Vou fazer uma canção em louvor ao santo preto
Canta, povo bragantino: bendito, oh! bendito.
Quando chegar dezembro
Qual é o santo que está no andor?
É são Benedito com Nosso Senhor.
Marujada de são Benedito
em louvor ao protetor
vem vestindo azul ou vermelho carmim na festa
no barracão dança xote, mazurca e chorado
nos duzentos anos de louvação
mas fico mesmo encantado
quando dança retumbão
I will sing in praise of the black saint
Sing, Bragantine people, blessed, oh! blessed.
When December comes
Which saint is in the manger?
It is St Benedict with our Lord.
The Marujada of St Benedict
in praise of the protector
comes wearing blue or red carmine to the festival
in the shed xote, mazurca and chorado are danced
in two hundred years of worship
but even I am delighted
when retumbão is danced
(Marujada de São Benedito, by group Arraial do Pavulagem)
The foundation of the Brotherhood of the Glorious Saint Benedict of Bragança marks the beginning of the Marujada of Bragança. In 1798, slaves had their masters’ permission to create the organization and praise the Black Saint: St Benedict. In gratitude, they went from door to door celebrating. Since then, over more than two hundred years, the Marujada occurs within the Feast of the Glorious Saint Benedict, which takes place from 18 to 26 December and involves the residents of Bragança, a city located in north-eastern Pará, not only during the party but also in the preparations that occur throughout the year.
In May the esmolação period begins, when a party leaves the region with St Benedict image collecting donations for the festival. 8 December has a fluvial procession from Camutá to the port of Bragança. On the even dates during the week leading up to the festival, there are Marujada rehearsals in the St Benedict’s Church hall. On 18 December, the festival officially starts at dawn, 5am, when the maypole is raised and ‘marujos’ or ‘sailors’ walk barefoot to the Church of St Benedict. The Marujada presentations continue until the closing ceremony on 26 December.
Organized by the Brotherhood, the Marujada is almost entirely made up of women, who assume its direction. The highest office in the Marujada’s hierarchy, which is life-long, is that of ‘capitoa’ (captain), usually occupied by the oldest member of the group, who parades carrying a golden staff symbolizing her authority. At the next level is the ‘subcapitoa’ (sub-captain), who is chosen by the captain and is her successor. The men, ‘marujos’ or ‘sailors’ led by a captain, participate as players or companions.
Wearing white blouses, a red ribbon band and a fabric rose, a long red, blue or white skirt and a flamboyant hat adorned with ribbons (the older the hat, the more ribbons) and feathers, the marujas visit the homes, as in the first festival, dancing or walking in two rows along the city streets. Leading the rows are the capitoa and subcapitoa. Accompanying them are the marujos, dressed in white pants and shirts, playing drums, tambourines, guitars, violas and fiddles. On 25 December, the skirts of the marujas and the marujos’ shirts are blue. On the 26th, the marujas’ skirts and the ribbon tied onto the sailors’ arms are red. The predominant rhythm of Marujada is retumbão, but during the celebration there are also performances of xote, chorado, mazurca, each associated with a specific dance.
Also integrated into moments of the festival praising St Benedict are the cavalhada (rodeo), on the 25th, and the auction and procession on the 26th. In the rodeo, riders compete for blue and red rings, the winner being the one who obtains the highest number of rings. The auction is the time that participants raise donations for the Church to carry out the festival. The procession is a solemn time of worship when the Black Saint proceeds through the city, ending with a mass. The lowering of the maypole marks the end of the religious celebration.
It is thought that more than eighty thousand people head to Bragança to attend the celebration, considered a Cultural Heritage of Pará by State Law no. 7330 on 17 November 2009.
Recife, 27 May 2014.
Translated by Peter Leamy, March 2015.
sources consulted
CARVALHO, Gisele Maria de Oliveira. A “festa do santo preto”: tradição e percepção da Marujada Bragantina. Dissertação (Mestrado em Desenvolvimento Sustentável) – Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, 2010. Available at: <http://repositorio.unb.br/bitstream/10482/7940/1/
2010_GiseleMariadeOliveiraCarvalho.pdf>. Accessed: 27 maio 2014.
SEBRAE. Marujada: Bragança-PA. Available at:<http://www.pa.sebrae.com.br/sessoes/servicos/cultura/marujada.asp>. Accessed: 27 maio 2014.
PARÁ. Secretaria de Estado de Comunicação. Marujada. Available at: <http://marujada.pa.gov.br/>. Accessed: 27 maio 2014.
PONTO de Cultura Marujada de Bragança. História: Marujada. Available at:<http://www.marujada.com.br/index.php?pagina=conteudo&cat=1&id=2>. Accessed: 27 maio 2014.
how to quote this text
Source: MORIM, Júlia. Marujada of Bragança. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Joaquim Nabuco Foudation, Recife. Available at: <https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/>. Accessed: day month year. Ex: 6 ago. 2009.