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Maculelê (Pronounced: mah-koo-leh-LEH) is
an Afro Brazilian dance where a number of people
gather in a circle called a roda with one or more
atabaques positioned at the entrance of the circle.
Each person brandishes a pair of long sticks,
traditionally made from biriba wood from Brazil.
The sticks, called grimas, traditionally measure
24 inches long by 1 and 1/8 inch thick. As the
Maculelê rhythm plays on the atabaque, the
people in the circle begin rhythmically striking
the sticks together. The leader sings, and the
people in the circle respond by singing the chorus
of the songs. When the leader gives the signal
to begin playing Maculelê, two people enter
the circle, and to the rhythm of the atabaque,
they begin striking their own and each other's
sticks together. On the first three beats, they
strike their own sticks together, making expressive
and athletic dance movements, and on each fourth
beat, they strike each other's respective right-hand
stick together. This makes for a dance that looks
like "mock stick combat". (Also, traditionally
in Maculelê, the players wear dried grass
skirts).
In
some capoeira schools, Maculelê can be played
with the use of a pair of Facões (literally
big knife) which are large knives of about 40
cm, used primarily to cut way through tall grass
areas. However this style of play is only practiced
by graduated students and masters. It is characterized
by the loud noises and flying sparks when the
players strike the knives.
The
origins of Maculelê are shrouded in mystery,
and there are many stories, theories and beliefs
that claim "this is how Maculelê came
to be". Here are two:
During
the slavery era in Brazil, the slaves in the sugarcane
plantations would gather and play Maculelê
as a game to vent their anger and frustration from
being slaves. At this time, machetes were used instead
of sticks. Sticks were later incorporated for safety
reasons. However, some experts still use machetes.
There
were two tribes in Brazil: a peaceful tribe, and
a warlike one. The warlike tribe would repeatedly
attack the peaceful tribe, who had no way of defending
themselves. One day, during an attack, a young
boy named "Maculelê" picked up
a pair of sticks and fought off the other tribe.
The other tribe never attacked again. The boy
didn't manage to fight them off completely, but
did die trying. His home tribe then made a mock
combat dance using sticks and named the dance
"Maculelê" in his honor and memory.
Maculelê is sometimes practiced by itself,
but is quite often practiced alongside Capoeira,
and featured in many Capoeira performances. It
should be noted that Maculelê and Capoeira
are fairly similar in style.
Sou
eu, sou eu
O
boa noite pra quem e de boa noite
Eu
vim na hora eeh
Tumba
la e ca
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