The bumba-meu-boi, (bumba-boi, boi-bumbá, etc.) is a very popular
and widespread comic-dramatic dance, which tells the story of the
death and resurrection of an ox. It started at the end of the 18th
century in the coastal sugar plantations and cattle ranches of
northeastern Brazil and from there it spread to the north and south.
Its name comes from the verb bumbar, meaning to beat up or against,
and the expression is chanted by the crowd as an invitation for the ox
(the men under the ox costume) to charge against them.
It is a parade of human and animal characters, and fantastic
creatures from Brazilian Indian mythology, such as the Caipora, to the
sounds of music and singing. It takes place during the Christmas
season in certain states and in June in the states of Maranhão and
Amazonas - during the "festas juninas" dedicated to St. John and St.
Peter. There are usually a group of singers and the "chamador" or
caller, who introduces the characters with different songs. The
instruments used are the acoustic guitar, Brazilian tambourine,
tamborim and accordion. The bumba-meu-boi appears in northern Brazil
as boi-bumbá or bumba-boi and in the island of Santa Catarina, in
southern Brazil, as boi-de-mamão. Mamão is the Brazilian word for
papaya. It is believed that originally a green papaya was used as the
ox head, and that's where the name apparently comes from.
In the city of Parintins in the Brazilian Amazon, tens
of thousands take to the "bumbódromo" (Parintins' answer to the
"sambódromo" of Rio de Janeiro) where they sing and dance to the music
of the boi by two rival groups that parade with huge floats and
fabulous costumes: the red called Garantido and the blue, Caprichoso.
It's become a great destination for tourists in the Amazon.
In the city of São Luis do Maranhão and its environs
there are many different groups, with elaborate costumes and different
styles of music, which are called "sotaques:" "sotaque de orquestra,"
as the names says, uses an orchestra of saxes, clarinets, flutes,
banjo, drums, etc; "sotaque de zabumba" employs primarily very large
drums; and "sotaque de matraca," a percussion instrument made of two
pieces of wood that you carry in your hands and hit against each other.
Some matracas are very large and are carried around the neck. With
these, hundreds, sometimes thousands of people, create a clacking,
frenetic rhythmic beat that's extremely contagious and vibrant.