Isídio

Isídio was an "old disciple" (discípulo velho) based at the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim in Salvador, Bahia. He is known solely through the testimony of Mestre Cobrinha Verde, who identified him as the source of materials used to create his legendary protective patuá.

According to Cobrinha Verde's account, the African mandingueiro Tio Pascoal instructed the young Rafael Alves França (later Cobrinha Verde) to seek out Isídio at Bonfim Church. Cobrinha recounted: "So old Pascoal told me that there was an old disciple named Isídio (he is dead today) in Bonfim Church, who could get me the material to make an amulet".

The young Cobrinha traveled to Salvador and obtained the necessary materials from Isídio. He then brought these items back to Tio Pascoal in Santo Amaro da Purificação, who assembled them into the completed patuá with specific instructions for its use. This amulet became central to Cobrinha Verde's legend—it was said to be alive, jumping when placed on a clean plate, and protected him through three years of violence in the Bahian sertão as a member of Colonel Horácio de Matos' band.

The description of Isídio as a "discípulo" (disciple) suggests he was himself a practitioner within a lineage of spiritual tradition—perhaps a student of an earlier mandingueiro, or a member of a religious brotherhood associated with Bonfim Church. The Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim occupies a unique position in Bahian religious life, serving as a site of syncretism between Catholic and Candomblé traditions, where Nosso Senhor do Bonfim is identified with the Orixá Oxalá.

That Tio Pascoal knew of Isídio and could direct Cobrinha Verde to him suggests a network of spiritual practitioners spanning Santo Amaro and Salvador—a hidden community that maintained African-Brazilian mystical traditions despite persecution.

Nothing more is known of Isídio's life, training, or other activities. He represents the countless unnamed practitioners who preserved and transmitted African-Brazilian spiritual traditions during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.