Leave a Comment

Fundraiser to Support Afro-Bahian Cultural Space in DC – Conexões Ancestrais: Celebrating Our Journey

FICA DC has been one of the leading organizations that have been the center for educating and promoting Afro-Bahian culture in DC.

Currently, they are in jeopardy of being dislocated because of the financial uncertainty of the organization that hosts their space (Emergence Community Arts Collective).

If you want to support access to community arts programs and cultural programs that represent the Afro-Bahian community in DC (including Festival Afro-Bahia which Batala has always been a part of), please consider attending this fundraiser event next week, or making a small donation, and share with your friends.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conexoes-ancestrais-celebrating-our-journey-tickets-72096481517

Leave a Comment

Portuguese – English Glossary

If you’ve attended Batala Washington’s yearly Be a Drummer for a Day event, you may find learning these terms useful.

A Cultura

 

 The Culture

Adeus / Tchau

 

 Goodbye

Agogô

 Musical instrument similar to an iron cowbell and stick that is played in traditional Yoruba music as well as in samba baterias

Atabaque

 

 Drum played in religious settings

Até logo

 

 See you later

Axé

 

 A Yoruba word used in Candomblé religion that means life force, divine power, essence of being or existence, but also has a similar meaning to “amen.” Also used as colloquial expression in Bahia to greet or express good vibes, agreement, well-being. Also describes a genre of music.

Bahia

 

 A state in northeastern Brazil which has the capital city of Salvador, the birthplace of Samba Reggae music. “Bahia” also means “bay” in Portuguese.

Baiano(a)

 Someone from the state of Bahia

Banda

 Band

Banda Feminina

 

 Female Band

Banda de Percussão

 

 Percussion Band

Batucada

 The drumming sounds that the band makes

Bebidas

 

 Drinks

Bem-vindos(as)

 

 Welcome

Bloco

 

 Group of masqueraders marching/dancing/playing with a particular band

Blocos-Afro

 

 Afro-Blocos (Afro-Brazilian organizations that plan and put on samba-reggae parades during Carnival, common in Salvador. Like a samba school, but these organizations are Afro-centric in their cultural themes and community-driven purpose and play samba-reggae. They typically have many other social functions and may serve as the community center in a neighborhood)

Boa noite

 

 Good night

Boa tarde

 

 Good afternoon

Bom dia

 

 Good morning

Caixa

 

 Snare drum

Canção / Canto

 

 Song / Chant

Candomblé

 

 A West African based religion primarily influenced by Yoruba, but also Fon and Bantu ethnic groups, spiritual traditions with some Catholic elements. It is practiced by many throughout Brazil, but especially in Bahia where the religious iconography is interwoven throughout the cultural landscape.

Carnaval

 

 Carnival

Dança

 

 Dance

Desfile

 

 Parade

Diversão

 

 Fun

Dobra

 

 Smaller, mid-tone bass drum

Ensaio

 

 Rehearsal

Escola de Samba

 Samba School (an organization that plans and puts on samba parades during Carnival.
It typically has many other social functions and may serve as the community center in its neighborhood)

Fantasia

 

 Costume

Fãs

 

 Fans

Festa

 

 Party / Festival

Fotos

 

 Photos

Instrumentos Musicais

 

 Musical Instruments

Iorubá

 

 Yoruba (an ethnic group in southwestern Nigeria and eastern Benin that were enslaved and taken to Bahia, Brazil. Samba-Reggae music and Bahian culture is heavily influenced by the Yoruba language, culture, and religion maintained by Afro-descendants.

“Legal!”

 

 “Cool!”

Maestra(o)

 Conductor

Música

 

 Music

Obrigada(o)

 

 Thank you

Olá

 

 Hello

“Oxente!”

 

 Colloquial expression used in Bahia to express surprise or disbelief

Pandeiro

 

 A small frame drum that looks similar to a tambourine in size and shape, but without the jingles and played with a stick.

Pintura de Rosto

 

 Face Painting

Por Favor

 

 Please

Repinique / Repique

 High pitched drum that carries the clave or is the “caller” in Samba Reggae rhythms

Ritmo

 Rhythm

Roda

 

 Circle

Samba-Reggae / Samba-Afro / Afro-Reggae

 

 Samba-Reggae (a genre of music that is a mixture of samba and reggae rhythms that was developed in Salvador, Bahia in the 1970s and 80s)

Saudução / Saudações

 

 Greeting / Greetings

Show

 

 Show

Surdo / Fundo

 Bass drum

Tambor

 

 Drum

Tamborista

 

 Drummer

Tempo

 

 Tempo

Timbau

 

 Timbal (A tall, conical shaped drum, played by hand like the atabaque.)

Xequerê

 

 Shekere (a West African instrument made from a hollow gourd with a netting of beads wrapped around it. The sound is made by shaking it or hitting it against the hand rhythmically.)

Leave a Comment

Afro-Bahian History and Culture Reading Resource List

Resources in English

Journal Articles

Books

  • African-Brazilian Culture and Regional Identity in Bahia, Brazil, by Scott Ickes
  • Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, by João José Reis
  • Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis, by Patrick A. Polk, Roberto Conduru, Sabrina Gledhill, Randal Johnson
  • Brazil’s New Racial Politics, edited by Bernd Reiter and Gladys L. Mitchell
  • Capoeira: The History of an Afro-Brazilian Martial Art, by Matthias Röhrig Assunção
  • Brazilian Popular Music and Globalisation, by Charles A. Perrone & Christopher Dunn
  • Brazil, Mixture or Massacre?: Essays of a Genocide of a Black People, by Abdias do Nascimento
  • Afro-Politics and Civil Society in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, by Kwame Dixon
  • The Masters and the Slaves: A study in the development of Brazilian civilization, by Gilberto Freyre

Fiction Novels

  • Cacao, by Jorge Amado
  • The War of the Saints, by Jorge Amado
  • Tent of Miracles, by Jorge Amado

Blogs

Website articles

Films

Radio Podcasts 

Recursos em Português

Artigos de Jornal

Livros

  • Genocídio do negro brasileiro: Processo de um Racismo Mascarado, por Abdias do Nascimento
  • A Trama dos Tambores: a musica afro-pop de Salvador, por Goli Guerreiro
  • Casa Grande & Senzala, por Gilberto Freyre

Romances de Ficção

  • Cacau, por Jorge Amado
  • O Sumiço da Santa, por Jorge Amado
  • Tenda dos Milagres, por Jorge Amado

Blogues

Artigos do site

Filmes

Music / Música

Afro-Bloco / Bloco-Afro Videos

Names to Know of Afro-Bahian Samba-Reggae Movement / 

Nomes para Saber do Movimento Samba-Reggae Afro-Baiano