Can you imagine anything louder, more vibrant or more colourful than the Rio Carnival? I’ve not yet been but I’m sure you’ve pictures of the thousands of people drumming, singing, dancing, laughing and shouting, dressed in all the colours of the rainbow or next to nothing at all. One heck of a party. And the soundtrack to the party is, of course, Samba. Which at this point is synonymous with Brazilian culture. It’s even more difficult to imagine, then, that there was a time when you could be arrested for taking part in Samba parties.
This is the story of how a once underground culture spawned the music of a nation and the people who made it possible.
If I say Samba you may well say Carnival. Massive groups of street musicians playing interlocking rhythms across a huge range of drums and percussion. But, if we go back to Samba’s first hit song then percussion isn’t even audible. (It’s hard to tell if there is percussion somewhere in the mix but the recording is just too old and scratchy, or, if there simply is none at all.) ‘Pele Telefono’ was released by the singer Donga in 1917 and was a massive hit during that year’s Carnival season. It wasn’t the first song to be recorded that was considered Samba – ‘Em Casa da Bahiana’ (1915) and ‘Urubu Malandro’ (1914) both got there first – but it was the song that launched Samba into the public consciousness.
‘Pele Telefono’ isn’t just significant because it was the genre’s first big hit. How it came to be written, and where it came to be written are equally important. Understanding this gives us a window into a unique moment in history when the traditions of the past were morphing into something new.
Donga could be considered a kind of Godfather of Samba but what about its Godmother? Tia Ciata wasn’t even a musician. But, it was at a party at her house that the song was written. ‘So what?’ you may be asking, ‘anyone can throw a party!’. Well. There’s parties and then there’s parties…
Tia Ciata’s parties could last up to a week! Non-stop food, music, dancing and a host of guests from all walks of life – musicians, writers, journalists, politicians, intellectuals, working class, middle class, Africans, Europeans and Arabs of all religions. Ciata’s house was situated in Cidade Nova, a neighborhood in Rio known as Peqneña Africa as many Afro Brazilians had migrated there from rural areas after the abolition of slavery. Rio de Janeiro was a city going through major changes at this time – people were pouring into the city from the rural areas but also from Europe and elsewhere. Brazil was rapidly industrialising due to the success of its rubber and coffee industries. The Portuguese empire’s reign was recently over and the Brazilian republic had been established. Rio was booming whilst undergoing profound social and cultural changes as well as radical urban reform.
Back to the party. Why was everyone hanging out at Tia Ciata’s house? Who was she?
‘Tia’ means ‘auntie’ but she wasn’t always called this. Hilária Batista de Almeida was born in 1854 in the Bahia region, north of Rio. Her parents were probably freed slaves and she moved to Rio in 1876 and set up as a street food vendor selling Bahian delicacies which became very popular. During this era festivities such as Carnival and Festa de Penha were more and more influenced by the African population that had arrived in the cities. Not everyone approved but the times were a-changing. During festivities Tia’s stall became a meeting place for composers, musicians, singers and audiences of the emerging Samba scene.
‘So all of these people showed up at her house parties because she made great food?’ Not entirely. She was also a leading figure in Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion which had also migrated to the city. Religious practices were key to Afro-Brazilians maintaining their culture and identity through-out slavery and the years that followed. Tia Ciata was a devotee of the deity Oshun and was the ‘Iyakekere’ in her community – the primary aid to Pai de Santo at the most prestigious Candomblé temple in Rio.
Candomblé remained illegal in Brazil all the way up until 1970, so being a Candomblé priestess in the early 1900’s probably wasn’t always straightforward. The gatherings at her house needed to be carefully managed in order to avoid police harassment. For example, there may have been a Catholic Mass during the festivities that would take place before the Candomblé ceremonies. In the front of the house there would be musicians playing more acceptable musical styles of the day (e.g. Choro) whilst the Samba sessions would be happening in the back.
You may have guessed that there were other ‘aunties’ or ‘uncles’ who would host similar parties. Other leaders in the Candomblé community who were also promoting and preserving Afro-Brazilian culture. In fact, a number of the first generation of Samba artists to emerge had mothers who were ‘aunties’ in the Candomblé world. (Tia Amelia was Donga’s mother, Tia Perciliana was João da Baiana’s mother and Tia Veridiana was Chico da Bahiana’s mother.) It’s hard to say exactly why Tia Ciata’s fame has outlasted many of these other women but here is one story that is well remembered and often re-told.
