CAPE VERDEAN CONNEC Traditional Festivities • Cape Verde

GABRIEL MOACYR RODRIGUES

ocal traditional culture is often useful­ lar visits to traditional healers, ly viewed in rural areas and small vil­ and common superstitious lages, where one can perceive an inte­ beliefs. These reveal, as the grated whole as well as its particular parts. example of Nuno Miranda Traditional celebrations are parts of this small makes clear, a vital heritage of world that speak richly and eloquently of the animism. [Editor's note: Nuno social whole. Miranda was a widely respect­ Cape Verde is comprised of nine populat­ ed traditional healer and spiri­ ed islands, some separated by wide and tualist in the 20th century who windswept stretches of sea, so it should not be was consulted by all social surprising that each island shows us a cultural classes in Cape Verde.] face as beautiful and varied as the geography Traditional festivities are gen­ of the archipelago itself. erally religious, and they fol­ The Portuguese found Cape Verde unin­ low the Catholic liturgical cal­ habited during the latter half of the 15th cen­ endar. Catholic saints' days tury, and they immediately set about populat­ predominate, and the form ing it and evangelizing the people they their celebration takes is fairly brought there by force. Within two years the constant; most have church islands had become laboratories for future services, processions, drum­ Portuguese "discoveries" (that is, coloniza­ ming, and special foods associ­ tions, such as Brazil). In an isolation like that ated with them. Most take enforced by prisons emerged local ways of place during the months of thinking and of psychologically resisting the May, June, and July, with hawk of colonialism, which not only devoured some in November. Many were adapted by On the occasion of the the harvest of local labor but also sought to the Church in whole or in part from pagan fes­ Feast of Sao Joao, a impose its own spiritual values. tivals, and particular communities have fur­ crowd surrounds the Many cultural strata can be seen in the ther adapted them so that they have become mastro, or mast, islands, beginning with elements brought traditional, localized mixtures of sacred and hoisted on this main from Portugal and West Africa during the very secular elements. Common to all the islands street on Brava. The first years of colonization. Some contempo­ are the feasts of Christmas, Saint John, and mast is decorated with rary cultural expressions seem to be of Carnival. specially baked breads Portuguese origin, while many are clearly The oldest continuously celebrated festiv­ as well as fruits, tree blends of gestures and attitudes with a::1 Afro­ ities take place on the islands of Santiago and branches, and flowers. Cape Verdean flavor. Fogo. In June Santiago celebrates tabanka, a A result of the colonization of the islands, feast of African origin. (The word tabanka which we must take into account in any analy­ means an association of mutual help or a sis of Cape Verdean social phenomena, is the brotherhood. Its original meaning, a small vil­ fact that most people are Catholics. lage, can still be found in Guinea-Bissau and Nevertheless, we must not exclude from con­ other countries on the west coast of Africa, but sideration traditional beliefs in witches, regu- was lost in Cape Verde because Africans - rl~ 30 ·~~': ~\ .., .... RDEAN CONNECTION • ·.v

common in the islands, especially on S. Nicolau and S. Antao. On S. Nicolau until recently, a traditional wedding included a batuku perform ance, as we learn from a nov­ elist's account: 11 Uncle Juca arrived the day before [the wedding] so h e could participate in the batuku ... " (from the famous Cape Verdean novel Chiquinho published in 1947 by Baltasar Lopes). This ceremonial boat The batuku from Santiago is the most typ­ for the Feast of Sao ically African in style. It is composed essen­ Joao is paraded tially of two parts, the txabeta (tchabeta) and through the streets of the fina9on. During the batuku the lead singer, Mindelo, S. Vicente. usually a person of some respect in the group, takes command. First she dances slowly, set­ Photo by Ray Almeida ting the pace for the strong, rhythmic beat the brought here were not allowed to live with batukaderas (batucaderas) keep by striking members of their own ethnic groups.) their palms on a bundled-up pano (sash cloth) Tabanka festivities begin in May, perhaps held between their thighs. A dancer awaits in because this was the time, according to Cape the middle of the circle formed by the Verdean ethnographer Felix Monteiro, when batukaderas and at a certain moment after the slave owners would concede certain liberties beat is fully established and internalized by to their slaves. Today celebrants dress in cos­ her, it's time for txabeta: the rhythm suddenly tumes that envision a royal court society and accelerates and the dancer keeps time with play drums and the conch-shell horns