BRAZIL: MUSIC AND DANCE

Brazilian music has long been one of my favorite genres of music, and I’m geeking out a little bit about this post.  Music is such an important and integrated part of Brazilian society. In fact, I watched a documentary with my husband called Favela Rising about the AfroReggae movement and the incredible work of Anderson Sá in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. He basically started teaching percussion and music to the kids and young people in the favelas for free in exchange that they not do drugs or drink and not join the drug armies. It took a long time for them to become established as a part of the community, and it certainly had its ups and downs, but they’ve gained international notoriety by using the arts as a means of giving people an out to violence. It just goes to show the power of music education and education in general. Too bad American lawmakers and certain educational leaders don’t understand that.

The earliest music came out of Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais, the cultural capital of Brazil during the colonial days. The native peoples in the northern rainforest areas used a variety of whistle, flutes, drums and rattles in their music, and the Jesuits who were there introduced the bow (for string instruments) and the clavichord (an early keyboard instrument). Probably one of the most famous Brazilian classical composers was Heitor Villa-Lobos, who was active from about the late 1920s to the late 1950s. He wrote many pieces for the guitar. 

With roots in Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, samba is most associated with Carnival.  Traditionally, samba used only string instruments and percussion, but after WWII, it incorporated the brass and woodwind instruments that we are now more familiar with. Samba has its roots from African slaves who were from the Bahia area. As they traveled to other cities in search for work and such, they came in contact with other musical styles, and it became integrated into samba as well. As different regions developed variations based on cultural influences and merging it with other styles, different types of samba emerged. By the late 1930s, a style known as samba-exaltação was what caught the international eye, with Brazilian actress Carmen Miranda bringing samba’s prevalence to Hollywood. Other musicians associated with samba and its variations include Beth Carvalho, Cartola, Fernanda Porto, Pixinguinha, Seu Jorge, Marcelo D2 (who often mixes samba and hip-hop – I just downloaded the album Meu Samba É Assim which is such a great album), Banda Black Rio (samba-funk), Olodum (samba-reggae), among others.

Bossa nova is actually a mix of samba and jazz that became really popular in the 1960s. It’s still considered part of the canon of jazz repertoire. In contrast to samba’s roots, bossa nova grew from Rio de Janeiro’s upscale beach neighborhoods. One of the most identifying features is the bossa nova rhythm in 4/4 time: [enter graphic ] The song that brought bossa nova to an international recognition was Stan Getz and João Gilberto’s “The Girl from Ipanema” in 1964 (most notably known with Astrud Gilberto on vocals).  Some of the more famous bossa nova musicians include Chico Buarque, Bebel Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Sérgio Mendes, Elis Regina, Caetano Veloso, Charlie Byrd, and Gal Costa. Because of its similarities, there are many musicians who perform both samba and bossa nova.

There are certain instruments that are key to Brazilian music. The most identifiable sound would be the cuíca. The cuíca is a type of friction drum, where the drummer changes the pitch by changing the tension of the drum head to produce a type of squeaky sound. It’s named after a type of small opossum that makes a similar sound and used a lot in samba music. Other percussion instruments from bass drums to tambourines to homemade percussion instruments are used; many of which have ties to African instruments. Flutes, guitars, the piano, and other modern instruments are also widely used.

MPB stands for Música Popular do Brasil. It is more or less an urban style of music that relied on mostly non-electric types of music, but incorporated a lot of folk, folk-rock, rock, bossa nova, pop, and jazz.  Many of the themes include some kind of criticism towards social justice and governmental issues. Chico Buarque and Elis Regina are among the key leaders in the MPB style. Other musicians include Milton Nascimento and Djavan (I tried to get my husband to name our son Djavan, but he wouldn’t go for it.)

