African Displaced Tribes:

Their Musical and Spiritual Influence in

The AmericA’s And The cAribbeAn

Doral College
Capstone IDS project 2015
By: Kiele Alessandra Cabrera
 STRUCTURE:

❖ Section 1 : Description of Yoruba origins

❖ Section 2: “ Candomble” in Brazil

❖ Section 3: “Santeria” in Cuba

 African Diaspora:

African Diaspora is the term commonly

used to describe the mass dispersion of
peoples from Africa during the
Transatlantic Slave Trade. from the 1500s
to the 1800s. This Diaspora took millions of
people from Western and Central Africa to
different regions throughout the Americas
and the Caribbean. (“African Diaspora
Cultures | Oldways,” n.d.)
 Syncretism:

Syncretism is a term meaning

“combining”. It is an attempt to
reconcile contrary beliefs. The merging
of several distinctly different
traditions. Especially dealing with
theology or mythology of religions
 Section 1:
Origins of the Yoruba people
 THE YORUBA people:
(History)

❖The Ife Kingdom of the Yoruba people rose around 600 A.D. in the
Western African forest. (“Yoruba Religion,” n.d.)
❖Ife continues to be seen as the "spiritual homeland" of the Yoruba.
❖The city was surpassed by the Oyo Empire as the dominant
Yoruba military and political power in the 17th century.
❖Old Òyó, as this state is called, gave cohesiveness to Yorùbá
custom and contributed greatly to the collective identity of modern
Yorùbá-speaking people.
 THE YORUBA people:
(Facts)

❖ Largest African ethnic group south of the Sahara

❖Location: West Africa with a concentration in SW Nigeria
- migrated from a region in the present day Middle East between 600 and 1000
AD.to their current location ,
- predominantly farmers and highly skilled artists
❖ Language:
- belongs to the Congo-Kordofanian language family
- Yoruba has many dialects, but its speakers can
all understand each other.
- Yoruba is a tonal language.
 THE YORUBA people:
(religion overview)

❖Yoruba believe in a supreme being, in primordial divinities, and spirits that

have been deified.
❖The practice of traditional religion varies from community to community.
❖Yoruba traditional religion holds that there is one supreme being/creator
known as Olorun and hundreds(400+1) of Orishas, or minor deities.
- The Orichás are spiritual entities that have been incarnated and
identified with a force of nature and an aspect of human character
or personality.
-The worshipers of an Orichás are referred to as his "children.“
❖Basic Yoruba belief involves ritual practices such as singing, dancing,
drumming, spirit possession, ritual healing, respect for ancestors and
divination.
 THE YORUBA people:
(Mythological origin of the universe)

❖ Yoruban belief of how the universe was created:

- originally universe only consisted of sky and water
- Obatala asked his father Olorun to create mountains/land;
Olorun gave permission
- obatala went down to earth on a gold chain
- couldn’t reach; drop sand from a snail shell and chicken on sand to create land
- lets go of chain and falls to earth; mold figures out of clay in likeness of himself.
- Olorun breaths life into Obatalas figures, creating humans.
-Olokun floods the world Obatala created
- Eshu goes to earth and retreats the waters
❖Orichas symbolism:
• Olorun: Ruler of the sky; creator of the sun. *Olokun: Ruler of the sea.*Obatala: Creator of
humans and land on Earth (Olorun's "favorite").*Eshu: messenger deity
 THE YORUBA people:
( the nature of their religious Music)

I. Tonal Inflexion
❖The natural structure of Yoruba poetry is not built on metric
patterns of stressed syllables, but on tone patterns, an idea
strange to the European poetic form.
❖ the stanza form(European), in which the same melody is
repeated with new words, is practically impossible in a high
tonal language.
❖ Tonal language: a language in which variations in tone
distinguish words or phrases of different meaning that
otherwise would sound alike.
❖The melody in a Yoruba chant must represent the natural
inflexion of the spoken word(there is no verbal accent
independent of the melody)
 THE YORUBA people:
( the nature of their religious Music)

I. Tonal Inflexion( 1:00)

 THE YORUBA people:
( the nature of their religious Music)

II. Syllabic Nature

❖ a natural consequence of the Yoruban tonal language is a syllabic melody.
❖Syllabic-The style of chant which sets one note to each syllable of text. A musical setting is syllabic
if there is only one note for each syllable of the text.
❖ We cannot have melismatic(ornamented) chant , for example Gregorian chant is a melismatic
chant. However, each syllable in Yoruba can have only one note, except in the sliding syllables which
are represented by a sliding double note. (Carrol, 1956)
Gregorian Chants vs. Yoruba religious music
( stop at 0:47) (0:57-1:42)
 THE YORUBA people:
( the nature of their religious Music)

