Bumba-meu-Boi (a folk dance and pageant in Northeastern Brazil in
which the townsfolk take part) is one of Brazil’s most aesthetically and
socially significant folguedos (traditional
street festivals) that involve music, poetry and theater. The term ‘Bumba’ is an interjection, which
indicates a roar, a knock, or an invitation to dance. Bumba-meu-Boi is a kind of folk opera, the content of which
develops around the legend of a rancher who is the owner of a beautiful and
intelligent ox (boi in Portuguese)
that knew how to dance. One of his cowboys steals the ox in order to fulfill
his pregnant wife’s craving, who feels like she must eat the ox’s tongue or
else she’ll lose her baby. The rancher notices the disappearance of the ox and,
with the help of Indians and Caboclos
(Brazilians of mixed European and Indian ancestry), finds out that the ox is
already dead. The animal is brought back to life and starts to dance again,
after some help from spiritual entities.
The oldest reference to a performance
of Bumba-meu-Boi dates back to 1840,
found in the January 1st, 1840 edition of the newspaper ‘O Carapuceiro’ in Recife, capital of the
state of Pernambuco (Barroso: 1996, page 43). There is a consensus among
scholars (Andrade: 1968, Barroso: 1996, Brandão: 1962, Mello: 1946) stating,
however, that this festivity appeared in the Brazilian Northeast of Brazil at
the end of the seventeenth Century, with the first appearance of cattle as an
economic factor in the process of populating the backlands. Along with that,
there appeared collections of ballad poetry (known as romanceiros) dedicated to life, passion and death of oxen with
famous names and known for their bravery. Barroso (1996: 42) also formulates
the hypothesis of Bumba-meu-Boi originally
being part of a Reisado (small
theatrical groups who go into streets to dance and sing on the eve of the
Epiphany), who united their intermezzos
(interludes) to form a single folguedo
in which bumba-meu-Boi would be the
main feature (there are still many locations in the Northeast of Brazil today
where “Reisados” are called “Bois.” Through migration, this form of
entertainment spread throughout other states under different names (Bumba-meu-Boi in the state of Maranhão, Boi Bumba in the states of Amazonas and
Pará, Boi Surubim, Boi Calemba, and Boi de Reis in the Northeastern states, Boi de Mamão in the state of Santa Catarina, and Bumba or Boisinho in the state of Rio Grande do Sul), as well as different
forms of performance, costumes, characters, music, dance, props, and differentiated themes, as well as
the season of its performance during the June Festivities (Festas Juninas) or the Epiphany (in January). Told and retold in
oral tradition, this founding legend acquires contours of satire, comedy and
tragedy, introducing allegoric characters where conflict almost always has a
happy outcome.
The Parintins Festival (on Tupinanbarana Island, state of Amazonas) is today
considered one of the most popular events in Latin America, and is centered on
the performance of Boi Bumbá. The
town gathers over 35,000 people at the Bumbódromo
(a kind of parade stadium) to watch the dispute between participants of the
drama about twos oxen (bois) named ‘Garantido’ (with a predominantly red color) and ‘Caprichoso’ (with a predominantly blue color). The two rival groups
march under special lighting and sound effects for around 3 hours, singing of
the feats of the two animals (represented by an enormous puppet in the shape of
an ox with a person inside its body controlling the dance), and the legends,
myths and modes of life of the forest peoples. The orchestra of each group has
more than 400 rhythm-makers. Along with various metallic instruments and
indigenous idiophones (including the pau
d’água, which imitates the sound of rainfall; and the xeque-xeque, a type of
rattle), are drums called treme-terra
(trembling earth), made from oil barrels, which provide the backbone of rhythm
in the orchestras of both groups.
In the Bumba-meu-Boi of Maranhão state, there
is no rivalry between the groups and the costume colors are left to the
discretion, taste and purchasing power of each association. In addition,
performances are given in town squares and streets. The festivities go from
June to September, when the death of the Boi
is celebrated. The fabric that covers the framework of the animal is removed so
it can be painted and embroidered again during the following year, and new
tunes are composed, thus renewing the cycle of celebration. The confluence of
Amerindian, African and European ethnicities is perceived through the
orchestral instruments, costumes, choreography and melodies of cowboys’ calls
and tunes. But it is mainly the rhythm and the timbre of instruments that makes
the difference between the different styles (accents) of Bumba-meu-Boi. The ‘Bois’
of São Luís Island (where the state capital of Maranhão is located) are
characterized by the use of matracas: percussion instruments made from wooden
blocks derived primarily from a local hardwood tree called pau-d’arco (yellow trumpet tree) and played by striking one block against
the other (known as the ‘matraca
accent’). In addition, they also use maracas (made from tin cans full of lead
shot or seeds), as well as the tambor
onça, or ‘jaguar drum’ (a type of gourd played by pulling a small rod that
is attached to a piece of leather inside instrument, imitating the bellowing
sound of the ox) and the pandeirões
(big tambourines). There are also ‘Bois’
accented with the zabumba (a large
drum of African origin, also known as bombo).
These are typical of the town of Guimarães, located in the northwestern part of
the state. They also use the maracas, the ‘jaguar drums’ as well as the ‘fire
drum’ (tambor de fogo), which is made
of a wood log covered by ox leather attached by tuning pegs. The Boi orchestra has a widely varied
instrumentation and uses metal percussion instruments, plus banjos and tarol drums. In all Bumba-meu-Boi groups in the state of Maranhão, the use of
polyrhythm is a given, characterizing the rhythm of the music used.
