Bumba-meu-boi
"O meu boi morreu
O que será de mim?
Manda comprar outro, ó maninha
Lá no Piauí"
"My ox is dead
What’s gonna happen to me?
Get me a new one, oh, sister
In Piauí."
One of Brazil’s most traditional folkloric festivities, bumba-meu-boi is a type of play that embodies theatre, music, dancing and circus. It boasts different names in different regions: boizinho and boi-de-mamão (in the south), boi-de-reis (in the northeast) and boi-bumbá (in the north). Bumba-Meu-Boi is believed to have appeared in the last decades of the 18th century, when farmers used slave workmanship. In those farms, African traditions like boi geroa would have been mixed with European traditions like Spanish and Portuguese bullfights and the boeuf gras from France, in a celebration focused on power relations and religious aspects, which caused it to be strongly repressed in the early days.
Usually held during mid-June festivities, bumba-meu-boi enacts the kidnapping, death and resurrection of the ox – a metaphor for agriculture cycles. Music-wise, it engulfs various Brazilian styles, among tunes, percussion and strings, plus a variety of local instruments. Some say that "bumba" comes from zabumba (a Brazilian kind of bass drum), while others claim it’s an expression used as "come on!", "hang on" or "hit it".
The ox, as the central character of the play, is usually made out of vine and calico, big enough for a man to wear it as a costume. The head can be made of carton or out of the animal’s skull. The tale is told with slight variations, but basically it describes the story of slave Catirina (or Catarina), who is pregnant and asks her husband Chico (or Pai Francisco) to kill the most beautiful ox in the farm because she is craving for its tongue. He fulfills his wife’s wish, but is arrested by the farm’s foreman, who proceeds to try and resurrect the ox with the help of healers. As the ox comes back to life, it all ends in a big party. Other characters may join the story, depending on the type of boi: the engineer, the priest, the doctor, the devil, etc., while female characters are almost always interpreted by men.
Party in Parintins
Suffocated by the mass media, boi is more and more restricted to rural communities who still manage to keep their traditions. Nonetheless, it is very popular in São Luís (capital of Maranhão, NE), where big boi parades are held in June. But nothing compares to what happens yearly in Parintins (Amazonas, 262 miles from the capital Manaus, north), where two huge groups – Caprichoso, in blue and Garantido, in red- parade for over 50,000 people. Brought to the Amazon by northeastern immigrants in the 19th century, boi also incorporates indigenous and Andean influences, besides Amazonian tunes. Professional competition between Caprichoso and Garantido started in 1996, and both have helped raise the standards of the show, turning Parintins into the most famous folkloric demonstration in the region. Thanks to the Amazonian parade, boi generated its first pop hits in 1996: Tic Tic Tac, recorded by Fafá de Belém, and Vermelho, recorded by Márcia Freire.
Songs
Boi Barroso – Elis Regina
Vermelho (Chico da Silva) – Fafá de Belém
Tic Tic Tac – Carrapicho
Boi Bumbá (Waldemar Henrique) – José Tobias
Boi do Amazonas (recolhido por Walter Santos) – Papete
Bumba Meu Queixada – Teatro União e Olho Vivo
Entrada do Boi Misterioso – Quinteto Violado e Zélia Barbosa
Gado Bom Quem Tem Sou Eu (toada de vaquejada) – Otacílio Batista
Boi de Mamão (entrada de boi, Bermúncia e Maricota) – Boi de Mamão de Itacorobi (SC)
A Burrinha – Quinteto Violado
O que será de mim?
Manda comprar outro, ó maninha
Lá no Piauí"
"My ox is dead
What’s gonna happen to me?
Get me a new one, oh, sister
In Piauí."
One of Brazil’s most traditional folkloric festivities, bumba-meu-boi is a type of play that embodies theatre, music, dancing and circus. It boasts different names in different regions: boizinho and boi-de-mamão (in the south), boi-de-reis (in the northeast) and boi-bumbá (in the north). Bumba-Meu-Boi is believed to have appeared in the last decades of the 18th century, when farmers used slave workmanship. In those farms, African traditions like boi geroa would have been mixed with European traditions like Spanish and Portuguese bullfights and the boeuf gras from France, in a celebration focused on power relations and religious aspects, which caused it to be strongly repressed in the early days.
Usually held during mid-June festivities, bumba-meu-boi enacts the kidnapping, death and resurrection of the ox – a metaphor for agriculture cycles. Music-wise, it engulfs various Brazilian styles, among tunes, percussion and strings, plus a variety of local instruments. Some say that "bumba" comes from zabumba (a Brazilian kind of bass drum), while others claim it’s an expression used as "come on!", "hang on" or "hit it".
The ox, as the central character of the play, is usually made out of vine and calico, big enough for a man to wear it as a costume. The head can be made of carton or out of the animal’s skull. The tale is told with slight variations, but basically it describes the story of slave Catirina (or Catarina), who is pregnant and asks her husband Chico (or Pai Francisco) to kill the most beautiful ox in the farm because she is craving for its tongue. He fulfills his wife’s wish, but is arrested by the farm’s foreman, who proceeds to try and resurrect the ox with the help of healers. As the ox comes back to life, it all ends in a big party. Other characters may join the story, depending on the type of boi: the engineer, the priest, the doctor, the devil, etc., while female characters are almost always interpreted by men.
Party in Parintins
Suffocated by the mass media, boi is more and more restricted to rural communities who still manage to keep their traditions. Nonetheless, it is very popular in São Luís (capital of Maranhão, NE), where big boi parades are held in June. But nothing compares to what happens yearly in Parintins (Amazonas, 262 miles from the capital Manaus, north), where two huge groups – Caprichoso, in blue and Garantido, in red- parade for over 50,000 people. Brought to the Amazon by northeastern immigrants in the 19th century, boi also incorporates indigenous and Andean influences, besides Amazonian tunes. Professional competition between Caprichoso and Garantido started in 1996, and both have helped raise the standards of the show, turning Parintins into the most famous folkloric demonstration in the region. Thanks to the Amazonian parade, boi generated its first pop hits in 1996: Tic Tic Tac, recorded by Fafá de Belém, and Vermelho, recorded by Márcia Freire.
Songs
Boi Barroso – Elis Regina
Vermelho (Chico da Silva) – Fafá de Belém
Tic Tic Tac – Carrapicho
Boi Bumbá (Waldemar Henrique) – José Tobias
Boi do Amazonas (recolhido por Walter Santos) – Papete
Bumba Meu Queixada – Teatro União e Olho Vivo
Entrada do Boi Misterioso – Quinteto Violado e Zélia Barbosa
Gado Bom Quem Tem Sou Eu (toada de vaquejada) – Otacílio Batista
Boi de Mamão (entrada de boi, Bermúncia e Maricota) – Boi de Mamão de Itacorobi (SC)
A Burrinha – Quinteto Violado