Brazil, an african heritage, on board the Rhapsody (Documentary, Discovery, History)

bye [Music] five centuries after its accidental discovery by the portuguese navigator pedro alvarez cabral brazil is still a country that stirs the imagination beyond its natural resources brazil's greatest wealth is its population its 180 million inhabitants are the fruit of an ethnic blend of amerindian and european but also african ancestry the african connection born from slavery has undoubtedly contributed the most to the present-day brazilian identity skin color religious practices cuisine dance and of course music are all fundamental components of brazilian culture that have their roots in the heart of the african continent [Music] at the heart it's african music music of african origins [Applause] [Music] [Music] we continued our maritime route straight across the open sea until the tuesday following easter when we met with signs of land thursday morning the 23rd of april 1500 the caravels were sent forward and we dropped anchor to the right of a river mouth from there we could see men coming and going on the shore their copper-skinned bodies were completely naked with nothing to cover their private parts they were carrying bows and arrows this is how pedro vastikamina sailing on cabral's caravel in that april 1500 related the discovery of brazil in his logbook when the portuguese first arrived they discovered a region covered by a vast forest of native trees brazil brazil brazil and the beaches were thick with cashew trees it was only later that they planted coconut trees at the beginning there was a war a war for the control of the territory the portuguese took over the olinda hills and from there they conquered the amerindian tribes and in particular in 1576 alinda was still very sparsely populated every three months the few inhabitants would watch the caravals approach but since there was no harbor they couldn't put in atalinda and the ships would continue on to receive racif foreign as the venice of south america for its many bridges is a modern city of close to two million inhabitants thanks to its position jutting out into the atlantic ocean in the northeast of the country close to both lisbon and the portuguese trading posts in africa on the sea routes to south america receive became the major city during the early period of colonization for the pioneering caravels right down to the great clippers at the end of the 19th century all the sea routes between europe and brazil led to receive the opening of the panama canal at the beginning of the 20th century and more recently the rise in commercial air traffic have reduced the transatlantic sea traffic now only the rare cruise ship reliving a page of history and a few cargo ships put in at receive [Music] receipt a microcosm of all brazil is a melting pot society of amerindian european and african influences these roots can be seen of course in the physical traits of the population but are also found in many everyday gestures like buying remedies made from medicinal plants a legacy from the tupi guarani indians the original native population of the region surrounded by these elegant colorful homes dating back to the dutch occupation of the 17th century the market stands are chock full of surprising shapes colors and aromas [Music] [Music] in addition to the colors and rhythms the blending of the european amerindian and african influences also shows up in the religious practices the statuettes for example which represent the deities of khan dombley a syncretic religion born from the marriage of christianity and african animism wait patiently among the fruit and vegetables for the interested customer to buy them the portuguese first crew sugar cane which originally came from southeast asia on the island of madera then in their african possessions of sautome and guinea before bringing it to brazil in the mid 16th century at first the portuguese colonists used indian slaves on the labor-intensive sugar plantations but the indians called negros tatera were not very robust and they died off from disease were exterminated or fled to the protection of the jesuits in the south so african slaves were imported to brazil on a small scale at first then in great numbers from the 18th century on music and dance are two of the major contributions that africa has made to brazil the maracatu originally practiced by the slaves is a dance that accompanied the coronation ceremonies of the kings of the congo it's still very important in the northeast of brazil in aliensa in the province of prenambuco one of the most original forms of this traditional dance lives on the rural maracatu born from the meeting of the mamilucos the indian white half breeds and the blacks who came to live on their plantations the rural maracatu is one of the few examples of a cultural fusion between african slaves and amerindians each participant dons the ceremonial costume of the role he will be playing in the procession [Music] for all the participants peasants for the most part the rural maracatu is the only time they really have fun among themselves they call it the toy my work i cut the grass i grow manioc macasera potatoes the cuantro con [Music] beans led by mateo a kind of harlequin clown figure the procession is at last getting underway all around you you have the caboclos straight from the world of the amerindian they protect the royal procession they frighten off the evil spirits with their spears and the bells attached to their costumes the cabocho sorcerers with their headdress of peacock feathers make up the royal guard of the king and queen who are at the center of the procession sheltered by an umbrella held by a slave [Music] the band composed of brass and percussion accompanies the lead soulists improvisations which are then taken up by the chorus [Music] [Applause] [Music] the royal procession moves and stops to the orders given by a whistle and the ceremony will last for several hours [Music] so is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the high point of the sugar industry was at the beginning of the 17th century at that time there were 350 plantations in just the two provinces of pernambuco and bahia the slave trade flourished and became very organized sailing from lisbon the slave ships would take on their human cargo in the gulf of guinea then would head west towards receive salvador and later rio de janeiro after a brutal voyage the survivors were assigned to a plantation separated from their families and ethnic groups from that point on they became the property of their master this used to be a sugar plantation there are a number of different buildings on the property housing the people who lived or worked on the plantation first you have the church but it would come to pray and receive spiritual guidance where the owner lived then the conquest of angola at the end of the 16th century led to the importation of close to 13 000 bantu's a year the slaves that arrived in with