Bilby,Kenneth M. (Author) and Neely,Daniel T. (Author)
Format:
Book, Section
Publication Date:
2009
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
The Anglophone Caribbean islands are host to a rich and diverse tradition of dances and dance music adopted from European ballroom traditions. These traditions should be seen less as examples of “assimilation” than as products of a shared history of creativity, struggle, and adaptation among the colonized. Thus, for example, the related “tambrin” tradition of the island of Tobago has served as a vehicle for spirit possession in ceremonies with clear African-derived elements.
Cyrille,Dominique (Author), Gidal,Marc Meistrich (Author), and Vaughan,Umi A. (Author)
Format:
Book, Section
Publication Date:
2009
Published:
Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
Explores the relationships between music, religious affiliations, and difference. The primary case study is the multi-ethnic, multi-class Afro-gaucho religious community in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The local term Afro-gaucho calls attention to African descendents in the region and their efforts to valorize their contributions to gaucho culture. Since a majority of the estimated 40,000 worship houses practice three religions (Batuque, Umbanda, and Quimbanda), participants use music to help segregate and mix the religions and their denominations.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
[Unedited] The méringue as a type of contredanse was the major social dance of Haiti. Related to other dance genres of the Caribbean, the méringue crossed the various class lines in Haiti. A fast tempo méringue would be danced by lower classes whereas a slower tempo would be heard in the salons of the middle and upper class. Subject matter for the lyrics could be political or social in nature. The contredanse was a prevalent dance found in Europe and then reshaped after its migration to Haiti. Some African influences can also be found, especially in the use of 5/8 meter, at least as transcribed by some of the ethnomusicologists in the field.