Brazilian rock really got started in the 1960s and 1970s with a group called Os Mutantes and others, and by the 1980s and 1990s became commercially mainstream and branched out into other styles of rock such as metal and punk. Most Brazilian rock has a very mainstream Western sound to it as several American and European rock bands became international sensations. However, there is also a fusion between rock music and samba or bossa nova, giving it a distinctive “Brazilian” feel to it. These days, many MPB musicians cross over into the rock category as well as styles merge. Some of the popular ones throughout the years – and I have many of them in my own collection – are Barão Vermelho, Kid Abelha, Jota Quest, Skank (the first CD I actually paid full price for in Brazil, pronounced like “skunk”), Chico Science & Nação Zumbi, Sepultura, CSS, Tequila Baby, Ultramen, O Rappa, Charlie Brown Jr (one of my absolute favorites!), Planet Hemp, Raimundos, Adriana Calcanhoto, Tribalistas (comprised of Marisa Monte [whom I named my daughter after], Carlinhos Brown, and Arnaldo Antunes), CéU, and Nando Reis.

Dance in Brazil varies with region and is certainly based on the cultural background of that region as well. The northern areas have dances that can be tied back to traditional African dances. The southern gaucho dances have more European influences to their dances. One of the most popular types of dance that is associated with Brazil is capoeira. It’s like a mix of martial arts and dance developed from African slaves and Brazilian natives. Capoeira is characterized by choreographed punching, wide leg sweeps, flips, and take downs. It was developed as a way for the slaves to practice extreme fighting styles, but was never performed without music, masquerading it as a dance rather than martial arts. Traditionally, the capoeira “band” (called the bateria) instruments include three berimbaus (a single-string percussion instrument with a bow), two pandeiros (a type of hand frame drum with metal jingles, similarly made to a tambourine), one atabaque (tall, wooden hand drum), one agogô (like a double cowbell), and one ganzá (a shaker or a rattle). In the US, capoeira is becoming popular among martial art schools and college campuses.

Up next: the food

BRAZIL: ART AND LITERATURE

For one reason or another, there isn’t much art that has survived from pre-European influence. The oldest works are cave drawings found in the state of Piauí. Other cave paintings have been found in the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás. Some of the most sophisticated pieces are statuettes and pottery artifacts found on Marajó Island near the Santarém region.

Among the first Europeans to come to what is now Brazil were Jesuit priests. Besides teaching religion, they also taught various arts, including painting, music, sculpting, and playwriting. The main artists during this Baroque period of art were centered in Minas Gerais. Some of the more famous names to come out of this period were the painter Manuel da Costa Ataíde and the sculptor/architect Aleijadinho.

In 1816, the arrival of the French Artistic Mission changed the face of visual arts by introducing and transitioning the arts movements into the Neoclassical era. The key leader in this was Joachim Lebreton, who reorganized certain arts societies and created the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, which was largely responsible for art education and bringing new changes to Brazilian art. It also opened the door for Romantic painters such as Victor Meirelles and Pedro Américo. The main difference in European Romanticism and Brazilian Romanticism is that the Brazilian artists died down the overly dramatic fascination with death, violence, and the bizarre.

By the late 1800s, Realism had made its way to Brazil, and artists like Pedro Weingärtner and others began to come on the scene. There were two main styles of Realism: one depicted more nature and people while the other tended to portray more folk life and landscape.

By the 1920s, modern art was introduced to Brazil but was met with boos and objects thrown at the artists. Cubism, Surrealism, and Expressionism (all favorite styles of mine) helped pave the way to modern art, but it was met with much resistance from the traditionalists.  The painter Cândido Portinari helped both movements come together in a compromised middle ground.

The modern era also brought along modern architecture. The architect Oscar Niemeyer not only helped design many of the core areas and planning for the capital city of Brasília (such as its famous cathedral), but he also had erected several buildings and structures around Brazil as well. 

His style tends to be geometric, yet almost mimicking of nature. I found out he just passed away about a month ago.  I went to the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba; the building looked like a giant eye. It was pretty impressive when standing inside of it.

Literature has evolved and followed much of the same European trends throughout the years. The first written works from Brazil were mainly in the form of letters and first-hand accounts of life in Brazil.  During the early years, most artists and poets were centered in and around Minas Gerais, a boomtown that became the center of cultural arts due to the gold mining expeditions. Most literature around this time focused mainly on pastoral and nationalistic writing and poetry. Four key poets of this early time were Cláudio Manuel da Costa, Tomás Antônio Gonzaga, Alvarenga Peixoto, Manuel Inácio da Silva Alvarenga, all of whom were arrested on conspiracy to overthrow the colonial government. Costa and Gonzaga were permanently banished to Africa.

