In the comments of my recent article on Carnival and Frevo in Recife (you can find a link to it a few posts down from this one), a video was posted about a Frevo school in Pernambuco which won 2nd place at an international dance contest in New York. Excellent stuff!
At the risk of being a slight hypocrite (by saying I’m allergic to BS), I’d like to “like” the efforts of Reginho who is doing “tecnobrega” (ie, not tecnobrega, but perhaps produced in the same manner). He’s got a catchy tune with a rather créu-like dance, and in time, of course, for Carnival. Apparently, it’s been a hit for the last two months (and, hey, anything is better than “Rebolation”)
DJ Marlboro and Hip Hop in 1986.
This is really just a short clip of some real deal samba de roda in Parafuso, Camaçari just outside of Salvador.
(The tourism company which does these boat shows is called Valeverde)
The Lundu, originally a dance done by African slaves in Brazil, also gained popularity among the white middle class and upper crust and became Brazil’s first national dance. Initially though, the Portuguese court and the Vatican itself banned the dance due to its sexual nature yet when the dust settled, it became popular once more. Upon its return, it was still kept hidden from public displays and therefore went ‘underground’, finding followers mainly in three Brazilian states, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and in Pará (on the island of Marajó).
What differentiates Lundú Marajoara from the other styles of Lundú is principally the form of dress, which is also used in the Carimbó. The women present themselves with beautiful long colorful skirts, white blouses, necklaces, bracelets and flowers in their hair. The men wear light blue or white pants and either no shirt at all or a white shirt with Marajoarian designs. Both dancers are barefoot.
A flirtatious couple dance, usually accompanied by a guitar, but sometimes a thumb piano or drums, Lundu is related to the Spanish fandango and other new-world dances like the Argentine Zamba, Cueca and Bolero – they all involve, to some degree, handkerchiefs, castanets, and holding ones’ arms above their heads. The point behind the dance is said to involve a man asking a woman to go to bed with him, although his invite isn’t manifested verbally but rather physically. Initially, the woman is supposed to deny the man but after persistance, she gives in at which point the dance ends.
(foto: ParaTur)
The Carimbó is considered an indigenous musical style, however like other Brazilian cultural manifestations, it mixed with and received other influences. Its name in Tupi refers to the drum (curimbó) with which the rhythm is marked. The carimbó itself as African origins which are present in the percussive rhythm and both its Portuguese (the snapping sound made with the fingers and the palms in certain parts of the dance) as well as European influences, or rather the melodies of the colonizers. Appearing in the area of Belém in the Salgado region (Marapanim, Curuça, Algodoal) and on the Island of Marajó, it became a traditional dance which later, when influenced by a more modern rhythm, lent to the creation of the Lambada and the Zouk (a musical style from the French West Indies).
Instruments
In its traditional form, it’s accompanied by drums formed from tree trunks. At some point, the name of these drums came to be called “curimbó”, which is a corruption of the word Carimbó. They are also used together with the maracá, an indigenous rattle used in ceremonial war dances.
In the 1960′s and 1970′s, more modern instruments were added to the Carimbó (such as guitars) as well as cúmbia and merengue influences from Colombia. The modern rhythm became popular in the Brazilian Northeast and gave birth to the lambada, which spread internationally (ironically popularized by a Bolivian musical group, Los K’jarkas).
The original instrumental formation of the carimbó was composed of two curimbós: one on top of the other in reference to the timbers or tones (agudo and grave) of the instruments; a wood flute (generally made from ebony or acapú wood, deriving from the Northeastern rustic flute made of bambu and used by the first Christians to pay homage to the Virgin Mary), maracás and a rural guitar with four cords, later substituted by the handcrafted banjo (made of wood, nylon chords and deer skin). Today, the instrumental part of the carimbó incorporates other wind instruments such as flutes, clarinets and saxophones.
