Batuque (Brazil)

Batuque by Johann Moritz Rugendas, between 1822 and 1825.

Batuque (drumming[1]) was a general term for various Afro-Brazilian practices in the 19th century, including music, dance, combat game and religion.

Batuques, or drumming ceremonies were an important cultural activity among the African population. These performance circles were a regular occurrence on Sunday evenings and holidays, drawing large crowds of enslaved Africans.[2] Laws introduced in 1822 allowed police to shut down batuques.[3] Despite the police repression, the batuques persisted covertly at the town's outskirts or along the shoreline.[4]

Africans devised tactics to safeguard the batuques. They would scatter when the police approached and reconvene elsewhere to resume. In some cases, they responded to police repression with violence.[4]

Within the batuques gatherings, there were specific groups dedicated to a combat game known as pernada in Rio and batuque or batuque-boi in Salvador.[5]

In Bahia, the batuque dance evolved into various forms of samba,[6] while the combat game was gradually absorbed by the capoeira.[7] In the province of Rio Grande, batuque became the general term for Afro-Brazilian religion.[6]

  1. ^ Neto, Edgar Rodrigues Barbosa (2019), Gooren, Henri (ed.), "Batuque", Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions, Religions of the World, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 164–170, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-27078-4_537, ISBN 978-3-319-27078-4, retrieved 2023-10-13
  2. ^ Desch-Obi 2008, pp. 154.
  3. ^ Johnson 2002, p. 74.
  4. ^ a b Desch-Obi 2008, pp. 167.
  5. ^ Desch-Obi 2008, pp. 185.
  6. ^ a b Assunção 2002, pp. 41.
  7. ^ Assunção 2002, pp. 66.