III. Melodic Line

❖ In its purest form it is monodic in structure, giving full value to the sustained melodic line.
❖Monody- a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melody line
(embellished by simple) and instrumental
accompaniment. (“monody | music,” n.d.)
IV. Free Rhythm
❖The music is developed from the free rhythm of the spoken word, heightening the meaning rather
than distracting from it.
❖The free rhythm of words may be related to a slow dance movement or the beating of a drum, w/o
losing its essential nature.
V. Scale
❖Many melodies have successions of close intervals ( in the nature of half tones)
 THE YORUBA people:
( the nature of their religious Music)

❖List of traditional yoruban instruments:

• Agb-Ashiko: a cone-shaped drum
• Batá drum: a well decorated traditional drum of many tones, with strong links to the deity Shango, it produces sharp high tone sounds.
• Goje: sort of violin like the sahelian
• Sekere: a melodic shaker; beads or cowrie shells beautifully wound around a gourd, shaken, beaten by fists occasionally and thrown in the air to
create a festive mood.
• gudugudu: a smaller, melodic bata
• Sakara drum: goatskin istretched over clay ring
• Agogô: a high-pitched tone instrument like a "covered" 3-dimensional "tuning fork"
• Saworo: like agogo, but its tone is low-pitched
• Aro: much like a saworo, low-pitched
• Seli: a combination of aro, saworo and hand-clapping
• Agidigbo: a thumb piano instrument wound round the neck and stabilized by the player's chest.
• Dundun: consisting of iya ilu or gbedu, main or "mother" drum and omele, smaller drums, played as an accompaniment to bata drums to create a
base for their sharp beats.
• Bembé: bass drum, kettle drum.
 THE YORUBA people:
(African diaspora)

❖ The Oyo Empire under its oba( or royal

sovereigns with various individual titles),
known as the Alaafin of Oyo, was active in the
African slave trade.
❖During the four centuries of the slave
trade(1500s), Yoruba territory was known as
the Slave Coast.
 Section 2:
Candomble In Brazil
 Candomble IN brazil
( religion- History)

❖Atlantic slave trade

❖ Candomblé is a religion that developed when the Portuguese
forcibly converted the slaves to Catholicism(baptized).
❖Rachel E. Harding
❖Syncretism with catholic saints and Orixas
❖Punished for practicing
❖During the latter part of the slave era and after
the emancipation in 1888, African Brazilians
more openly practiced their Candomble faith.
 Candomble IN brazil
(religion -facts)

❖Candomble means “dance in honor of the gods.”

❖Candomblé, is an Afro-Brazilian religion of predominantly Yoruba,
origin but also includes aspects of Fon, and Bantu
❖Because Candomblé was highly persecuted in the past, many
Brazilians call themselves Catholic, yet practice Candomblé.
❖The main region in Brazil where Candomblé is practiced is Bahia,
especially in the northeastern city of Salvador da Bahia .
❖Each religious community is divided into houses (iles),
which create new familial relationships among devotees.
- terreiros
Candomble IN brazil
(religion- beliefs)

❖Olodumare (Olorun) = God, served by orixas

❖The concept of good and evil
❖Orixas are ancestors who have been deified.
❖Candomblé practitioners believe that every person has their own individual orixa
which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector. Each orixa
represents a certain force in nature( Yoruba) and is associated with certain foods,
colours, animals and days of the week.
-Sango/shango/Xango (most popular)
❖In Brazil, orixás are the principal intermediaries between humans and God;.
❖belief of the axé - a magic-sacred force/energy that assures dynamic existence
and controls what happens in everyday life.
❖The color white signifies purity
 Candomble IN brazil
(religion- rituals)

❖The axé of each ile(House) and of the gods (orixás) is implanted in the initiating devotee
from the supreme leader (pai/mae de santo).
❖worship orixás in an annual cycle, like the liturgical cycle of the Catholic Church.
- Each orixa has their designated colors which are worn and used during
ceremonies.
❖Sacrifices (usually chickens) and the use of charms and herbs are believed to bring
good luck, purification, and forgiveness of sins.
❖Collectively, ancestor spirits are called 'Baba Egum' in Brazil. During important
ceremonies, priests and priestesses will masquerade as Baba Egum.
❖Specially choreographed dances are performed in order to become possessed by an
orixa.
 Candomble IN brazil
(religion- rituals)

Ritual Clothing/Beads Orixas Cycle 'Baba Egum

 Candomble IN brazil
(religion- Music )

