Salvador da Bahia Local Custom Tips by swesn

CAPOEIRA Capoeira Review

This was a martial arts form originated from Africa. They were prohibited by slave owners during the colonial times. The slaves thus practised them secretly in the forest. Later, to disguise this act of defiance, capoeira was morphed into a sort of acrobatic fight-dance.

The fight-dance is accompanied by clapping of hands and plucking of the berimbau musical instrument.

The fighter-dancers perform in a circle with fluid slowish (or very swift, depending on the type of capoeira) movements that will nearly hit the opponents. They do some playful somersault-like stunts on the ground, sweeping their feet across, kicking their legs upwards, etc...

BERIMBAU MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Berimbau Review

It is a curved bow with a gourd at the bottom and a wire in between the top and the gourd. Players make music from the wire by hitting it with a stick. The musicians tighen or loosen the wire to change the tune. This is used to accompany capoeira.

BAHIAN TRADITIONAL DRESS Bahian dress Review

Bahia is the state with the largest population descended from slaves, hence the African culture is more prominent here.

The typical Bahian dress is white, lacy top with huge, bouncy skirt. They look like they are wearing layers and layers of doilies. Sometimes, instead of white, various bright colours of used.

Many Afro-Brazilian women dressed in these white Bahian dresses can be seen selling snacks on the streets.

CANDOMBLE Candomble Review

A Candomble is a ritual with African origins, making offerings to a particular god or baptizing a young devotee. There is usually a patriach or matriach presiding over the ritual.

I visited a Candomble session in Salvador. It was to baptize a 12-year-old boy. While I did not always understand the deep meanings, this was briefly what happened.

Men were in charge of the complicated drum-beats (sometimes with hands for a god, and other times with drum-sticks for another god) and provided the main singer. They chanted in the Yoruba language. Some women and men danced slowly in tiny movements in a circle in the yard. Younger devotees danced with their backs hunched and heads hung low. The floor of the yard was strewn with a type of leaves.

The dancing, singing and drumming went on for hours. The 12-year-old boy was brought out first covered with white dots to immune him against illnesses. Later, he was brought out again, covered with yellow, pink and blue dots. We were to throw leaves at him as he passed by.

Slowly, the devotees entered into a trance and the main matriarch of the event started hopping on one leg, which meant she was possessed by the god Ossain who was painted on a picture as hopping on one leg.

These entranced were watched over and guided by mentors (who were not in a trance), just in case they got a little lost or started grabbing their jewellery and hurt themselves. Then, with their eyes closed, the entranced swooped out of the yard one by one, somehow knowing where the open gate was.

After a very long wait, they returned with very colourful costumes, with bright blue, yellow, red, sequined-dresses and head-gears which had beads or shells draped across their faces. They held implements on their hands like axes and metal-snakes.

The ritual stretched way past 2am, I reckoned. We left around 1.30am. No way they faked this for tourists.

FOLK RELIGION Candomble Review

When the Catholic priests attempted to convert the Indians and African slaves, they did not achieve full success. The Indians and African slaves developed their own form of folk Catholicism, using elements of their Indian practices and African gods with similar properties to represent the things taught to them about Catholicism.

For example, African gods or ‘orixas’ like Oxala, Iemanja, Ogun, Xango are represented respectively by Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, Saint Anthony and Saint George.