Associated with the festivals of devotion to Catholic saints, Marabaixo, a cultural manifestation that brings together dance, music and song, is presently related to the social identity of Amapá state. Occurring frequently in the capital, especially in the districts of Laguinho and Favela, and in the Curiaú community, located 8km from Macapá, Marabaixo can also be found in the state’s interior1.
No one knows for sure the origin of the term Marabaixo, and there are several versions regarding its appearance. One is that Marabaixo was created by black Africans brought in the mid-18th century for the construction of the St Joseph of Macapá Fortress, which is why their laments are reflected in the lyrics and the swaying of the ship on the long journey across the Atlantic Ocean (mar-a-baixo = ‘sea below’) in the rhythm. Another is that the Marabaixo was an adaptation of the ‘cocos’ danced in Africa, modified by difficult crossing on slave ships, which brought the mournful tone to the lyrics sung. As for the name, according to Nunes Pereira (1989, p.19), “nothing is known with certainty about its origin, which some said to be of Bantu origin.” And he asks, “Is it connected, by chance, to the long and dramatic crossings of the Atlantic, to the marine currents and trade winds, for the slave labour regime, or as a Portuguese expression of abandonment and doom?” (PEREIRA, 1989, p.20).
This cultural manifestation is directly linked to places occupied by black populations, whose narratives refer to the process of occupying the territory of Amapá, such as the urban reform that took place in the 1940s, when blacks residing in the central area of the capital were removed to a region further away in order to make room for a “new” city. The verses of Marabaixo songs, known as ‘Ladrões’ (thieves), tell the story of those who produce and reproduce it, and consequently, the place and the society in which they live, orally transmitting their memory across generations. “Aonde tu vai rapais” (Where You Goin’, Bro) is one of the most emblematic Ladrões:
Aonde tu vai rapais (Where you goin’, bro)
Por esses campos sosinho (Through these fields alone)
Vou construir minha morada (I’m gonna build my home)
Lá nos campos do Laguinho (There in the fields of Laguinho)
A Avenida Getulio Vargas (Getulio Vargas Avenue)
Tá ficando que é um primor (Is becoming a masterpiece)
Essas casas foram feitas (These houses were made)
P’ra só morá os douto (For only the rich to live)
(PEREIRA, 1989, p.103)
A practice with a strong black influence associated with popular Catholicism, it can be understood as
a hybrid manifestation resulting from the meeting of different ethnicities interacting in the same social context. If, on one hand, various saints from the Catholic pantheon are cited in songs, on the other, the Marabaixo dance itself is a mockery of the days of slavery when blacks were chained to a central trunk and danced rotating around the pole anticlockwise. (ACIOLLY; SALLES, 2012, p. 3).
What today is called the Marabaixo Cycle, established by State Law No. 0845/2004, starts on Holy Saturday and continues up to the festivals dedicated to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity, celebrated forty days after the Easter Sunday. Set in the cultural calendar of Amapá, practitioner groups receive support and financial incentives from government agencies, unlike years ago, when the community was responsible for finding resources, organising logistics and conducting the festival.
Masts, banners, altars, crowns, myrtle, beverages, food, clothing and instruments are key elements of Marabaixo. The masts, made from tree trunks taken from the forest, can be understood as a link between heaven and Earth, or as a marker that demonstrates the realisation of a festival in devotion to a particular saint. Two masts are made for each saint – one decorated with myrtle and another painted with the representative colours of the saint – with the flag of their respective saint at their top. According to the Marabaixo Dossier (IPHAN, 2013a, p.48), the flags are
of great importance, often preserved for generations, they are the group’s identity, the document of its presence. This is why they are at the head of the group when it is in procession, not only identifying the group and its devotion, but also as an instrument of protection and blessing, hence the custom of it being kissed and waved effusively in processions.
To receive Marabaixo celebrations, each individual or association mounts an altar on which to place the crown, usually made of a silvery metal, which is covered by promissory ribbons. In addition to the altars, other modifications are made in the space where the Marabaixo nights will occur, for example ornamenting the ceiling with paper and coloured ribbons.
