Musical dictionary of Brazilian Portuguese - Intro and some letter A: afoxe, agogo, and atabaque
If you are learning Portuguese or are, for any reason, interested in Brazilian music and culture, this blog is meant for you. I'm working on a list of entries to compile a dictionary of Brazilian Portuguese focused on musical terms - more specifically, on words related to the musical universe: cultural expressions, names of rhythms, dancing styles, musical instruments, singers, bands and songs (which I'll translate sometimes) - or anything else that I find worth sharing. Besides definitions for the featured words, I'll also work to provide some context and background information about them, commenting on the more interesting or relevant facts about each word.
As putting up a dictionary is a Herculean job, it will take me a lot of time to complete it, and many, many posts (check the blog frequently to keep up with the new posts). I actually haven't listed all words that will be in it yet, just brainstormed ideas for the first letters, so that I'm good to go and start with this project. What can I do? I'll try to write about two or three words each post. I'd better start from the letter A and get to letter Z. How much time and words in between is to be revealed in the journey.
P.s. one of the most easily noticeable differences between Portuguese and English is the use of diacritics, quite common in the former, so consider any words with them listed here are spelled as in Brazilian Portuguese.
Afoxé (noun; folk or traditional music): originally from Yoruba language, the word 'Afoxé' is commonly used to refer to folk or carnival groups which parade to the percussive rhythm of 'Ijexá' (Ijesha), played with atabaques, agogos and agbes - but it's much more than that. It's deeply connected to African Brazilian religious expressions, common in the state of Bahia, such as Candomblé, and comprises the pageant or courtship of musicians and dancers, as well as the parade itself, and one of the instruments used to play (the one made out of gourd/calabash, aka agbe or xequerê). In the picture below, an Afoxe group poses between songs showing their traditional outfits and musical instruments.
Available at: https://dancasfolcloricas.blogspot.com.br/2011/02/afoxe.html
There are many famous afoxé groups, such as 'Afoxé Filhos de Gandhi', 'Ylê Aiyé', and 'Afoxé Badauê', from Salvador, Bahia - the later, an extinct group, which paraded from 1979 to 1992 and whose founder, the composer, multi-instrumentalist and Capoeira master Moa do Katendê, is still active with "Afoxé Amigos do Katendê", which parades annually in São Paulo, as well as leading workshops in which he teaches the audience how to play various instruments, sing chants and dance beautiful choreographs. I've participated in an Afoxé Workshop with him some time ago and it was a great experience. Click here to watch Mestre Moa talking about his work with Afoxé and other African Brazilian cultural expressions.
Agogô (noun; musical instrument): also known as 'gã', it's a musical instrument used in various forms of Brazilian cultural expressions, such as Afoxé, Capoeira, Maracatu, Forró, etc, commonly made of metal, consisting of two or more bells, which the musician plays with a stick. Its metallic quality adds a light touch to the pacing of the music played with it. There are some agogôs made of wood, more specifically of sapucaia coconut, which preserve the high pitch quality and function to keep the pacing of songs, as accompanying instruments. Click here to learn how to play agogo.
Typical agogo. Pic credits to http://www.todosinstrumentosmusicais.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Agog%C3%B4-2.jpg
Atabaque (noun; musical instrument): tall wooden hand drums usually made with goat leather. Atabaques are used in many Brazilian cultural expressions with African roots, such as Afoxé, Capoeira, Maculelê, Candomblé and Umbanda. They're also known as 'rumpilé'.
Myself playing atabaque. Personal archive.
As putting up a dictionary is a Herculean job, it will take me a lot of time to complete it, and many, many posts (check the blog frequently to keep up with the new posts). I actually haven't listed all words that will be in it yet, just brainstormed ideas for the first letters, so that I'm good to go and start with this project. What can I do? I'll try to write about two or three words each post. I'd better start from the letter A and get to letter Z. How much time and words in between is to be revealed in the journey.
P.s. one of the most easily noticeable differences between Portuguese and English is the use of diacritics, quite common in the former, so consider any words with them listed here are spelled as in Brazilian Portuguese.
Afoxé (noun; folk or traditional music): originally from Yoruba language, the word 'Afoxé' is commonly used to refer to folk or carnival groups which parade to the percussive rhythm of 'Ijexá' (Ijesha), played with atabaques, agogos and agbes - but it's much more than that. It's deeply connected to African Brazilian religious expressions, common in the state of Bahia, such as Candomblé, and comprises the pageant or courtship of musicians and dancers, as well as the parade itself, and one of the instruments used to play (the one made out of gourd/calabash, aka agbe or xequerê). In the picture below, an Afoxe group poses between songs showing their traditional outfits and musical instruments.
Available at: https://dancasfolcloricas.blogspot.com.br/2011/02/afoxe.html
There are many famous afoxé groups, such as 'Afoxé Filhos de Gandhi', 'Ylê Aiyé', and 'Afoxé Badauê', from Salvador, Bahia - the later, an extinct group, which paraded from 1979 to 1992 and whose founder, the composer, multi-instrumentalist and Capoeira master Moa do Katendê, is still active with "Afoxé Amigos do Katendê", which parades annually in São Paulo, as well as leading workshops in which he teaches the audience how to play various instruments, sing chants and dance beautiful choreographs. I've participated in an Afoxé Workshop with him some time ago and it was a great experience. Click here to watch Mestre Moa talking about his work with Afoxé and other African Brazilian cultural expressions.
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Gilberto Gil holds a flag of Ylê Aiyê next to a member of Afoxé Badauê in a rare photograph.
Available at: http://blogs.ibahia.com/a/blogs/memoriasdabahia/2017/02/20/badaue/
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Mestre Moa gives Afoxé Workshop in Timóteo-MG - 2001
Brazil - Italy Capoeira Lenço de Seda (CECAB)
Personal Archive
Personal Archive
Agogô (noun; musical instrument): also known as 'gã', it's a musical instrument used in various forms of Brazilian cultural expressions, such as Afoxé, Capoeira, Maracatu, Forró, etc, commonly made of metal, consisting of two or more bells, which the musician plays with a stick. Its metallic quality adds a light touch to the pacing of the music played with it. There are some agogôs made of wood, more specifically of sapucaia coconut, which preserve the high pitch quality and function to keep the pacing of songs, as accompanying instruments. Click here to learn how to play agogo.
Typical agogo. Pic credits to http://www.todosinstrumentosmusicais.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Agog%C3%B4-2.jpg
Atabaque (noun; musical instrument): tall wooden hand drums usually made with goat leather. Atabaques are used in many Brazilian cultural expressions with African roots, such as Afoxé, Capoeira, Maculelê, Candomblé and Umbanda. They're also known as 'rumpilé'.
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