Every September, a scene repeats itself on the streets: children waiting for colorful bags, candies, lollipops, cakes and other treats distributed in the name of Cosme and Damião. For some families, it is a childhood memory. For others, a religious promise. For many, it is simply a tradition that spans generations.
Brazilian practice brings together elements of Catholicism and African-based religions. In the current Catholic calendar, the memory of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian is celebrated on September 26, this Saturday (26). In Brazil, however, the popular festival continues to be strongly associated with the 27th, when terreiros and devotees from different traditions usually distribute sweets to children.
However, the candy given to children carries a story that goes far beyond the candy.
Cosmas and Damião, in Christian tradition, are remembered as twin brothers who practiced medicine and cared for the sick. In Brazil, devotion to saints met with religious traditions of African origin and they became associated with the Ibeji, twin deities linked to childhood.
It is at this meeting that a lesser-known figure appears: Doum.
Who is Doum?
If Cosme and Damião are two, who is the third?
The answer is not in the Christian history of the saints. Doum appears in narratives and practices of Afro-Brazilian popular religiosity and, in some traditions, appears as the child who accompanies his brothers, forming a triple presence.
According to Oloirê Costa, researcher of African-based traditions at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU) and babalorixá (role of supreme priest of a terreiro of Afro-Brazilian religions), Doum occupies its own place within this religious universe.
The researcher explains that, in different narratives, he can appear as a younger brother or as the child who completes and balances the pair. There is, therefore, no single version of its origin.
More than looking for a single explanation, Oloirê argues that it is necessary to understand Doum as part of the construction of Brazilian popular religiosity. The figure was formed through orality, parties and coexistence in the terreiros.
“Doum reminds us especially of the child who has not yet reached the table, of the one who is at risk of being forgotten”, explained the researcher.
This is precisely why the third character gains, for him, a meaning that goes beyond the party itself. Doum also represents the child who needs to be welcomed: those who live in a vulnerable situation, who do not have access to protection, who face hunger, abandonment or other forms of violence.
If Cosme and Damião are remembered as a duo, Doum adds a question to the celebration: who is still off the table?
But why give sweets?
The answer lies precisely in the party's relationship with childhood and the idea of joy. In Brazil, the association between Cosme and Damião and the Ibeji helped to consolidate the distribution of sweets as one of the best-known brands of the celebration. The practice also appears in Ibeji festivals and in different Afro-Brazilian traditions.
For Oloirê, however, the sweet should not be understood just as a treat. It's a symbol. “Candy is the symbol of happiness”, highlighted the researcher. The logic lies in the experience of offering something sweet to another person: it is a way of wishing that their life is also sweeter.
“When we give a child a piece of candy, we don’t just offer sugar. We deliver memory, welcome and hope.”
In African traditions, according to Oloirê, food also involves memory, intention, work and axé, the vital force present in relationships and religious practices. Those who cook choose the ingredients, prepare the food, dedicate time and share the results. When it arrives on the table, therefore, it is not just food. It is also a gesture.
A party that changed over time
The appearance of Cosme and Damião's parties also did not remain the same. Oloirê remembers that, decades ago, celebrations were simpler. In the 1990s, for example, there was less variety of products and resources to decorate for parties. Chocolate, soft drinks, balloons and other elements were gaining ground as purchasing power increased.
In Uberlândia, Oloirê remembers that there were rituals that have become less common today. One of them was the so-called Table of the Innocents, where seven children dressed in white were gathered on a mat with various sweets. While they sang, they ate and then distributed the food to the adults. There was also the practice of praying a rosary.
Sweet as a promise
There are still those who hand out sweets because they made a promise. A person goes through a difficult situation, asks for protection or grace and, after achieving what they wanted, organizes a party or distributes sweets and toys to children. It's a logic of gratitude.
Oloirê explains that, for some people, the celebration represents precisely this encounter between request and gratitude. "The person can put a cake or other sweets on a plate, say a prayer and say thanks. Another possibility is to multiply the gesture: prepare several bags, buy toys and distribute them to children. The difference is in transforming the individual request into an action that reaches other people", said the researcher.
More than a candy party
For Oloirê, perhaps the most important meaning of the celebration lies precisely in what happens after the candy reaches the child's hands. If someone asks for protection for their own children, the researcher argues, it is necessary to look at children who do not have the same protection. If a person is grateful for the health of a child, they can also share food with another who is starving.
And if celebration is a form of joy, that joy can be shared. It is at this point that Doum returns to the story. The third character, almost always hidden behind the best-known image of the two saints, comes to represent precisely those who are not at the center of the party.
Therefore, September is not just the month of candies and lollipops. For Oloirê, celebrating Cosme, Damião and Doum also means recognizing childhood as a sacred territory and renewing the commitment to caring for it.
"When we give a child a sweet treat, we don't just offer sugar. We deliver memory, welcome and hope", he concluded.