❖ Music (Vocal chant and the use of percussion)is a crucial element in candomblé
ceremonies. (vehicle to appease and call upon the Orixas)
I. Instrumentation
❖Traditional aspects of Yoruban religious music still present (total inflection, syllabic
nature, melodic line, free rhythm, scale)
❖ 3 types of drums used in religious ceremonies: atabaque.
-types of drums: lê, rumpi and the rum
-Similar to congas in their barrel-shaped physicality
- played with thin sticks and hands alternately.
- the rum, the biggest drum leads the arrangement, commanding the lê and the
rumpi.
 Candomble IN brazil
(religion- Music )

❖ The agogô bells as well as the xequerê(a medium-sized gourd covered with strung
beads) establish a repeated, syncopated pattern.
❖Complex polyrhythmic percussion( Matrix of sound)
❖vast repertoire of complex drum patterns including music that calls upon the orixás,
sends them away, etc.
- all belonging to classified groups of rhythm including the nago rhythm
(influenced by Yoruba traditions) played by agidavis (drum sticks)
❖ Musical features such as timbre, dynamics are also sensitive qualities in a ceremony,
providing a guidance in which those taking part will mimic the movements that they
believe imitate the orixás.
 Candomble IN brazil
(religion- Music )

agogô bells xequerê agidavis

syncopated pattern.
 Candomble IN brazil
(religion- Music )

(00:40 -2:15)
 Candomble IN brazil
(religion- Music )

II. Spiritual/ritualistic significance of music

❖The main purpose of the atabaque is to hypnotize and entrance individuals
❖ Though the drummers themselves are never possessed by the orixás, they watch and
communicate with the priests and dancers responding appropriately with their music.
❖Many practitioners believe that the instruments are vested with healing powers and
possessed with axé force.
- How? : process of making the drum and axe transmission.
❖The atabaque provides an accompaniment for
various ceremonial songs/chants.
- processes in ceremonies
 Candomble IN brazil
(Religion- today)

❖surged in popularity in Brazil, with as many as two million

followers(“BBC - Religions - Candomble,” n.d.).
Filhos de Gandhi (Sons of Gandhi)

❖Many people from African countries visit Bahia in order to learn

more about the faith of their ancestors
(“BBC - Religions - Candomble,” n.d.).

❖Popularizing the sacred sounds are the afoxé groups, a

carnival-type fraternal organization who wish to preserve their
African traditions. (“Religious Rhythms: The Afro-Brazilian Music
of Candomblé | Sounds and Colours,” n.d.)
 Section 3:
Santeria in cuba
(Yoruba)
 Santeria IN cuba
( religion- History)

❖Atlantic slave trade(1568)

❖Santeria is a religion that developed when the Spanish forcibly converted the
slaves to Catholicism(baptized).
❖Syncretism with catholic saints and Orishas
- Cabildos –congregations of Africans and descendants that belonged to
the same ethnic group or came from the same region of Africa(Rodrigues, n.d.)—
played a key role in syncretism/ birth of Santeria.
• Originally for slave entertainment
• Capataz(leader)
• started with original deities(Orishas) but persecuted
• Disguised deities with roman catholic saints
 Santeria IN cuba
( religion- Facts)

❖Santeria is also known as Lucumi

❖syncretic religion where roman Catholicism mixed with strictly Yoruba culture (unlike
candomble)
❖Because Santeria was highly persecuted and ridiculed in the past, many
Cubans call themselves as Catholic, yet practice Santeria.
❖Originally formed in the western provinces of the island
❖There is no sacred text of the Lucumi religion; oral tradition.
- patakines (sacred stories that serve as parables)
 Santeria IN cuba
( religion- facts)

Yoruba God Catholic Saint What they do

Ochun Obbatala Las Mercedes
Virgen de la Caridad
Deity responsible for human creation
Jesus of Nazareth
Lonely soul, Saint Antony
Eleggua Nino de Atocha Opens the doors of the World

Oggun Saint Peter, Saint Juan Owner of metal, and War

Ochosi
Saint Norberto
Divine justice, horses, hunting

Saint Juan Batista

Osun Takes care of the mind of the believer

Chango
Santa Barbara God of fire, God of lightning of dancing

Mother of the world, Owner of salty

Yemalla Virgin of menstruation
waters
Deity of sweetness, of beauty, of gold, of
Ochun Caridad del Cobre
sexuality and love

Owner of lakes and lagoons. It forms the

Obba Saint Rita de Casia
trilogy of saints who live in the cemetery

Yewa Lady of despair Lives in tombs and between the dead

Possesses the secrets of Ifa, interpreted

Orula Saint Francisco de Asis
by the babalos (high priest)
 Santeria in cuba
(Religion- beliefs)

