Brazilian culture and traditions

Brazilian Culture

Brazil's culture is a fascinating blend of European, African and Amerindian influences. Portuguese settlers brought with them strong influences in religion, later Europeans such as Italians and Germans arrived bringing 20th century ideas about government, Africans brought drums and dance, and Amerindian influences can be found in a number of spheres. Over the course of the past five hundred years, these influences have been shaped by the vast and varied landscape, the climate and political events. Even though different parts of the country developed almost in isolation from one another due to geographic distance, some elements of culture bind all Brazilians. Carnival is one of those. The combination in dance, music, costume and religion into a single event is one of the defining elements of Brazilian culture. At once, it takes deep roots and social significance, while maintaining a lighter popular side that pays only superficial homage to its roots. This paper will analyze carnival from the perspective of how it reflects Brazilian culture today, and how it evolved into that position.

History

Carnival today is celebrated before the beginning of Lent, marking it as a Catholic festival. The festival is celebrated around the world in Catholic places. In the old world, this type of celebration is well-known in places as diverse as Venice, Cologne and Limassol in Cyprus. The idea of a pre-Lent festival to celebrate before giving up good things during Lent has pagan roots, but arrived in Brazil with the Portuguese. As such, carnival has taken root all over the country. The most famous carnival event is in Rio de Janeiro, but almost every city and town in Brazil hosts one, some nearly as large as Rio's. These events are often infused with local character and culture, reflecting the way that Brazil's regions were, in the days before air travel, remote from one another.

The festival origins of the event are in the name, which implies the eating of meat. Dancing and singing would have been part of the festival, along with drunkenness, since the beginning. These became formalized in the early part of the 20th century. In the northern region of Bahia, musical groups called trios electricos began to play in the streets, informally at first, but the idea eventually became formalized. When this concept came to Rio, it led to the parades of musicians and dancers that we see today. Samba, a popular carnival music, has strong African roots and also originated from Bahia, which is more heavily African and Caribbean than the more European cities of the south.

Cultural Melting Pot

Brazil's early population included Europeans (mostly Portuguese), Africans both enslaved and (eventually) free, a complex mix of Amerindian cultures, as well as influences of immigrants from other areas. The country's current approach to race was reflected in the writings of Gilberto Freyre, who in 1933 wrote a treatise celebrating Brazil's diversity, something that stood in contrast to ideologies elsewhere in the world. While this work was criticized by some for not being perfect, it reflected something that would become a significant part of Brazilian culture -- the intermingling of races to form a coherent Brazilian identity (Chapter 14). There remains some racism in the country, it is noted, but nothing compared with what other colonial countries like the United States or South Africa experience.

The carnival reflects the Brazilian model cultural melting pot concept. Perhaps not coincidentally, carnival's popularity and modern form arose in a Brazil that was maturing in its racial identity. The traditions of carnival are rooted in both African and European influences. In a religious sense, this Catholic tradition rooted in paganism is infused with African folk religion found in Bahia, itself an amalgam of different folk traditions and Christianity. This is then transported to the European south, but not without bringing with it a Europeanized form of African rhythms. The dancing owes more to Africa, the costume to the rich carnivals in places like Venice and Portugal. It is in the way that these traditions are blended, almost seamlessly, into a singular entity that makes Brazilian carnival so unique. It is a reflection of the Brazilian people itself -- a giant party that mixes the different influences of the country in a way that appeals to all, and excludes no one. In towns with a significant Amerindian population, their culture as well has been lent to carnival.

Popular Culture

One of the criticisms of Freyte's work is that it glossed over the issue of class in the formation of Brazilian society. The racial blending that made Brazil a more tolerant place than most other parts of the world originally occurred when the white privileged class mated with slaves and servants of other races. Arguably, Freyte's ideas sought to bring pride to what in some other countries was seen a shameful origin for a person. By accepting racial mingling, one would naturally have to accept class mingling as well, since class lines were typically drawn by race. The carnival reflects the breaking down of class barriers.

First, the carnival is a street party, to which everybody has access. The noise of the musicians, dancers and revelers would naturally have reached all in the area, rich or poor. Moreover, the pre-Lent festival was celebrated by all Catholics, virtually all of Brazilian society. In smaller towns and in the north, as carnival evolved it emphasized audience participation as well, democratizing the celebration. Everybody would be able to celebrate the carnival together, regardless of race and regardless of class. Second, as carnival grew and took its modern form in the early and mid-20th century, it was largely popular in form. African drumming and dancing were not elements of culture that the predominantly European-descended elite would have partaken of; their carnival would have been more in line with European traditions. However, as the event became more popular and democratic, these "low culture" elements became part of the culture of carnival for all Brazilians. There was always some resistance to low culture influencing the elite classes, but samba today largely reflects that these low culture elements have been accepted.

At the time that carnival was beginning to take its modern roots, in the early 20th century, Brazil itself was beginning to transition into a more modern nation. The first phases of industrialization began in the south, thought the country was largely agricultural. Life spans were short -- 28 years on average -- so there was considerable impetus to make every opportunity for celebration to count. There were also significant social tensions between classes, genders and even races. Black Brazilians faced discrimination, conditions for working women were terrible and the poor were largely illiterate and disenfranchised. In this milieu, modern Brazilian society arose, and many took the opportunity to cast off some of these shackles. Musicians created samba that blended European instruments and singing styles with African percussion. In different parts of the country, Africans and women borrowed from spiritual leaders to fight for their rights (Chapter 13). The influences that these groups had on the form that carnival took -- women dancing and taking control of their own images (Lewis, 1996), black African culture intermingling with European -- would help shape Brazil's mindset with respect to culture and inclusivity.