answers a stockier more robust african tribe this plantation like most of the others had between 100 and 150 slaves but some of the bigger plantations the survival of these african slaves from different ethnic groups and without a common language depended largely on their ability to adapt to this new country where unlike the amerindian slaves they had no roots or reference points crushed by the backbreaking toil the slaves life expectancy was between five and eight years [Music] this was a land of suffering and dreams the others toil and suffering [Music] [Music] as we leave recife and head towards salvador de bahia the captain of the rhapsody recalls the courage of those navigators who after an extremely perilous ocean crossing explored the coastline of brazil five centuries ago i think those early european explorers the spanish the italians the portuguese some kind of miracle when they left europe to strike out on the unknown sea now we have incredible ships equipped with all the most modern sophisticated instruments when i think of how they had to navigate back then centuries ago the rudimentary means they used to sail the seas [Music] [Music] when the italian navigator amerigo vespucci sailed into this natural harbor on november 1st 1501 all saints day he decided to christen it san salvador di baia de toros osantos all saints pay the rare sailboats that put into the harbor of salvador di baia now have not braved the perilous ocean they've just sailed in from a little village of potter's a few dozen miles away to deliver their goods to the big sound joking market the cruise ships which are more numerous every year put in at the commercial port where the cargo ships latin with sugarcane leave for europe [Music] all right was the capital of colonial brazil until 1763. this simple fact plus the needs of the expanding sugar industry made salvador the slavery center of all brazil today africa is under present in salvador de bahia in its inhabitants in its music and in its religion and then there's also the busy market of san joaquin where you can find not only sugarcane and a colorful variety of fruit and vegetables but also coriander hot peppers okra and palm oil all these products are part of the african slaves influence on the cuisine of bahia the african cultural legacy goes well beyond the culinary habits it has influenced all aspects of the bayin society from the most commonplace to the most sacred even the place names are the fruit of this interbreeding the plaza terero de jesus for example located in the heart of the colonial town links the name of jesus with terrero a place of worship of khan dombley the major afro-brazilian religion in bahia this blending pervades the atmosphere the air itself as african percussions echo off the facades of the baroque and rococo churches one of the buildings on the terrero de jesus houses the afro-brazilian museum raimundo one of the candomble dignitaries has oddly enough never visited this museum and yet the statuettes the musical instruments the sacred objects and the costumes can give us a better understanding of how condomle is related or rather descended from certain african religions [Music] is an integral part of the baines's daily life and most of them worship both in church and in the terrero the has a large circle of assistance these deacons are called tata in the language of angola and the congo to become a tattoo a person has to be chosen and initiated by the tata the slaves forced to adopt the religion of their masters continued to practice their african rites in secret far from the gold and ostentatious riches of the baroque churches symbols of the colonial power as they were passed down from generation to generation the animistic rights appropriated certain conventions and rituals from the catholic religion but for the most part these afro-brazilian religions like candomble have preserved their identity this home in one of salvador's poorer neighborhoods houses a terrero the maya dos santo the mother of the saints a veritable high priestess pays homage to the divine spirits to which these little altars are dedicated the time for the ceremony is drawing near the final preparations they cut the sticks that the musicians will use to beat the skins of the atabac and the illus the drums that will rhythm the dancers and back up the sacred chants [Music] [Applause] [Music] conducts the ceremony enchants in yoruba the language of their ancestors then the other members take up the chant [Music] little by little the sacred chants along with the pulsing rhythms induce a state of trance [Music] [Music] dress like the orisha the divinity that possesses them the initiates enter into the dance [Music] so the district of pelourinho completely restored and now clashed a world heritage site by the unesco is the heart of the old colonial town in just a few years pelourinho with its multicolored houses has become the town's main tourist attraction [Music] even though souvenir shops and restaurants serving the famous mokika one of the treasures of bayani's cooking have proliferated the soul of the quarter has remained unchanged it's easy to prove it all you have to do is take a stroll by the front of rosario dos pereno's church on the feast day of santa barbara this church was built by slaves during the colonial period the blacks didn't feel at home in the other churches so they constructed their own [Music] yes and it continues to be their symbol of emancipation [Music] it's a catholic mass but the liturgy is accompanied by objects of african culture those instruments all these instruments come from african culture they're all used in candomble ceremonies as well [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Applause] there's a very clear-cut dichotomy in the minds of the church intellectuals but for the people the question doesn't even cross their minds the people are inhabited by faith and religious mysticism so the people who want to live their religion to the fullest attend services both at santa barbara church it's condomly twin sister santa barbara [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] the fortifications that tower up in certain spots recall the strategic importance of all saints bay there are vestiges of the colonial period and in particular the dutch attacks of the 17th century an attempt to seize the province which at the time was the center of the world sugar industry there are no longer any foreign powers seeking to conquer the bay the coastline stretching out to either side of the old town is now only a series of little fishing villages and beaches where the bayerneys come to relax with their families in the evenings and on weekends [Music] yeah foreign the bayonese are like all brazilians enthusiastic soccer fans but they're also very fond of capoeira i've been to africa but i didn't see any caprera there capuera has of course evolved since the time the africans are enslaved and loaded onto their slave ships by the colonials colonized