Additional history
Being the preferred music of the Marajoan fishermen, although not yet known as carimbó at the time, the rhythm spread across the Guajará bay (where Belém is situated) by these fishermen and landed on the beaches of the Salgado region of Pará. In a region neighboring the cities of Marapanim and Curuçá, the genre solidified itself, earning the name it carries to this day. Maranhãozinho, in the municipality of Marapanim; and Aranquaim, in Curuçá, are two of the places that in recent times have reclaimed the paternity of the genre. In Marapanim, in the Salgado region in the Northeast of Pará, the genre has been cultivated well in the annual event known as the ”Festival de Carimbó de Marapanim — O Canto Mágico da Amazônia” (“Carimbó Festival of Marapanim – The Magical Song of the Amazon”), in the month of November.
For an idea of how the curimbó instrument sounds, see the video below!
To hear some of the Carimbó music, here’s Pinduca singing Garota do Tacacá (a song about the best dishes from Pará)
For more of an idea of what the dance looks like, see the video below
The Ritual
The dance is presented in pairs. It starts with two rows of men and women facing the center. When the music begins, the men follow the women while clapping as a way of inviting the women to the dance. Immediately, the pairs form, turning continually around each other and at the same time forming a big circle that goes counter-clockwise. At this point, the indigenous influence shows itself, when the dancers make certain body movements with their bodies thrust forwards and one foot in front of the other. The women, full of charm, customly have fun at their partners by holding the ends of their dresses, waiting for the moment when their partners are distracted in order to hit them in the face with this part of their clothing. This always provokes shouts and laughs from the other dancers. The gentleman that is booed by his own companion is forced to abandon the dance area. At a determined moment in the carimbó dance, one couple goes to the center to enact the famous turkey dance or “Peru de Atalaia”, where the gentleman is forced to pick up a hankerchief his partner dropped using just his mouth. In case the gentleman doesn’t succeed, his partner hits him in the face with her dress and subjected to the boos of the others, must leave the dance area. If he succeeds, he is applauded.
“The Boi Bumbá (deriving from the Bumba-Meu Boi, see photo below) festival presents myths, tales and legends using characters, parade carts and giant puppets followed by the words of a master of ceremonies who describes in detail every bit of the action.
It is an incredible musical and theatrical experience, a religious procession, a tribal ritual, a giant puppet show, a fairy tale of powerful villains and brave heroes, a folk art presentation, a major party for the audience and an energizing choreography of the galera (gah-le-rah), all at once. The characters in the performance come from the Boi Bumbá tale. There are two teams called Bois (plural of Boi). Each one tells the same story in all three nights of the festival, amounting to 6 different performances of the same show. But every night is different because legends, rituals, dances, puppets, garments, alegorias, they all change and create the show anew.
There are many similar festivities in Brazil, but Parintins (in the state of Amazonas) is the home of the biggest and most impressive of all. It is both an artistic display and a dispute between two different teams: Bois Caprichoso (cah-pree-show-zol) and Garantido (gah-run-tee-dow). Boi is the Portuguese word for ox, and it is also the main character of the drama that unfolds every night in an arena closely watched by 35,000 people. After the 3-hour show of each Boi, the city has food, drinks and party for everybody. The main square, countless bars and every little corner near the Bumbódromo accommodate a crowd still full of energy to mimic the dance and songs of their favorite Boi.” - More here…
Other videos (also in Portuguese, although of the Bumba-Meu Boi) can be found here. Part 1 and Part 2.
Tambor de Crioula is “a dance with African origins, that is found in Brazil, only in the state of Maranhão. The men make the rhythms by playing rustic “tambores” or drums made of wood and leather while the women, in a circle, sing and dance. The high point of this dance is the belly bump which is the signal for the dancer to be substituted by another in the center of the circle.” – Top Tour.
