The African enslaved people brought to Brazil had a significant influence on the development of Brazil’s cultural identity. Over more than 300 years, Brazil received a large number of Africans, about 4.8 million. They came from ports located in the Gulf of Benin and from the coast of Angola and Congo.[1] Yêda Castro, researcher of the heritage of African languages in Brazil, points out the countries from which most slaves came:

 

Since the beginning of the slave trade in the 16th century, slaves from the current territories of Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Dahomey (known in Brazil as Jeje) Ghana and Togo Cabo-Verde and Cacheu to a lesser extent, were landed in the port of Salvador da Baia de Todos os Santos, to then be distributed among the plantations of sugarcane and tobacco (...) where (they) left indisputable traces of their cultures.[2]

 

Arriving in Brazil through the cities of Salvador, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro, they spread to different parts of Brazil. In order to limit any possible collective revolt, the Portuguese colonizers rearranged the enslaved people into different groups. Although separating the ethnic groups brought difficulties for their social organization, particularly considering the barriers of language and culture differences, this heterogeneity also led to the creation of new forms of coexistence which accommodated the needs of each culture. Candomblé is one of the most important expressions resulting from this process of racial intermixing in the first half of the 19th century. It is a manifestation of religious nature and oral tradition, resulting from the process of cultural re-elaboration that occurred through the exchanges among different African ethnicities that came forcibly to Brazil.[3]

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Luciano Candemil, reevaluating the historical research carried out by maestro and composer Camargo Guarnieri on the musical traditions of the Candomblé Ketu in Salvador, indicates, “Candomblé was a religious confraternity protected by the Catholic Church, which allowed enslaved Africans from the regions of Angola, Dahomey, Ketu, among others, to group according to their ethnicity of origin and carry out religious worship.”[4] In this context, the symbols and festivities that were held in Africa were adapted to the reality of the new communities in Brazil, which also incorporated elements of European classical tradition since the Catholic church sought to exert some control over the religious ceremonies. In turn, the enslaved people adapted many of their festivities and rituals to the practices of the Catholic church, a syncretism that carries traits of different cultures and traditions.

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The rituals of Candomblé occur in places called terreiros or Casa de Santo. Their rituals are based on trances intermediated by the rhythms of drums, dance, and offerings. Traditionally, the musical ensemble is formed by a trio of atabaques, called rum, rumpi and lé (low, mid and high pitch instruments, respectively), and the gã, an idiophone instrument with one or two metal bells. The quartet has a fundamental role in the religious context; it allows the manifestation of the Orixás, African divinized ancestors, through the possession of their adepts, which is only possible from the intonation of songs accompanied by the quartet.

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Despite their religious use, many rhythms found in Candomblé have been adapted to the universe of vernacular music. The afoxé groups, for instance, were one of the first groups to adapt the rhythms of the Terreiros, transporting this rhythm to the musical universe to Salvador's carnival parties. They incorporated songs, melodies, and rhythms practiced in the Candamblé.

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Notes:

 

[1] Luciano da Silva Candemil, “As linhas-guias do Candomblé Ketu: recostrução das transcrições de Camargo Guarnieri” (master’s thesis, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, 2017), 23.

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[2] Yêda Castro, “A sobrevivência das línguas africanas no Brasil: sua influência na linguagem popular da Bahia,” Afro-Ásia, n. 4-5 (November, 1967), 27.

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[3] Luciano da Silva Candemil, “As linhas-guias do Candomblé Ketu,” 29.

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[4] Ibid., 37.