Brazilian Jongo Dance, Origin Of The Samba, Part I

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part series on Brazilian Jongo music and dance. Part I provides information on Jongo and features four videos of Jongo.

Click http://zumalala.blogspot.com/2013/03/brazilian-jongo-dance-origin-of-samba_26.html for Part II.

Part II features five additional videos of Jongo.

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

The video publisher's text and the video titles are translated from Portuguese to English via Google Translate.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG
With considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on this blog (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com, because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs.

Comments for those blogs can be sent to my email address azizip17 dot com at yahoo dot com for possible inclusion in a specific post on those blogs.

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INFORMATION ABOUT JONGO
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jongo
"Jongo, also known as caxambu or tambu, is a dance and musical genre of black communities from southeast Brazil.
Jongo (da Serrinha) is an essentially rural cultural manifestation directly associated with the African culture in Brazil. The formation of samba carioca was heavily influenced by Jongo.

Inserting itself within the so-called ‘dances of the belly strike’ (however being related to the ‘Semba’ or ‘Masemba’ of Angola), the Jongo was brought to Brazil by Bantus. Generally, these Bantus were kidnapped in the ancient kingdoms of Ndongo and Kongo, which nowadays makes up most of the region of Angola.
Composed through characteristics of music and dance and animated by improvisational poets, the Jongo most likely has its origins in the traditional Angolan guessing games, the Jinongonongo. One essential characteristic of the Jongo is the utilization of symbols that, aside from maintaining rhythm, possess a magical function, apparently provoking paranormal phenomenon. Among the more evident ones, one can cite the fire, with which the instruments are tuned; the drums, that are considered to be ancestors of the community. the circular form of the dance with a couple in the middle, which refers to fertility; and not to forget, the rich metaphors used by the jongueiros (participants of the Jongo) in order to compose its main points and whose meaning is inaccessible to those not yet initiated.

These days, both men and women can participate in the Jongo, but this participation in its original form was very restricted to the initiated or the more experienced members"...

FEATURED VIDEOS
(These examples are posted in chronological order based on the date of their posting on YouTube with the oldest date presented first.)

Example #1: Jongo, the origins of samba



unaproducao, Uploaded on Feb 14, 2007

An exemple of joyfulness, drum beating and tradition of africa origin, Jongo is one of the greatest relics of Brazilian popular music and also considered one of the ancestors fo Samba.

This film is about the Jongo da Serrinha Group, created in 2000 in order to preserve the Jongo traditions.

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Example #2: Roda de Jongo- parte 1



Luiz Antonio Valladão, Uploaded on Nov 13, 2008

Roda de Jongo para festejar a colocação do mastro na igreja de São Benedito, em São José dos Campos, 09/11/2008, sob o comando do mestre jongueiro Laudeni de Souza.
-snip-
Wheel Jongo to celebrate the placement of the mast in the church of St. Benedict, in São José dos Campos, 09/11/2008, under the command of Master jongueiro Laudeni de Souza.
-snip-
"Roda" is also translated in English as "circle", in this context meaning a dance performed in a circle formed by people.

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dan7KyEwRVk for part 2 of this video. That video focuses on the drums played for Jongo.

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Example #3: Jongo do Sudeste - Parte 1 [Jongo Southeast]



Iphangovbr, Uploaded on Apr 28, 2010

O jongo é um estilo musical que foi reconhecido e registrado pelo Iphan como patrimônio imaterial brasileiro.
Este bem cultural foi registrado em 15/12/2005.
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The jongo is a musical style that was recognized and registered by the Brazilian Iphan* as intangible heritage.

This cultural asset was recorded on 15/12/2005.
-snip-
Iphan= Instituto de Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional - (Brazilian} Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage

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Example #4: Jongo do Sudeste - Parte 2 [Jongo Southeast]



Iphangovbr, Uploaded on Apr 28, 2010
-snip-
The summary for this video is the same as Part I.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the vocalists, musicians, and dancers who are featured in these videos. My thanks also to the authors of the Wikipedia article and publishers of these videos.

Thank you for visiting zumalayah [zoom-mah-LAH-yah].

Zumalayah showcases videos of dances & singing games done in circles or in lines, and other movement performance arts from African American culture, from African cultures, and from other cultures of the African Diaspora.

Viewer comments are welcome.