In Florianópolis, capital
city of Santa Catarina state, the Boi de
Mamão is performed in public squares in January (as part of the Epiphany
celebrations). Each neighborhood presents its version of the drama. A musical
group made up of guitars, ukuleles, and sometimes wind instruments and
percussion instruments, accompanies the melodies (with about 12 bars, a range
limited to a maximum of 7 notes, and with harmonies in the I-IV-V-I degrees),
which identify each character in the story. The use of animal allegories
(bears, giraffes, or fantastic animals, as in the case of Beluga, a kind of lizard that swallows children), masqueraders, and
folkloric groups from the city is also frequent.
Despite being old, the Bumba-meu-Boi drama in the Northeast
still maintains a strong involvement with the life of small places. The
tendency towards entertainment and comedy with ironies and social criticisms,
the longer dialogues and the less exuberant instrumentation are some of the
most remarkable aspects. In the state of Amazonas, the spectacles—which
characterize the Boi-bumbá, the
lighting and sound effects, the transformation of the singers (cowboys and
ranchers) into true regional idols, the exaggeration in the number of
characters, the dispute between rival groups, and its use by the tourism
industry—have become distanced from the original Northeastern event. The
variety of colors, the timbre of the caboclas’
voices, the strong use of percussion, and the gradual deterioration of
dialogues in function of the presentation of the danced parts, the cowboys’
calls and chants are part of the characteristics of the Bumba-meu-Boi from Maranhão. But it is the use of Bumba-meu-Boi by the government in
political campaigns that has differentiated it from the similar spectacles in
other parts of Brazil.
Bibliography.
Alvarenga, Oneyda. 1982. Música Popular Brasileira. [Brazilian Popular Music]. São Paulo.
Livraria Duas Cidades.
Andrade, Mário de. 1968. Danças Dramáticas do Brasil (3º vol.) [Brazilian Drama Dances]. São
Paulo. Livraria Martins Editora.
_______1968. As
Melodias do Boi. [The Ox Melodies] 1968. São Paulo. Livraria Duas Cidades.
Barroso, Oswald. 1966. Reis de Congo. [Congo Kings]. Fortaleza-Ceará. MIS-Museu da Imagem
e do Som.
Borba Filho, Hermílio. 1982. Apresentação do Bumba Meu Boi [Presenting Bumba Meu Boi]. Recife.
Editora Guararapes.
Brandão, Théo. 1962. ‘Um Auto Popular Brasileiro na
Alagoas’ [A Brazilian Popular Drama] in Separata do Boletim nº 10 do Instituto
Joaquim Nabuco de Pesquisa Social. Recife- Pernambuco. Instituto Joaquim
Nabuco.
Cascudo, Luiz da Câmara. 1954. Dicionário do Folclore Brasileiro [Brazilian Dictionary of
Folklore]. Rio de Janeiro. Edições de Ouro.
______1956. As
Tradições Populares na Pecuária Nordestina [Popular Traditions in
Northeastern Cattle-Raising]. Rio de Janeiro. Ministério da Agricultura.
Colonelli, Cristina Argenton. 1979. Bibliografia do Folclore Brasileiro [Bibliography
of Brazilian Folklor]. São Paulo. Conselho Estadual de Arte e Ciências Humanas.
Meyer, Marlise. 1990. ‘O Elemento fantástico numa forma
de teatro popular brasileiro’ [A Fantastic Element in a Form of Brazilian
Popular Theater] In Pirineus e
Caiçaras... Da Commedia dell’arte ao Bumba-meu Boi. São Paulo. Editora da
Unicamp.
Morais, F. Mello. 1946. Festas e Tradições Populares
Brasileiras [Brazilian Festivities and Popular Traditions]. Rio de Janeiro.
Editores Briguet & Cia.
Mukuna, Kasadi Wa. 1986. ’Bumba meu Boi in Maranhão’
In Einfühung in Musiktraditionen
Brasiliens. Mainz- Deutschland. Welt Musik. Schott.
Prado, Regina de Paula Santos. 1977. Todo ano tem: as festas na estrutura social
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Discographycal References.
Bumba-meu-Boi de Morros. LP. N.n. 1990. Brazil
Bumba-meu-Boi-sotaque de
Pindaré. LP. Phonogram/
Secretaria de Cultura do Estado do Maranhão. 1972.Brazil.
Carrapicho-festa do Boi Bumbá. RCA-CD 1996. Brazil.
Fafá de Belém ao vivo 2007 EMI/ Caiapó. Código de barra:
5099950987191. 2007. Brazil.
Filmography.
Bumba-meu-Boi. CPCE/UnB 1990. Brazil.
Auto do Bumba-meu-Boi da Fé
em Deus (sotaque de Zabumba).
Secretaria de Cultura do Estado do Maranhão. Comissão maranhense de Folclore.
1998. Brazil.
Parintins-Vamos brincar de
Boi. publicação anual. Amazon SAT. Rêde Amazônica.
2002. Brazil
Boi de Matraca (Madre de
Deus). Realização Kasadi
Wa Mukuna. 1986.Brazil.
Vermelho. Fafá de Belém. ao
vivo no Theatro da Paz (Belém-Pa) Caiapó. 2007. Brazil.
Mércia Pinto.
University of Brasília.
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