Title: Lecture 2: Xang, Ossanha, Oxum,Yemanj Ex and Pomba Gira in popular Music
1Lecture 2 Xangô, Ossanha, Oxum,Yemanjá Exú and
Pomba Gira in popular Music
- Vesa Matteo Piludu
- Helsinki
Department of Comparative Religion and Institute
for Art Research University of Helsinki
2Afro-American religions
- These religions have a complicate theology and
pantheon of possessing divinities - Are strongly focused on ritual trance, dances and
rhythmic music - Are demonized in Hollywood cinema and in certain
aspects of American popular cultures - Their influence on popular music is constant
- At the musical level
- At the lyrical level
- Politically, the inclusion of references to
Afro-American religion in the lyrics are clear
indicators of interest in Afro-American cultures
and/or social issues - Attention not only Afro-Americans write about
Afro-American religions!
3Xangô, Benin, Africa
4Vinicius de Moraes Baden PowellCanto de
Ossanha
- Amigo sinhôSaraváXangô me mandou lhe dizer
- Se é canto de OssanhaNão vá!Que muito vai se
arrepender - Pergunte pr'o seu OrixáO amor só é bom se doer
- Friend, old boy
- Saravá
- Xangô send me to say to you
- If it is Song of Ossanha
- Dont go!
- You will regret it!
- Ask to your orixá
- The love is good only
- if it hurts!
- Xangô, opposed to the herbalist Ossanha, is here
represented as a protector of passionate and
brave love, including risks of pain and sorrow
5Xangô justice and wifes
- Xangô has 3 wifes Oia-Iansã (storm), Oxum
(river) and Obá (a she-warrior, also connected to
a river) - There is a strong rivality between Oxum and Obá
- Xangô is the loverboy of the candomblé pantheon
and the protector of love passions - As other gods of thunder, Xango is connected to
justice and he is a punisher of thieves and
evil-doers - In Africa house stroked by lighting is considered
marked by the rave of Xangô
6Santana Jingo
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vRc4vZHf5iSQ
7Galn Costa and Milton Nascimento Voz do Tambor
(Fonseca/Bastos)LP Aquele frevo axé
- Fala por nós a voz do tambor
- Voz que trae o meu amor
- As cahoeiras
- Céu onde está Olorum
- Toda a beleza
- Agradecer a Oxum
- Luz das estrelas
- Agradecer a Xango
- O bem da vida
- O bem da vida vem no bater do tambor
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vEaNba-3Wy8Y
- The voice of the drums speaks for us
- The voice that takes my love
- The rapids
- Sky where Olorum lives
- All the beauty
- Will please Oxum
- Starlight
- Will please Xango
- The joy of life
- Come from drumming
- Olorum God of skies
- Xango god of thunder
- Oxum goddess of
- Free translation
- Vesa Matteo Piludu
8Zeca Baleiro Mamae Oxum (traditional, Brazil)
- Ive seen Mother Oxúm in a waterfall
- Sitting on the rivers shores
- Picking flowers, oh yeah
- Picking flowers, oh yeah
- Picking flowers
- To fascinate her congá (altar)
- Its the sea sand illuminated by the sky,
- Sea sand illuminated by the sky,
- In the sea sand, the sea is sand
- Full tide, oh, the sea shores!
- Iemanjá Celebration Mamãe Oxum
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vqDi89NTy-Nk
- Dances of Oxum
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vqhcsJ0-4s54feature
related - Zeca Baleiro Mamãe Oxum
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vPkctGlCA_tw
- Eu vi mamãe Oxum na cachoeiraSentada na beira do
rio - Colhendo lírio lirulêColhendo lírio
liruláColhendo lírioPra enfeitar o seu congá - Ê areia do mar que o céu serenaÊ areia do mar
que o céu serenouNa areia do mar mar é
areiaMaré cheia ê mar marejou
9Oxúm in the Fall
10Oxum
- Divinity of fresh, running waters
- Waterfalls
- Sensual, feminine, vain
- But also protective and full of compassion
- She is full of strength of will
- connected to childbirth and Ifá divination
- Symbol golden mirror, abebé
- Colour golden yellow, copper
11Oxum
- Cd Festa da Musica do Gantois 2
- track 1
- Rhythm ijexá
- Ore yê yê ô!
- The dance represent both the movement of a
flowing river and sensual femininity - The divinity is looking at the mirror and taking
care of her jewellery and hairs
12Oxum
13Oxum
14Oxum, Brazil
15Oxum
- In Nigeria she is the divinity of the river Oxum
- According to a legend she was offended because
the male orixás organized reunions without women - As a revenge, she make all the women barren and
the all the orixas projects failed - At the end all, she is invited to the reunions,
and the things turn back to the normality
16Gal Costa (Author Dorival Caymmy, Brazil)Dois
de Fevereiro, LP Gal Costa canta Caymmy
- Dia dois de fevereiroDia de festa no marEu
quero ser o primeiroPra salvar YemanjáEu
mandei um bilhete pra elaPedindo para ela me
ajudarEla então me respondeuQue eu tivesse
paciência de esperarO presente que eu mandei pra
elaDe cravos e rosas vingou - The Second of February
- Its a day of celebration on the sea
- I want to be the first one
- To hail Yemanjá
- I send her a paper
- Asking for help
- She answered
- To have patience and wait
- I gave her a present
- Done by carnation and roses
17Iemanjá - Yemanjá
- Lady of the seas and oceans, salted water
- Both calm and stormy
- Fertility, childbirth
- protector of family
- Is considered the mother of all the orixás
- Colours silver white and turquoise
- Symbol silver mirror, abebé
18Yemanjá
- Cd Festa da Musica do Gantois 2
- track 4
- Various rhythms
- Odu iyá!
