Candomblé and the Dance of the Orixás

 

The African diaspora has contributed preponderantly to Brazil's cultural profile. The religious beliefs brought from Africa helped the black population keep alive the roots which gave meaning to the world around them.

 

Their divinities, the Orixás, representing different forces of nature, manifest themselves during the ceremony of Candomblé. Particular drum-rhythms and dances invite the Orixás to come down and "ride" the devotee. Each Orixá, male or female, has its own toque (drum-beat) and dance whose quality of energy and pattern of movements are fixed according to the different "nations" (Ketu, Angola, Jêjê). When the devotee falls into a trance becoming the "horse" of the Orixá, s/he is dressed with the costume and attributes of the divinity and continues to dance in an altered state of consciousness.

 

The rhythm of the drums of the Candomblé, when brought out of the terreiro (the ceremonial space), acquired a new character which became extremely popular and, in the eyes of foreigners, the quintessence of Brazil - the samba.

 

In the fifties, the dance of the Orixás also began to be used outside the context of the Candomblé, first by folkloric ensembles, later as the basis for a specific Afro-Brazilian style which has been elaborated by many choreographers and dancers.