This paper investigates the phenomenon of entrainment between independent groups of musicians in the context of Afro-Brazilian Congado performance. Based on audiovisual recordings made during a festival in May 2006, we present analyses of four different occasions during which two different groups play different music in close proximity to each other. The results indicate the occurrence of (a) entrainment in phase, (b) entrainment out of phase, and (c) no entrainment. These results are discussed in the particular ethnographic context, as well as with reference to existing literature on entrainment and interpersonal coordination.
Congo, Moçambique and Candombe are
Afro-Brazilian religious groups that take part in brotherhoods of Our Lady
of the Rosary and in their festivals—Congado—in Minas
Gerais, Brazil. These rituals are accomplished through music. Thus singing,
playing and dancing are a unique mode of praying. Focusing on the
Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Rosary of Contagem and that of Jatobá—both
situated in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas
Gerais—the rhythmic behaviour of these groups is discussed, for the
instruments and their rhythmic language are sacred. The variation procedures
in the rhythmic patterns are related to the function of each group, to the
time/space of performances and to the hierarchy holding of them by force of
the legend behind the rituals.
Congo, Moçambique e Candombe são grupos
religiosos afro-brasileiros que participam de irmandades de Nossa Senhora do
Rosário e de suas festas—o Congado—em Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Esses rituais são cumpridos através da música, do canto e da dança.
Considerando o caráter sagrado dos instrumentos e de seus ritmos, é abordado
o comportamento rítmico dos grupos que integram as Irmandades de Contagem e
do Jatobá, ambas situadas na região metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, capital
de Minas Gerais. Os procedimentos de variação nos padrões rítmicos estão
relacionados ao espaço/tempo das performances e às funções dos grupos,
conforme a hierarquia entre eles, estabelecida na lenda que fundamenta os
rituais.
Os significados da 'maravilha' no contexto do Reinado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, tal como o termo é utilizado nos cantos e nas elaborações discursivas dos congadeiros, são aqui abordados a partir da perspectiva desses participantes sobre a origem e o percurso histórico de sua tradição religiosa, calcada na experiencia da dor de seus ancestrais escravizados. Tais fatos e eventos ainda motivam o pertencimento a essa tradição no presente e preenchem de sentido, de significância e, consequentemente, de maravilha as ações performáticas atuais.
This chapter examines the role of the drums and their music in the formation and development of an Afro-Christian ritual called congado, in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Being the main means for social interactions, music is viewed as a privileged context for the protection, reconstruction, performance, and transmission of spiritual and other cultural knowledge among Africans and their descendants since colonial times, and thus for the reinterpretation of the Catholic faith. Historical and contemporary forms of the congado ritual are discussed, based on ethnographic research of present-day rituals, on a study of the literature on Bantu cultures and on slavery in Brazil, and on analysis of the drums’ performances. The main argument is that music has been used by participants as a conscious means of cultural resistance and survival, being a strategic context for keeping interactions and exchanges with their ancestors as well as for intra-group communication and social relations.
Resumo: Reflexão sobre a importância das criações musicais infantis, a partir de exemplos de músicas e letras compostas por crianças.Résumé: Réflexion sur l'importance des créations musicales enfantis, à partir d'un échantillon de chansons et paroles composées par des enfants.
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