❖Similarities b/w Candomble:

- Olodumare (Olorun) = God, served by orishas
- Orishas are ancestors who have been deified.
- Santeria practitioners believe that every person has their own individual orixa which controls
his or her destiny and acts as a protector. Each orixa represents a certain force in nature(
Yoruba) and is associated with certain foods, colours, animals and days of the week.
- belief of the Ache(axé) - a magic-sacred force/energy that assures dynamic existence and
controls what happens in everyday life.
- The color white signifies purity
❖Differences b/w Candomble:
- Concept of good and evil (good=orishas, bad=ajogun/demons); 200+1 orishas, 200+1 ajogun
- most important orisha is Elegua( Eshu)
 Santeria in cuba
(Religion- rituals)
❖Oral tradition=> religion understood in terms of its
rituals and ceremonies
❖The babalawo is the top figure in the santero hierarchy.
He is followed by the babalochas/padrinos( godfathers
in the santeria) and the iyalochas/padrinas(
godmothers).They are in charge of making the ceremony
of consecration and to support the devotees.
❖take place in casa de santos (house of saints)/ilé;
usually are homes of the initiated Priests and
Priestesses.
❖igbodu (altar where shrine is made to worship
orishas); display of 3 distinct thrones (draped with royal
blue, white, and red satin) that represent the seats of
the queens, kings, and the deified warriors.
 Santeria in cuba
(Religion- rituals)

❖Ebó :ritual offering or sacrifice as dictated by divination

- Addimu (Cooked Offerings)
- Isoguí (Fruit offerings)
- Eyebale (Blood sacrifice)
❖Week long initiation process:
(1) the acquisition of the beaded necklaces (known as elekes)
(2)Medio Asiento: path of Eleguá; image of Elegua
(3)Los Guerreros:"receiving the warriors",
(4)Asiento: “born again”; secretive.
❖Post initiation:
- iyaboraje: Year long wait period( all white, no contact)
 Santeria in cuba
(Religious- music)
❖music accompanies most aspects of Lucumí religious life,
I. Instrumentation/ theoretical structure
❖(Traditional aspects of Yoruban religious music still present (total inflection, syllabic nature, melodic line, free
rhythm, scale.)
❖3 main types of percussive instruments used in Santeria Rituals:
(1) Aña, the sacred bata drums
- Originally drums of kings
- set of three hourglass shaped drums; played held across the lap.
- One end is larger(“inu”) than the other(“Chacha”), and both ends are percussive.
- largest drum, Iya (Mother),—dedicated to Yemaya—is always in the center; medium drum,
itotele, is dedicated to Oshun ; smallest drum, the okonkolo, belongs to Chango.
- once consecrated they represent Orishas i.e. all must bow to Aña
- Each end of the drum is played independently of the other, and each drum plays a different part of the
overall rhythm, or toque(similar to matrix in candomble)
 Santeria in cuba
(Religious- music)

(2) Bembe Drums:

-war drums
- any upright, pegged, cylindrical drum played with one or two sticks in the
Lucumi Santeria tradition
- typical bembe drum set has three pieces: the cachimbo, the mula, and
the caja.
- bembe drumming allows for improvisation around a standard rhythm on
the caja. (smallest drum)
(3) Güiro (shekeres):
-(Like Candomble)- is a medium-sized gourd covered with strung beads
- In santeria, 3 shekeres in a set: the uno (the smallest), the segundo
(the middle one), and the caja (the largest). In Matanzas, they are played
with a full set of 3 tumbadora or conga drums.
 Santeria in cuba
(Religious- music)

II. Spiritual/ritualistic significance of music

❖There is no written scripture or text i.e. oral tradition;
Patakies/Patakines (fables that are read during divination or sung during
ceremonies)
❖liturgical songs occur during divination, prayer, sacrifice, initiation, and
during the preparation of herbal medicine. Song is essential in each of
these activities and is believed to possess ache.
❖toque de santo/tambor( 4 -6 hr public music rituals)
- house decorated; a room is transformed into an altar
space(igbodú); feast is prepared.
- akpwón,( lead singer) and professional percussion ensemble( Bata,
Bembe drums, Guiro)
 Santeria in cuba
(Religion- today)

❖Santería can now mainly found in the Americas (notably the

Caribbean), including but not limited to Cuba, Puerto Rico,
Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, and the
United States.
❖In 2001, there were an estimated 22,000 practitioners in the US
alone,[18] but the number may be higher as some practitioners
may be reluctant to disclose their religion on a government
census or to an academic researcher.
❖ 1992 court case of church of the lukumi babalu aye v. Hialeah
ruled that animal ritual sacrifices are legal within the united
states.
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