- The dance represents the movements of the sea,
the waves and calm femininity
19African legend back to the sea
- She is the daughter of Olookun, divinity of the
deep seas - His husband is completely drunk and pokes fun at
the impressive dimensions of the breasts of
Yemanjá - Offended, she beats the ground with her foot and
transforms herself into a river, that goes back
to the sea
20Procession of Iemanjá Second of February
21Procession of Jemanjá
22On DVD Carlinhos Brown,ao vivo no festival de
verao Salvador
- Track 20 Carlinhos Brown in the festival of
Yemanjá - Track 19 Charles Ylé
- Track 12 Political mystic discourse
- Track 6 Toda Paz
23Rappa (Brazil) Lado B Lado A
- If they are Exú
- Im Yemanjá
- If they kill a beast
- I swim in the sea
- ()
- Im not renouncing to the Black Mythology
- To say
- Im not like you!
- Im a warrior, a worker
- Fighting every day
- With faith in God and in my battle ()
- Exú crossroads god
- Yemanjá Sea goddess
- Free translation Vesa Matteo Piludu
- Se eles sao Exu
- Eu sou Yemanjá
- Se elem matam bicho
- Eu tomo banho de mar
- ()
- Nao abro mao da mitologia negra
- Pra dizer
- Eu nao pareco com com voce
- ()
- Eu soh guerreiro, sou trabalhadorEh todo dia vou
encararCom Fé em Deus e na minha batalha (...)
24Exú (Salvador, Brazil)
25Exus colors red and black
26Exú - Carybe
- Traditional trickster
- Is uncontrollable, unpredictable
- But it is possible to ask him favours
- Dominantly male, but also female, strongly human
and emotive, full of desires - It is dangerous for his human-like behaviour
but isnt evil - He is the mediator, the bridge between humans and
divinities - He must called before all the others divinities
to avoid confusion
27Exú
- Exu (known as Eleggua in Cuba and Legba in Haiti)
is the owner of the roads and doors in this
world. - He is the repository of axé (life energy).
- The colours red and black or white and black are
his and codify his contradictory nature. - In particular, Exu stands at the crossroads of
the human and the divine, as he is a child-like
messenger between the two worlds - Exú is also connected to sacrifices and offer
28Eshú l'arôye!
- If Exú is respected, he opens the doors and it
is helpful - If isnt considered, he could cause every kinds
of catastrophes - He isnt only good or bad, it depends on the
situations
29Exú ceremony - padé
- The exú ceremony is called padé
- It consist of an offer of vegetals to Exú
- and it is performed before the real ceremony,
to avoid confusion during the ritual - CD Filhos de Gandhi, track 3 sire de exú
30Exú (Salvador, Brazil)
31Vinicius de Moraes Baden PowellLamento de Exú
- The cry of Exú is interpreted with a feeling
similar to the blues
32Pomba Gira in the Macumba of Rio
- In Rio de Janeiro, Exú is more Devil looking
and has a female version or counterpart Pomba
Gira or Pombo Gira - sexuality, and desire
- Pomba Gira is viewed as a sensual woman who is
insatiable - She is often portrayed as a gipsy
- Pomba Gira is often invoked by those who seek aid
in matters of love and sexuality
33Festa de Pombo Gira das Almas e Maria Mulambo
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vFv_NwgjuY7Ifeature
related
34Tecno and Rap - Exú
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vMqXQavT72s8
- Theo Werneck and Paula Pretta's music
35Martinho da Vila Sincretismo religiosoSinger
from Rio in favor of syncretism
- Ê, ô, todos os povos são filhos do senhor!Deus
está em todo lugar. - Nas mãos que criam, nas bocas que cantam, nos
corpos que dançam, nas relações amorosas, no
lazer sadio, no trabalho honesto. - Onde está Deus? - Em todo lugar!
- Olorum, Jeová, Oxalá, Alah, NZambi. . . Jesus!
- E o espírito Santo? É Deus!Salve sincretismo
religioso! - Salve!Quem é Omulu, gente? - São
Lázaro! Iansã? - Santa Bárbara!Ogum? - São
Jorge!
- All the peoples are Gods sons
- God is everywhere!
- In the hands that create, in the mouths that
song, in the bodies that dance, in the love
relations, in the healthy and in the honest work - Where is God? Everywhere!
- Olorum, Jeová, Oxalá, Alah, NZambi. . . Jesus!
- And the Holy Spirit? Is Jesus!
- Hail the syncretism! Hail!
- Whos Omolú, people?
- Saint Lazarus!
- Iansã? - Saint Barbara!
- Ogum? Saint George!
36Mãe Stella of Oxossi (Salvador) against the
syncretism Iansã is not Santa Barbara
- The catholic saints and images have their value.
We do not want to stop having faith in Saint
Barbara. Sure, an elevated spirit. - But we know that Iansã is another energy, it is
not St. Barbara. - Religion is not something to be imposed, it
depends of the consciousness of everyone. - But we want respect with the Candomblé.
- It is a non-sense, for example, to give food to
Iansa at St.Barbara's feet. It has no meaning. - The food is of Iansa, it is another energy,
completely different of what it is St.Barbara, do
you understand?