Jongo

Jongo, also known as caxambu or tabu, is a dance and musical genre of black communities from southeast Brazil. It originated from the dances performed by slaves who worked at coffee plantations in the Paraíba Valley, between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and also at farms in some areas of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. Jongo is a member of a larger group of Afro-Brazilian dances, such as batuque, tambor de crioula, and zambê, which feature many elements in common, including the use of fire-tuned drums, the call-and-response form of group singing, the poetical language used in the songs, and the umbigada, a distinctive step whereby two dancers hit their bellies. Jongos usually take place during a nightlong party in which several people dance in pairs or in a circle, to the sound of two or more drums, while a soloist sings short phrases answered by the group. The drums, built from hollow tree trunks covered with animal hide in one of the extremities and tuned by the heat of a bonfire, are called caxambu or tambu (the bigger one) and candongueiro (the smaller one). Other instruments can also be used, such as a large and low-pitched friction drum, called puíta or angoma-puíta, and a rattle made of straw and small beads, called guaiá, inguaiá, or angóia. Jongo songs, also called pontos, are sung in Portuguese but may include words of African origin. Often improvised, they are of several types, each one with a particular function: the pontos de louvação are used to salute spiritual entities, the owners of the house and the ancestors; the pontos de visaria or bizarria are sung for fun purposes, to enliven the dancers or as a vehicle for satirical commentaries; the pontos de demanda, porfia, or gurumenta are used by singers who challenge...