Olinda's Night of the Silent Drums, a pre-carnaval tradition - video Dailymotion

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*Brazil, Maracatu genre of carnival music connects to traditional Afro-Brazilian religions *History of Maracatu makes it a symbol of resistance *Maracatu “Leao Coroado” has historically led the annual procession in Olinda, Pernambuco *Olinda carnival 2025 will take place from Feb. 27th to March 4th

Transcript

00:00Although Brazilian carnival is famous for its samba parades, there are many different

00:10types of carnival music.

00:12In Olinda, our correspondent Brian Meir takes a look at the carnival tradition that goes

00:16back hundreds of years.

00:22Every year during the week before carnival, the streets of Olinda, the UNESCO designated

00:27World Heritage Site founded in 1535, are filled with the sounds of maracatu, Brazil's

00:34oldest genre of carnival music, as ten groups, or nations as they are called, parade through

00:40the streets to a 17th century church in a procession deeply connected to traditional

00:46Afro-Brazilian religions.

00:49Maracatu was created as a form of disguising the temples of Candomblé and Jurema and other

00:56religions here during a time when they were outlawed.

01:00So maracatu has been connected to the temples from its birth, but it's also a political

01:05way to continue doing what we do, whether it's religion or culture.

01:14The oldest written records of maracatu in Pernambuco date from the year 1800, although

01:20it is believed that the tradition started decades earlier by Congo people from what

01:25is now northern Angola who were kidnapped and forced to work on the sugar plantations.

01:30The fact that maracatu existed for over a century before slavery was outlawed is one

01:36reason it's viewed as a symbol of resistance to this day.

01:42For a long time, maracatu was viewed publicly as only a Catholic tradition.

01:46This isn't true.

01:47It's a celebration that comes from African culture, and it represents an attempt to keep

01:51the history of these people alive and relevant, to demonstrate that we have culture beyond

01:56what was imposed on us by the colonizers.

02:01As usual, the annual procession in Olinda, called Night of the Silent Drums, was led

02:06by the city's oldest maracatu nation, which is still active, Leão Coroado, or the Crowned

02:13Lion, founded in 1863 and still going as strong as ever.

02:19In maracatu, the roles of the king and queen serve as a playful critique of the Portuguese

02:24court.

02:25For instance, one of the key requirements to become a maracatu queen is that you must

02:30be black, a deliberate choice meant to highlight and challenge the legacy of the Portuguese

02:35colonizers who arrived here.

02:39This year, Olinda's official carnival activities will start on Thursday and continue for five

02:43days until Fat Tuesday, the day before the traditional start of Lent.

02:49Brian Muir, Telassur, Olinda.

Olinda's Night of the Silent Drums, a pre-carnaval tradition

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