Marabaixo groups, which can have up to seventy components, perform with percussion instruments (drums) called ‘caixas’ (boxes), commonly made by the players themselves, which are in the circle’s centre. The singers sing the ladrões and the dancers – wearing flowery billowing skirts, frilly blouses and wearing necklaces, bracelets and a flower in their hair – dance in a circle in a counter-clockwise direction around the musicians. Meat and vegetable soup and ‘gingibirra’, a drink made of ginger and cachaça, are served to the public and Marabaixo performers.
Generally, the festival begins with the removal of the mast of the forest, on ‘Mast Saturday’. Then on ‘Mast Sunday’, the mast goes through the community’s streets in procession. On ‘Murta Wednesday’, another procession is held, this time with myrtle (an aromatic herb that is believed to have purifying qualities) in hand. The next day, ‘Time Thursday’, at dawn after a night of festivities, the mast is decorated with myrtle and erected in front of the house of the individual or association, to the sound of fireworks. Until the taking down of the mast, at the end of cycle, there are litanies, novenas and feasts with Marabaixo performances at the headquarters of the associations or the house of individuals. On the festival’s last day, the individual for the next year is chosen.
In the state’s interior, Marabaixo occurs throughout the year in community centres or on public grounds according to the saint’s day calendar of each community and/or municipality, for example St Joseph, St Thomas, St Mary, as well as the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity.
Like other cultural events, Marabaixo has been transformed over the years, as much in the content of its lyrics and rhythm of the drums and dance, as in the way or periods of its performance. From the 1980s, when there was a type of resurgence of traditions, Marabaixo attracted the interest of young people, whose presence is changing the themes of the Ladrões, which now speak more of pride than regret. New groups have been formed since then. The existing ones have seen new members arrive. Today, dissociated with holy festivals, Marabaixo is also present in the city’s anniversary celebration, in schools or at the airport to welcome tourists.
With the passage of time, with the improvement of the children and grandchildren’s social conditions and with the distance of the direct memory of slavery greatly increasing, from a context of oppression to a time when individuals and institutions are more attentive to social rights, the status of black people underwent a positive evaluation and Marabaixo became a worthwhile activity and source of distinction not only for the performers, but for the whole of Amapá society. Such that this lament was giving way to a more relaxed, more festive practice that celebrated the status achieved and more aware of the possibility of fighting for tradition, than the passive acceptance of domination. (IPHAN, 2013a, p. 39).
Marginal, the manifestation has become the reference for black identity and the identity of the state of Amapá itself. In 2008, it was considered an historical and cultural asset of the State of Amapá by Law 1,263 on 2 October. In 2010, State Law No. 1,521 established 16 June as the Amapá Marabaixo State Day.
Recife, 26 March 2014.
Translated by Peter Leamy, May 2015.
sources consulted
ACIOLLY, Sheila M.; SALLES, Sandro G. Marabaixo: identidade social e etnicidade na música negra do Amapá. 2012. Available at: <http://encipecom.metodista.br/mediawiki/images/5/56/GT2-002-Marabaixo-Sheila_e_Sandro.pdf>. Accessed: 24 mar. 2014.
IPHAN. Dossiê do Marabaixo. Macapá, 2013a. Available only in digital media.
IPHAN. Inventário das referências culturais do Marabaixo do Amapá. Macapá, 2013b. Available only in digital media.
PEREIRA, Nunes. O sahiré e o marabaixo: tradições da Amazônia. Recife: FUNDAJ, Editora Massangana, 1989.
TAMBORES no meio do mundo: o rufar da cidadania. Macapá: Seafro, 2012. Available at: <http://pt.scribd.com/doc/142747357/Folh-Tambores-no-meio-do-mundo-o-rufar-da-cidadania-GEA-2012>. Accessed: 21 mar. 2014.
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Source: MORIM, Júlia. Marabaixo. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Joaquim Nabuco Foundation, Recife. Available at: <https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/>. Accessed: day month year. Ex: 6 ago. 2009.