundo and José Gabriel became friends and compadres [note: the parent of one’s godchild is one’s compadre]. Raimundo also knew a bit about esotericism and the Spiritism of Allan Kardec.

Read more: Mestre Gabriel’s Compadre.

When José Gabriel moved to the rubber tapping region of the forest, they spent three years without contact. When he returned to Porto Velho in 1965, and after already having created the União do Vegetal, José Gabriel invited Raimundo to know the Hoasca tea. However, he advised him to not drink alcoholic beverages on the day he was going to drink the tea. As a result of this, it took one year for him to go because every time he remembered the invitation, he had already drunk alcohol.
 

When José Gabriel moved to the rubber tapping region of the forest, they spent three years without contact. When he returned to Porto Velho in 1965, and after already having created the União do Vegetal, José Gabriel invited Raimundo to know the Hoasca tea. However, he advised him to not drink alcoholic beverages on the day he was going to drink the tea. As a result of this, it took one year for him to go because every time he remembered the invitation, he had already drunk alcohol.

Princess Mariana

On November 18^th, 1966, along with his wife Severina, they received the Hoasca tea from the hands of Waldemar Santos, known in the UDV as Mestre Santos. In the batuque of Chica Macaxeira, he [Mestre Paixao] performed as the entity known as Cabocla Mariana. Already in his first session of the Vegetal he went to the depths of the ocean through the enchantments of the “burracheira”. He felt peace and tranquility, and within the miração (the visions) he went to the Kingdom of Princess Mariana.

Due to the great friendship that he had with Mestre Gabriel, “Raimundinho”, as he was called by his friend, had difficulty accepting José Gabriel as the Mestre at the beginning. After being in the UDV for a short time, he was convoked to the Cadre of Mestres on the 14^th of September of 1967. He received the star through a lottery or game of chance that he participated in along with Raimundo Monteiro de Souza (later on Mestre Monteiro).

Raimundo da Paixão had read the documents and Raimundo Monteiro had made the explanation. Mestre Gabriel said that on that day he was going to present the star of the Mestre to one person, and he asked for Monteiro and Paixão to dress him [Mestre Gabriel] in the shirt. It was “a very high time of burracheira” and the two were almost unable to stand up, but they began to dress him and the shirt fell. Monteiro stayed still and Paixão grabbed the shirt and put it on the Mestre. In this way, it was he who won and received the star.

Representative Mestre and Nucleo Samaúma

Since then, Mestre Paixão dedicated himself intensely to the União do Vegetal. He received the position of the Representative Mestre of Mestre Gabriel on November 13^th, 1968, where he remained for two years, seven months, and twenty three days, handing it over in July of 1971. After that, Mestre Gabriel instituted the rotation of the sash, beginning on July 22^nd, 1971. Mestre Ramos was the first Assistant Mestre to use the sash during the rotation, so that all of the mestres could feel the weight of the Representation.

Within the objective to work for the UDV, on July 29^th, 1978, Mestre Paixão moved to São Paulo-SP, occupying the place of Representative Mestre of Nucleo Samauma for seven years. He also occupied the position of Central Mestre of the South Region and Central Mestre of the 3^rd Region for seven years. He returned to Porto Velho on January 18^th, 1990.

Council of Recordation and DMD

After the integration of the Order of the Universal Temple of Solomon (OTUS) to the União do Vegetal on September 27^th, 2003, the opening of a new unit of the UDV was authorized in Porto Velho on the date of January 6^th, 2004, when Mestre Paixão received the Representation of then Pre-Núcleo Templo de Salomão, keeping the responsibility for two terms. He also was a member of the Council of the Recordation of the Teachings of Mestre Gabriel. Another important contribution from Mestre Paixão was his Journal of Notes.

In that journal, he registered important occurrences from the beginning of the União do Vegetal. It was from him that the initiative came for the creation of the Department of Memory and Documentation (DMD) of the União do Vegetal.

Family

He married Severina Barbosa da Paixão on January 11^th, 1964; they stayed married for 27 years and raised five children: Ivete Barbosa da Paixão, Ivo Barbosa da Paixão, Silas Barbosa da Paixão, Janaína Barbosa da Paixão and Luciano Barbosa da Paixão. Her profession was as a nurse’s assistant and she worked in the São José Hospital in Porto Velho.

On September 21^st, 1990, his wife, Conselheira Severina, disincarnated. He stayed a widower for five years and then entered married life once again on May 12^th, 1995 with Eva Alves da Paixão. Mestre Paixão disincarnated in Brasilia on September 14^th, 2011, exactly 44 years after being convoked to the Cadre of Mestres by his friend and compadre, Mestre Gabriel.

Today, April 8^th, 2016, Mstre Paixão would be completing 83 years – a person of great esteem throughout the entire brotherhood

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