okay for initiatives the brazilian blacks realized they could transform capoeira into a martial art uh symbol of the struggle against the colonial oppression against the yoke of the plantation owners each session of capoeira opens with an incantation in europa accompanied by tambourines and the bering bao a musical bow with its metal wire and a calabash for a sounding box [Music] [Applause] [Music] philosophically it's like a physical dialogue where one person's movement is the question and the others is the answer to that [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] i can't say that slavery no longer exists in present-day brazil and along with the growth of this new form of slavery we have a new way of practicing capoeira continues to be a way of working and struggling towards the emancipation of black people [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the last stop on our voyage in quest of brazil's african roots is rio de janeiro even though brasilia has taken over its position as capital and it has never had the economic clout of sao paulo in the eyes of the whole world rio is still the symbol of brazil the name of rio de janeiro most often associated with carnival bossa nova the beaches of copacabana and ipanema sugarloaf mountain and corcovado evokes a certain frivolity and yet rio's history like that of racife and salvador is steeped in colonization slavery and therefore africa with the transfer of power from salvador de billa to rio de janeiro the thriving period of colonialism associated with the sugar industry came to an end the 19th century ushered in the era of industrial capitalism and its european models in the course of this profound transformation rio de janeiro and its inhabitants the cariocas seem to have forgotten their african past it was probably the immigrants from the north east who brought their beliefs and traditions with them that enabled rio to reconnect with its black roots from the air one is of course struck by the magnificent view of the bay of rio but also by two images two symbols first the cathedral the architectural expression of a church seeking its role in the modern world then the maracana stadium veritable pagan temple to the gods of soccer far from the stadiums copacabana a place for family outings the children play soccer of course but the garota the pretty girls seem more concerned about their tan than the athletic prowess of their carioca husbands [Music] to meet the true soccer aficionados you have to go to the stadium here we're watching the flamingo the team where the world famous ronaldo made his debut today it's just two amateur teams playing but so what up with the stands there's just as much enthusiasm [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] it's the most important thing in the world [Laughter] it starts with a cup we are samba while awaiting carnival and samba fever the very elegant ipanema promenade is alive with maracato cablocos and capuera a veritable palette of dances and rhythms from the northeastern provinces [Music] we know about the african ancestry of the maracatu but what about the samba born in rio [Music] at the beginning of the 20th century there was a fusion the rhythm of the samba developed in the terribles of condomly in the festivities it's the result of european influence but its [Music] except for those with family ties to the uganda and the condomly are very influenced by american rhythms that's why certain summer schools go out of their way to recruit the teenagers and can even be somewhat authoritarian in teaching them the importance of keeping in touch with their roots the first school opened in 1928 then year after year a number of schools grew along with the carnival the most important schools which had 400 members of the 1950s now count close to four thousand even the middle side schools like tijuca are run like veritable industries we start work at the beginning of august with a skeleton crew of 50 to 100 people then as the carnival gets nearer the crew gets bigger i would say that one month before carnival there'll be 500 people working full given the portuguese origins of brazil our school's theme this year will be the spread of the portuguese language throughout so the world school will pay homage to the portuguese language we'll show how the portuguese navigators struck out from portugal in their caravels to spread their language to the four corners of the planet between the portuguese discoverers and the black africans so this float is a homage to angola mozambique cape verde santa and principe and guinea-bissau as soon one carnival is over in fact we take a 15-day break and then we start planning for the next one so a carnival is 12 months of work we work 12 months a year at the end of the day when the rays of the setting sun give a golden glow to the sky of ipanema rio is one enormous party [Music] the failed san cristobal is a big event for all the nordistans the people from bernambuco and even bahia get together in this popular friendly atmosphere to dance the photo all through the night they take time out between two photos to enjoy a real steak or some manioc bread a reminiscence of the time when the faera was only a huge food market [Music] the photo with its up close and personal style is no longer restricted to the migrants from the northeast more and more cariocas come on weekends to party at the northeastern market [Music] as the pulsing rhythms of the photo fade into the distance the members of the tijuca samba school are getting together somewhere on the other side of town as carnival approaches they rehearse more and more frequently once a week the tajuka has open rehearsals to bring a bit of money into the school treasury [Music] yeah on the day of carnival each school will parade past the jury and be marked on different aspects of their production the beauty of the floats and costumes the quality of the choreography certain aspects are particularly important the rhythm section which can number up to 300 drummers and percussionists the grace and agility of the star couple made up of a master of ceremonies and a standard bearer [Music] in the front part of the percussion section the musicians vibe with each other in virtuosity with tamarinds the rico rickle and the quicker [Music] while behind the cerdo keep the sambar [Music] [Applause] [Music] rhythm [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] now in the serenity of dawn when the hectic beach of copacabana seems to bathe in a calm of another age before the colonization one has to admit that from the maracatu of recife and the samba of rio to the afoshay that rhythms the condomly rituals of salvador the blood of africa has never ceased to pulse in the veins of brazil [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Stop Over - Documentary, Discovery, History

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Id: w6gZD2iDPCI

Length: 54min 7sec (3247 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 18 2013