EXBERLINER Issue 170, April 2018

The German shaman
Looking to practice Brazilian religious rituals in Berlin? Candomblé
devotee Joachim Fischer helps Berliners connect with the divine
spirits from his Friedrichstraße apartment. By Emily May
“I wouldn’t be alive if
I hadn’t gone to Brazil.”
Joachim Fischer is one
of only two anointed
candomblé priests in Berlin.
German Palomeque
Never heard of candomblé? With more
than two million followers worldwide,
maybe you should have. A cross
between West African voodoo and
Catholicism that came about when African
slaves brought to Brazil were forbidden to pray
to their own gods, it centres around the worship
of divine spirits called orixás who are honoured
through offerings, dances and rituals. In
Berlin, the religion is chiefly represented by Ilê
Obá Sileké, a temple based out of Forum Brazil
and presided over by Babalorixá (supreme
spiritual leader) Murah Soares (see page 16).
But his group is refraining from public rituals
until the end of May as part of an extended
mourning period for Soares’ “spiritual mother”
Mãe Beata de Yemonjá (think Brazil’s Mother
Teresa). And so our introduction to candomblé
came courtesy of an eccentric 56-year-old
southern German who’s turned his Mitte flat
into his own temple of sorts.
“I wouldn’t be alive if I hadn’t gone to
Brazil,” starts Joachim Fischer, surrounded by
tarot cards, native wooden statutes and Jesus
figurines. Some 20 years ago, diagnosed with
skin cancer, Fischer visited a shaman, or pai de
santo, in the jungle outside Rio de Janeiro. As
he recalls, “I felt so much energy – I could see
the orixás! I really was in another dimension.”
After that, he claims, he was cured.
Fischer, who had worked as an industry
management apprentice, a naval officer and
even a gym owner in Barcelona prior to his
Brazil trip, saw only one way forward: to
become a Pai de Santo himself. “But I couldn’t
stay and live in the jungle, I’m a European,
it would be too much.” Instead he came to
Berlin, where he found a priestess by the name
of Mae Dalva who was, at the time, running
a Neukölln terreiro (church) called Casa de
Oxum. “She took me in like a son,” recalls
Fischer. “She didn’t speak any German or
English, so I translated for her during rituals
and offerings.” After five years of “learning by
doing” at Casa de Oxum (whose founder left
Berlin in 2009) and earning the Pai de Santo
title during a ceremony in Brazil, Fischer
decided to offer his own services to Berliners
in 2003. “I am very open-minded, which means
that while I’m still devoted to the orixás, if
someone comes to me for an aura cleaning and
would prefer to pray to Buddha or Jesus, I can
help them.” Fischer believes that in Germany,
it’s necessary to tailor his practice to European
audiences. “If you want to experience the 100
percent authentic Brazilian way, you should go
to Brazil!”
Fischer’s mostly-German client base comes
to him for card readings (he feels more clairvoyant
using Carl Jung’s cards rather than the
traditional tarot set) or €80 “shamanic journeys”,
which are actually more influenced by
Indian culture than candomblé. The client lies
on the floor whilst Fischer helps them connect
to the spirits and travel to another dimension.
“A psychotherapist would speak; I don’t.
Instead, I give people space and play my drums
and rattles, which act as vehicles to transport
you to another world.”
Clients also come to him to help battle
illnesses such as depression or cancer, or
even to support their new business ventures.
Traditionally, this would entail the sacrifice
of a chicken or a goat, which Fischer does in a
“humane way, with the help of a professional
butcher!” when he’s in Brazil. Here, German
laws mean he can’t ask the local Fleischer for
help with his animal offerings, so the spirits
must contend themselves with a refreshing
glass of wine or some exotic fruit.
Fischer says he used to cater to many Brazilians,
but would now rather focus on his “vision
quests” for Germans looking for a new path in
life. For €1590 (including flights and accommodation)
these eight-day enlightenment retreats
are conducted on El Hierro in the Canaries,
a tiny volcanic island that Fischer finds more
conducive to his work than bustling Berlin.
Participants complete workshops, rituals
and initiations before being sent out into the
mountains for a three-day solo retreat with
no food or even a tent. “I allow them to have
a sleeping bag. But it has to be hard. If you
want to get a real expression from God or from
nature, you have to suffer a bit. That’s life, you
don’t get anything for nothing.” n
10 EXBERLINER 170