Wenceslau Brás had a leg infection that had bothered him for a long time. No doctor could help him get rid of it. He called on the help of Tia Ciata and through her spiritual wisdom and herbal treatments he was finally cured. Wenceslau Brás happened to be the president of Brazil at the time. (1914-18). He was so grateful, that, for the remainder of his presidency, he authorised soldiers to stand guard outside Ciata’s house during festivities to make sure she wasn’t shut down by the police. Some versions of the story say that it was Tia’s husband, who was a civil servant, that put the president in touch with her for treatment. Other tellings say that her husband was given a job as a civil servant because she healed the president. Whichever way you look at it, Candomblé was important. And not just for the health of presidents.
The early form of Samba, known as Samba de Roda is closely associated with the Candombĺé religion. ‘Candomblé’ means ‘dance in honour of the Gods’. (There may be other translations too.) It’s a religion that takes influence from several distinct ethnic groups who had been brought to Bahia to work on plantations during slavery. In Candomblé there is a pantheon of Orishas (deities) who are worshipped. Although people converted to Catholicism when they arrived on the plantations many continued to worship their own gods. The Portuguese practice of worshipping multiple saints coincided nicely with worshipping multiple Orishas. Over time, some Saints and Orishas became associated with each other, for example, Yemanjá the sea goddess with the virgin Mary or Ogum, the warrior figure with Saint George. This obviously had to be hidden from the masters but where there is a will there’s a way. For example, there are stories of Orishas being hidden inside statues of Catholic saints thus allowing the (almost) open worship of the Orisha.
It was in this environment that the early style of Samba de Roda evolved. It has its roots in much older African dances and ceremonies. Roda means ‘ring’ or ‘circle’. Many participants would be involved, all joining in with singing and clapping, some accompanying on instruments, perhaps dancers in the middle. A group effort with elements of improvisation and no strict starting and stopping points. As much ceremony as song.
Back to the party.
It was at one of Tia Ciata’s parties that the song ‘Pele Telefono’ came about. Although it was Donga who registered it and recorded it it seems that the writing process was a group effort. Many people pitched in lyrics and fragments of melodies, improvising and drawing on older folk repertoire. But once it was released, Samba was out of the back rooms and heading for the limelight. ‘Pele Telefono’ became a landmark recording for a new style of Samba that evolved in the coming years in urban centres like Rio.
Samba Carioca was modernised Samba with a more recognisable song form and influences from European music such as the Polka. It was different from Samba de Roda. Samba Carioca songs were played on the radio and became hits at the carnival.
So, it was at the house parties of the Bahian aunties (people like Tia Ciata, Perciliana, Amelia and Veridiana) that modern Samba Carioca was born but it was also at these parties where a much older tradition was keeping itself alive in it’s new home in the city. Donga himself speaks of the time of his youth as, “the time of the real Samba”. Carneiro (writer and historian) remembers that the old style, “that so delights the veterans of Samba is not performed for the general public…this is how the elders remember the ‘old days’ of Samba’s arrival to Rio de Janeiro.” So, even while Samba was becoming the sound of the carnival, destined to be the popular music of Brazil for decades to come, it still maintained a certain mystique. Maybe this is why it seems so magical for those looking in from the outside.
This has just been a brief introduction to the worlds of Samba and Candomblé and a quick peek into Brazilian history. Obviously many volumes could be written on these topics but I hope this has given some insight into the beginnings of a world class musical genre.
sources for this article
A Respectable Spell by Carlos Sandroni
Wikipedia – Tia Cita, Brazilian Belle Epoque,Pele Telefono
Tiaciata.org
The Guardian ‘Her Name is Rio: Aunt Ciata, the guardian of Samba who created carnival culture’ by Beatriz Miranda
Encyclopedia.com
projectcolabora.com.br -‘Tia Ciata, the anti-racist leader who sved Rio’s Samba’ by Ayduno Andre Moth
adventuradobrazil.com – ‘Samba is not just Samba’
learnreligions.com – ‘what is Candomble?’