Cool Stuff No. 2: South America

Good Afternoon, everyone! Welcome to my next Cool Stuff blog edition, this week's focus is South America. 

The topics that I'm going to be focusing on are Capoeira, Orixa, and Peruvian Rock. Let's get right into it.

First things first, I'd like to start by introducing Capoeira and Orixa together before further elucidating the two separately. Both Capoeira and Orixa are Afro-Brazilian concepts developed by the enslaved peoples brought over from Africa by the Portuguese. While the exact ethnic group in Africa that Capoeira comes from is unknown as there are several links to multiple groups and the deliberate misidentification of these people, the Yoruba people are the clear origin for Orixa.

1. Capoeira

Before delving further, I'd like to reiterate that Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art created to use music and dancing to disguise the fact that the enslaved peoples were practicing their fighting skills from their captors. The usage of the name Angola in Capoeira is very similar to its usage in other topics regarding the portion of the African Diaspora brought over to the New World, mostly inaccurate. During the time, most if not all Africans were deemed Angolan without any attention to the places they were actually from. With that being said, there are two forms of Capoeira, Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional, the former being the original.

As this is a music class and music plays a large role, I feel that it is only right to discuss it as well as its components. The soundscape of the music of Capoeira is typically outdoorsy as the dance/martial art was created outside and that is still where it is typically practiced.The instruments involved in the creation of music for Capoeira are a mixture of chordophones, membranophones, and aerophones brought over from Portugal and Africa. There is a typical band for Capoeira composed of three berimbaus, two pandeiros, three atabaques, one agogo, and one ganza. The berimbau is a one-string chordophone, the pandeiro is a close relative to the tambourine, the atabaque is a drum, and the final two instruments are aerophones. These instruments along with the voices of either a soloist or a chorus, sometimes both compose the four key song styles in Capoeira. 

(Berimbau)

 (Pandeiro)

 (Atabaque)

 (Agogo)

 (Ganza)

As previously mentioned, there are four key song styles in Capoeira. These song styles are the Ladainha, the Chula, the Corrido, and the Quadra. All of these song styles consist of a call-and-response, the differentiation between them highlights the number of verse types in the song. For example, the first type of song, the Ladainha, is a narrative solo that is typically sung at the beginning of the roda's¹ formation by either the mestre² or the most-respected person and is immediately followed up with a call-and-response to thank one's god(s). The Chula, also call-and-response based, is sang by a solo singer and a chorus with the verses of the soloist typically outnumbering those of the chorus by an 8:1 ratio. In the Corrido, the chorus and the soloist have an equal number of verses. And lastly, the Quadra style pays homage to its name as the same verse repeats four times.

Orixa

Though the majority of the Orixa, including its name comes from the Yoruba religion Orisha-Ifa, it is a syncretism of the gods and goddesses of it and those of the Native peoples of this region. The deities or orixas are gods and goddesses sent by the Almighty to guide and shape humanity. Before coming to the New World, many people focused on specific orixas and also their own individual ancestors, but in an attempt to preserve African culture and fend off the forced conversions to Christianity, many in the Diaspora began to highlight the importance of all of the orixas. 

The foundation of Orisha (Orixa) lies in the importance of nature and one's soul. And similarly to the gods found in the Americas, Greece, and many other cultures of the world, they possess human characteristics and beliefs. These Orishas represent a specific part of nature and have many specific associations. For example, Oshun or Mae Oxum, a personal favorite, is associated with gold/mustard yellow color, water, purity, fertility, love, and sensuality.  Though I'd love to explain more, I feel as if I've taken too much of your time, especially after the long introduction to Capoeira and I'd love it if you didn't fall asleep before finishing my blog entry. I have a tendency to rant, especially if it's about subjects that I'm interested in. With that being said, if you'd like to learn more, I'm more than happy to share resources and tell you what I know.

Peruvian Rock

Despite being aware of the incorporation of rock music, just like every other, into nearly every culture, I sadly remained unexposed to Peruvian Rock before Thursday's class period. Not wanting to assume that just because I didn't know about something it is new, I began researching and discovered that it developed not long after its creation in America and exposure to the rest of the Western World. In fact, due to its frequent contact with the United States due to trade and the U.S.'s new imperialistic regime (I promise not to go off on a tangent, it's hard but I promise) Peru was one of the first countries not only in Latin America but the world to develop its version of rock. In its early days, Peruvian Rock was heavily shaped by famous American Rock artists and those of the British invasion. At one point in the 1970s, there was an attempt by its government during a period of martial law to eliminate rock music but it only sparked its growth and further integration into Peruvian culture. In fact, this underground period sparked the development of Peruvian punk and goth cultures which took off in marginalized communities, particularly with the youth. Sadly, despite Peruvian rock being so prevalent and detrimental to the development of rock, especially in other Latin American countries, it did not begin to receive recognition until the 2000s.

Explanation of Superscripts

1. roda: the circle that is formed by the musicians, fighters/dancers, mestre, and the rest of the audience during Capoeira

2. mestre: the instructor or one who has mastered Capoeira

Sources

Capoeira 

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira

2. https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/brazil/articles/disguised-in-dance-the-secret-history-of-capoeira/

3. http://www.capoeira-music.net/

4. http://capoeira-connection.com/capoeira/

Orixa

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orisha

2. https://soulbrasil.com/orixas-the-divine-forces-of-nature/

3. http://schwarze-goetter-im-exil.de/eng/glossar/orixa.html

Peruvian Rock 

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_rock

2. http://www.karikuy.org/blog/2017/05/10/listen-to-these-5-peruvian-rock-bands/ 

3. https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2011/04/21/135042157/perus-overlooked-place-in-the-history-of-latin-american-rock