charac­ her hips. teristic of this event. During the period in The fina9on consists of the singer's impro­ which tabanka is celebrated, husbands and vising verses about events and ideas of impor­ wives abstain from intimacy. Those who fail tance to the community: for example, the to obey any of the local rules of tabanka are recent famine in Cape Verde that killed more punished. than 50,000 people out of a population of People's speech is also full of humor. The about 200,000; and the recent labor contracts imperative of mirth is so strong that if some­ for work in the equatorial plantations of Sao one dies during tabanka there is a special, Tome that were the equivalent of slavery; or strict funeral ritual; once they leave the ceme­ perhaps individual stories of mothers and tery, everyone must forget sadness, mourn­ daughters raped by slavemasters during ing, and death. Monteiro has observed that bygone times of even greater difficulties. In this religious ritual mixes Catholic and West the singing, the batukaderas answer the leader African practices and b eliefs. as a choir, which on S. Antao is called a baxon. Of the m any festivities in Cape Verde the In its content and context the batuku batuku (batuque) deserves special mention. evokes initiation and wedding rituals. The Usually composed of solo dancing and can­ elder leader can be understood as a matron, and-response singing by a women's chorus the most experienced wom an, who executes with a leader, the batuku tradition is today the hip movements that suggest the sexual act strongest on Santiago Island. But there are and provoke the libido. Young girls, the badju­ hints of its presence on almost every other das, dance afterward, and their agile, sensual island. Themes characteristic of the batuku bodies awaken feelings in the old m en around appear in wedding songs, especially those of that remind them of their own love and mar­ mockery, and songs of advice to the bride and riage. For the young who watch, the dancer groom to bid their single days farewell are also represents the desire for love. As she dances, the young girl closes her eyes and holds her hands in front her face in a gesture of wanting to be seen and appreciated while still intend­ ing to preserve her chastity and bashfulness. I~ the past only women danced this batuku. For many years it was forbidden to men - or if they danced they were considered sexually weak or perverted. In recent times the batuku has been elaborated by some artists into a form of social entertainment in which men perform as partners to the batukaderas (singer, choir, and dancers), not dancing with the hips but appealing to the female dancers with provocative words and gestures, beating a drum covered with fabric, and playing the 1 0-string guitar recently introduced to the tra­ dition by Antonino Denti D'Oro. placed close by the entrance of a church, to The carta de amor The largest festivity on Fogo occurs on the rhythms of drums, chants, and clapping. (love letter) float in May 1st, the saint's day of Saint Philip (Nho Many aspects of the ritual have African ori­ Carnival on the island Sao Filipe), who is the patron saint of that gins. The mastro can also be seen in the feasts of Brava represents island. To Sao Filipe, Fogo's largest city, on of Santo Antonio, Santo Andre, Sao Pedro, and letters from relatives that day, the feast - one of the most elaborate Sao J oao on the islands of S. Antao and Brava. abroad that contain in the entire archipelago - draws observers The ceremonial banners used in this money. Immigrant and participants from all over the country and event are also objects of ritual attention. After remittances account the United States and Europe as well. they are dipped in the sea and then blessed at for up to 30 percent of As Monteiro observes, the cultural dimen­ a special mass in church, they are carried the gross national sions of these religious and secular celebra­ around the town by riding parties. To a certain product. tions, which are called bandeiras or "flags" on extent, the roots of the flag ceremonial can be Fogo because banners are one of their impor­ found in medieval displays of horsemanship. tant ritual symbols, show aspects of how peo­ Each year someone assumes responsibility for ple think about the csmtact between caring for the flag and therefore for organizing Europeans and Africans in 'cape Verde. In and financing next year's feast. In the days separate sections of the city, celebrants attain before independence, only men of the elite equal enthusiasm. Families of higher status class could receive the flag. Today any man watch these celebrations from a balcony, a born on Fogo can take the flag as soon as he physical separation that gives material form to attains the financial means. the barriers that formerly separated whites Carnival is another important festivity in and blacks, and today separate the richer from Cape Verde, as are the pilgrimages of Sao the