“Negrada, olha a linha”!

A Chant and Resistance in the Leão Coroado Maracatu

Abstract

The work discusses the maracatusnação songs, an Afrodiasporic cultural manifestation, especially those sung by Maracatu Leão Coroado, the oldest group in Pernambuco in uninterrupted activity, founded in 1863, based in Olinda, Metropolitan Region of Recife. The toadas, short songs, are the sung parts and are accompanied by the baque (work of the percussive ensemble) in the maracatu’s procession. Historically, the toadas received little attention from maracatu scholars and their verses were interpreted as a cultural reminiscence of the past and negatively regarded. They are addressed here as songs of resistance, re-existence and “literacies of re-existence” of the members in their fight to defend identity, against racism and for improved living conditions. The work is based on experiences and research with the Leão Coroado community and on interactions between this researcher and other maracatu groups, based on concepts and notions of ethnomusicology and human sciences. The analysis brings to light the symbolic force of the toada, the way in which through it the members re-signify maracatu, resist, acquire knowledge to re-exist and produce meanings in the present.