The belly bump is called a “punga”, for more info on this, go here (in PT)
Here’s a 3-part informative show (in PT) on the dance. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
For more on Afro-Brazilian music and dances, try one of these two research papers. (If you like research papers, try changing the number 256 in the url of the second link above, perhaps to 255, 254, 253, etc. That way, new papers will be shown, although on what topic, I don’t know)
Maculelê (Pronounced: mah-koo-leh-LEH) is an Afro Brazilian dance where a number of people gather in a circle called a roda with one or more atabaques positioned at the entrance of the circle. Each person brandishes a pair of long sticks, traditionally made from biriba wood from Brazil. The sticks, called grimas, traditionally measure 24 inches long by 1 and 1/8 inch thick. As the Maculelê rhythm plays on the atabaque, the people in the circle begin rhythmically striking the sticks together. The leader sings, and the people in the circle respond by singing the chorus of the songs. When the leader gives the signal to begin playing Maculelê, two people enter the circle, and to the rhythm of the atabaque, they begin striking their own and each other’s sticks together. On the first three beats, they strike their own sticks together, making expressive and athletic dance movements, and on each fourth beat, they strike each other’s respective right-hand stick together. This makes for a dance that looks like “mock stick combat”. (Also, traditionally in Maculelê, the players wear dried grass skirts).
In some capoeira schools, Maculelê can be played with the use of a pair of facões (literally big knife) which are large knives of about 40 cm, used primarily to cut way through tall grass areas. However this style of play is only practiced by graduated students and masters. It is characterized by the loud noises and flying sparks when the players strike the knives.
Origins
The origins of Maculelê are obscure, and there are many stories, theories and beliefs that claim “this is how Maculelê came to be”. Here are two:
Maculelê is sometimes practiced by itself, but is quite often practiced alongside Capoeira, and featured in many Capoeira performances. It should be noted that Maculelê and Capoeira are fairly similar in style.
Here’s another show.
Jongo is an essentially rural cultural manifestation directly associated with the African culture in Brazil. The formation of samba carioca was heavily influenced by Jongo.
Inserting itself within the so-called ‘dances of the belly strike’ (however being related to the ‘Semba’ or ‘Masemba’ of Angola), the Jongo was brought to Brazil by Bantus. Generally, these Bantus were kidnapped in the ancient kingdoms of Ndongo and Kongo, which nowadays makes up most of the region of Angola.
Composed through characteristics of music and dance and animated by improvisational poets, the Jongo most likely has its origins in the traditional Angolan guessing games, the Jinongonongo. One essential characteristic of the Jongo is the utilization of symbols that, aside from maintaining rhythm, possess a magical function, apparently provoking paranormal phenomenon. Among the more evident ones, one can cite the fire, with which the instruments are tuned; the drums, that are considered to be ancestors of the community’ the circular form of the dance with a couple in the middle, which refers to fertility; and not to forget, the rich metaphors used by the jongueiros (participants of the Jongo) in order to compose its main points and whose meaning is inaccessible to those not yet initiated.
These days, both men and women can participate in the Jongo, but this participation in its original form was very restricted to the initiated or the more experienced members. This factor relates itself to the ethical and social norms commonly found in other traditional societies, such as the Amerindians. The basis is a respect and obedience towards the older individuals and the ancestral past.
Historical research indicates that the Jongo possesses, within its Bantu origins, the need to create diverse communities, similar to secret societies and political-religious sects. These fraternities had an important role in the resistance of slavery, as a means of communication, organization and even the purchase of liberated slaves.
The Jongo is made up of singing and dancing, with the accompaniment of the urucungo (a musical Bantu arc, that gave way to the berimbau), the violin and pandeiro, in addition to the consecrated drums, used even today, called Tambu or Caxambu. The Jongo is still widely practiced today in various cities: The Vale do Paraíba in the Southeast region of Brazil, to the South of the state of Rio de Janeiro and to the North of São Paulo.
Below is an example of one group of Jongo, called Jongo do Quilombo de São José, which is more traditional. It is followed by another group called Jongo da Serrinha, which is more contemporary. After the videos, you’ll find links to a documentary.
Here is a documentary (in Portuguese) on the Jongo