poorer classes . .The Feast of Sao Filipe Joao, Saint Antonio, and Santa Cruz that take includes the ritual pounding of corn in a sin­ place in various islands at about the same gle large, ceremonial mortar by three pestle­ time. There is also Nha Santa Catarina in the wielding women accompanied by drumming town of Assomada and Nossa Senhora da and singing. It also includes the ritual slaugh­ Gra<;a, in Praia, both on Santiago. Every island ter of a lamb or goat for the supper of the has a patron saint and saint's-day celebration. kanizadi (kanizade) troupe of masqueraders as Some pilgrimage festivities are also relat­ well as the erection of a mastro, a replica of a ed to the rites of sowing and of harvest. These ship's mast that is dressed with branches of rural festivities are all from the northern the wild olive tree or the coconut palm. islands and are gradually dying out because Imbued with a magical aura, the mastro is rain is so irregular in Cape Verde. -.-. ' ~'t~. 32 _;.. - ERDEAN CONNECT IO N

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men and young women holding hands leap over these fires for good luck. Fortunes told speak of death, voyage, marriage, happiness, and love. On the eve of the Sao J oao feast, explod­ ing rockets announce the start of the event. The drums the Portuguese brought from Europe invite people to dance the kola, and from tents people sell traditional foods like kanja (canja) (thick chicken soup) and strings of popcorn or peanuts, which are very much appreciated by the elderly and children and are taken home as mementos of pilgrimage. In these pilgrimages people offer the first fruits of harvest, which are sold to benefit the Photo by Ray Almeida church. Such is the practice on S. Antao. On "Deca" Brito organizes But many people still flock to many of Brava the votive gifts are tied to the ceremo­ the mastro for the these festivals, which are known as pilgrim­ nial mast and are eventually left for people to Feast of Santa Ana in ages because people often walk long distances take as they please when the celebration ends. the village of Nessa to attend them. One of these, the Feast of Sao During the Sao Joao celebrations model Senhora do Monte on Joao on Brava, combines elements from the ships carried by hand or worn as a costume Brava. U.S. immigrants Feast of Sao Filipe with those common to the voyage symbolically through the streets, stop­ send money to support northern or Barlavento (Windward) islands. ping to demand gifts. The ship, like the gift­ this celebration. During the high moments of these festivities, bearing mast, is a complex symbol, a combi­ kola (cola) dancing breaks out - with move­ nation of remembered historical periods in ments and a pace similar to Portuguese folk the popular mind. Ships are festooned with dance, plus a gentle bump between two brightly colored banners; the Portuguese flag dancers' navel regions. This form of dancing that once flew has been replaced by the has also been documented in Angola and national flag. Ships' sails bear the Christian GABRIEL MOACYR Brazil and in Portugal as early as the 17th cen­ Cross of the Portuguese religious order that RODRIGUES has been tury. financed the expeditions of discovery. The an educator and These European-derived festivities had ship's harassment of bystanders for gifts rep­ researcher in Cape pagan influences in their own origins, dating resents the assault on the islands by pirate Verdean traditional cul­ from the first years of Christianity. The ori­ ships, carjenas, which regularly stole and car­ ture for more than 20 gins of these celebrations seem to lie in a com­ ried away their wealth. On S. Antao the Feast years. He has pub­ bination of cult practices and agricultural ritu­ of Sao J oao Batista is celebrated most notably lished on musical and als mixed with the ritual fulfillment of promis­ in the towns of Porto Novo, Pombas, and Paul language traditions; a es made to a saint. The chants contain traces and in the villages of Coculi, Gan;a, and Cha book on the sociology of these extinct cults, such as orgiastic litur­ de Pedra. of the marna is forth- gies, allusions to sexual desire, and homage to In their color, movement, and rich sym­ coming. the sun god. bolic meaning Cape Verdean celebrations give The festivities of Sao J oao are still very material expression to important themes in much alive in Cape Verde and feature drink­ local life, history, and popular thought. They ing, eating, bathing at the beach, love songs, are an evanescent yet cyclically revolving riddling, and fortune telling with eggs in water reflection of the forces that have shaped Cape or with playing cards. A bonfire is lit on the Verdean life, and they are a time when we eve of the feast to drive away bad spirits and pause and celebrate and feel the human spirit prevent their influence on the land, the that has been molded in these islands over source of all wealth for the peasant. Young centuries.