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Negros is a term for Brazilians of African descent. Usually, the term is cultural rather than ethnic used. It thus differs from the North American name of African-Americans.
In Brazil the most descendants of Africans outside Africa live with 70 to 75 million people. Descendants who only or mainly descended from African slaves, make up 10% of the Brazilian population. Another 40% stem from both Europeans and Africans. The largest concentration of Brazilians found in Bahia, where over 80% of the population of Negros.
After the native American population had proved unsuitable for the work on the sugar cane plantations, the colonial motherland Portugal to 1550, began to import African. More than 3 million slaves, about 37% of all Africans deported to America, were brought to Brazil.
During the colonial Brazil, slavery was the mainstay of the Brazilian economy, especially in mining and in the production of sugar cane. In the nineteenth century operated a group of Evangelical politicians in Britain lobbying for the abolition of slavery in Brazil. In addition to moral concerns, there were also tangible economic interests: the colonies of Great Britain, in which slavery was prohibited, had this competitive disadvantage compared with Brazil. Therefore the British Government increased the pressure on Brazil and reached the final abolishment of slavery on May 13, 1888. Thus, Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere, which abolished slavery.
Ethnic composition of the Negros
The Africans who were deported to Brazil, consist mainly of two groups. The first group comes from Sudan and West Africa. They were mostly Yoruba, FON, Ashanti, Ewe, and Mandinka. They were large, had a relatively high culture and were forcibly removed, mainly in Bahia.
The second group were mainly in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and northeastern Bantu from Angola, Congo and Mozambique, the Zona mata were settled. In the last decades of slavery, black contract workers came to Brazil, mainly from Portuguese-speaking Africa.
Religion
Main article: Afro-Brazilian religion
The most Negros are Christians, mainly Catholics. In addition also the religions of African origin such as candomblé have million followers, most of them Negros. The members focus primarily on the major urban centres in northeastern of Brazil as Salvador da Bahia, Recife. Rio de Janeiro in the South-East is another Center. Also in São Paulo and the State of Rio Grande do Sul there followers, mostly immigrants from the Northeast. In addition to candomblé exists among other things also still Umbanda which is a mixture of African beliefs and Spiritism.
Earlier, the various religions were persecuted, later the religions were legalized by the Brazilian Government.
Other variants in addition to candomblé and Umbanda are inter alia Batuque, the Shango cult in the Northeast and Macumba.
Yoruba kitchen
The kitchen in the State of Bahia dominated the afro improvised kitchen composed of African, American-Indian cuisine, and typical Portuguese dishes.
Typical dishes include Vatapá and Moqueca, both prepared with seafood and palm oil. Palm oil ()Azeite de Dende) is a tropical oil, extracted from the oil palm, which thrives in northern Brazil.
Another typical Brazilian dish is feijoada. Typically, it consists of black beans, pork and Farofa. Originally a Portuguese court, African slaves developed and introduced some low quality ingredients: pigs ears, footers and-taille and beans. It was further developed by all cultures and there are hundreds ways.
Capoeira
Capoeira is a martial art that was introduced during the colonial period in Brazil by African slaves. It is characterized by nimble and tricky movements. Capoeira probably comes from Angola. The combat dance is accompanied by percussion music that will be played on the Berimbau, Atabaques, Agogo and Xequerês.
Music
The music of the Negros is based on the music of Africa. She stressed very strongly the percussion and is characterized by strong Synkopierungen and polyrhythmic structures.
The Negros were rather keep the African traditions as the slaves in North America, since the Portuguese Slaveholders largely allowed this. Afrobrasilianische music has however strongly mixed with Portuguese and African influences.
Music styles with particularly strong various share are among others the music of the candomblé, Samba, Maracatu, Capoeira, Afoxé, LUNDU, and Batuque music.
Among the various instruments Atabaque and Agogo, Berimbau, Xequerê.
Literature
- Petra Schaeber: The power of the drums. The cultural movement of the black carnival groups from alvador/Bahia, Brazil. The example of the Grupo cultural Olodum the power of the drums.