Neoclassicism led to Romantic poetry with poets like Gonçalves de Magalhães and Casimiro de Abreu paving the way.  The focal points of Romantic literature are a keen expression of nationalism and nature, and the broader use of casual speech in writing. This made authors like Joaquim Manuel de Macedo, Manuel Antônio de Almeida, José de Alencar very popular and widely read.

The transition between the late 1800s and early 1900s was another change in literary trends as well. It was a shift between the Romantic period into Realism and the modern era. One writer to emerge was Machado de Assis. I had downloaded a sample of Dom Casmurro (in Portuguese) onto my Kindle a couple years ago. From what I remember, it started out pretty good (based on what I gathered from my slightly passable Portuguese). The novel actually was significant because of its analysis of adultery. (I apparently didn’t get that far into the book. Now, I’m going to just have to buy it.)

Euclides da Cunha was one of the key developers of determinism, a style that based on the philosophy that for everything that happens, there are a set of circumstances to which nothing else could happen (a sort of opposite of free will). His most famous work is a large three-part novel called Os Sertões.

When I was in Porto Alegre, I visited the beautiful (pink!) Casa de Cultura, which was where poet Mario Quintana once lived. I’ve read some of his poetry, and I really like it. Simplistically written, it often deals with death, lost childhood, and time. I should’ve bought a book of his poetry while I was there. 

I also came across Erico Verissimo, also from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. His novel O Tempo e O Vento is also considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Brazilian literature.  I’ve yet to read it although I want to; I suppose I could try to order it. I did find an English-language version of his book called Breve História da Literatura Brasileira (A Short History of Brazilian Literature) at the Indiana State University library and read it. It’s actually really interesting; I’d like to have a copy of that too. Or better yet, I should just take a book-buying trip to Brazil. (Now to find a sponsor…) 

One author that I see a lot at bookstores here (that I also have yet to read) is Paulo Coelho. He’s written over 30 novels, including The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage, Brida, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, and The Fifth Mountain.  Since the late 1980s, he has published a novel every 1-2 years, saying that if he ever finds a white feather, he takes it as God’s way of pushing him to start writing a new book. Wherever his influences come from, he keeps churning them out. (And of course, another set of books to add to my list of books to buy.)

Up next: Music and Dance

BRAZIL: HOLIDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS

For having the most followers of Roman Catholicism, there are only a few religious holidays that warrant a public holiday status with businesses and government offices closed. During election years (which are on the even numbered years), election days are also considered public holidays. There are many holidays and celebrations that are held throughout the year that are not considered a national holiday, and yes, you still have to show up to work.

New Year’s Day.  January 1. Marking the official end of the holiday season, people gather at friend’s homes or in bars or clubs to celebrate with a nice meal and drink. Then at midnight, people cheer and drink champagne, making a lot of noise and enjoying the fireworks displays. Parties go late into the night and end early the next morning. Many Brazilians try to wear white on New Year’s Eve in hopes of a peaceful new year, but will also wear other colors for different wants (green for hope and health, red for love, yellow for money, etc.). Because it’s the middle of their summer in Brazil, many people have barbeques and go to the beaches. In a recent survey I heard yesterday on some news program, the nation that most people would want to spend New Year’s Eve in would be Brazil (followed by America and Spain). They also said that of all the cities that uses Twitter the most, São Paulo came in fifth. So there you have it. #thetvdoesntlie

Carnival. Varies. Marking the beginning of the Lenten season, carnival is celebrated throughout the world, but the ones in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are the most famous. The samba schools (called Escolas de Samba) practice a long time for Carnival, where hundreds turn out for the annual parade. The dancers are dressed on costumes that only rival Mardi Gras and the Vegas strip. Some bands play for 8 hours at a time, and the biggest festivals last for four days ending on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

Lie’s Day.  April 1. Very similar to what we call April Fools’ Day in the United States. People play practical jokes on each other and tell lies all day. It’s always been one of my least favorite holidays. I love the years when it falls on a weekend.

Easter. Varies. There are a lot of similarities between how Brazil celebrates Easter and how the US celebrates it. Most people start the day off with a special church service, and children receive chocolate eggs that represent the new life found in Jesus’ resurrection. They also have the Easter bunny hide eggs and children participate in Easter egg hunts as well. Most people will spend their afternoon sharing a meal and spending time with family.  

Tiradentes’ Day.  April 21. Tiradentes is the nickname of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, one of the major conspirators in one of Brazil’s most famous unsuccessful revolutionary attempts. Inspired by the 1776 American Revolution, it was basically started because the workers who were mining for gold realized the gold was running out, yet they still had to pay their taxes even though what they were paying with was quickly diminishing. And of course, those in command didn’t really care so much. So in essence, they wanted to break away from Portugal and create their own country. The conspirators were caught, held and questioned for years. Most were permanently banished to Africa (to Angola, Portugal’s other territory), except Tiradentes took the fall for everyone and was hung. His death date is the date of the holiday, and he’s considered a national hero.

Labour Day. May 1. Brazil first celebrated this day in 1894. While they originally tried to keep with the meaning of holiday – about celebrating the worker and discussing labor issues and such – it eventually became more or less a holiday where it gave the people a day off of working. Much like the United States.

Mother’s Day.  2^nd Sunday in May.  Celebrated on the same day as in the US, the holiday represents the same sentiments. People buy their mothers gifts or flowers or take her out to eat. It’s one of the most profitable holidays for businesses.

Valentine’s Day.  June 12. Started in 1950 by a Brazilian advertiser, Valentine’s Day in Brazil is celebrated in much of the same way as it is in the US. People buy small gifts and flowers for their girlfriends and boyfriends, or husbands and wives (hopefully not for both). Romantic dinners and other special events are also popular. People give cards and gifts not just to romantic lovers, but to family and other important people in their lives.

Father’s Day.  2^nd Sunday in August. Also started in 1950, Father’s Day in Brazil is often celebrated with buying gifts for their father and celebrating with a barbeque or going out for lunch in the afternoon.

Independence Day. September 7.  Marks the day that Brazil declared independence from Portugal in 1822. The entire country decorates in green, yellow, and blue; flags hang from everywhere it can be hung from. Parades march through most cities in Brazil and even abroad. There are a lot of festivals and outdoor concerts and many people have barbeques with friends and family.  It’s one of the biggest celebrations of the year, and it always ends in a large fireworks display at night.  If you go to Brazil, you’ll find that a popular street name is Sete de Setembro (7^th of September) in honor of this day. They use a lot of dates and important people as street names. And of course, I arrived in Brazil on September 8.

Our Lady of Aparecida/Children’s Day. October 12. Our Lady of Aprecida (or Nossa Senhora da Aparecida) is the patron saint of Brazil. Children often receive small gifts from their parents and family members. Some older children do service projects that include helping the poor or homeless.

Day of the Dead. November 2. Also called All Soul’s Day, this holiday is designed for taking care of the graves of loved ones. They will decorate their gravesites with fresh flowers, candles, and say prayers over them, a day to remember those who have come before you and to hope they have a better life in the beyond.

Republic Day. November 15. When Brazil first gained independence, it maintained itself as a monarchy under Dom Pedro II. Even though he himself was for the abolition of slavery, his handlers thought it was necessary. The people of Brazil however, were more upset that they remained in poverty and nothing was being done. So, they eventually revolted and took over, and this day marks the day Brazil became a republic. People will also decorate buildings in the national colors, and schools and government offices close for the day. This is also a date that you’ll also find on many street names (called Quinze de Novembro), as well as Dom Pedro II. In fact, when I was in Curitiba, I used to walk down 15 de Novembro, since it was rebuilt as a pedestrian-only street, and one of the first ones built in Brazil. 

Christmas Day. December 25. Brazil celebrates Christmas like much of the Western countries do. People will decorate their houses and put up Christmas trees. Most people will gather on Christmas Eve to sit down for a midnight meal. They do partake in the Santa Claus tradition (called Papai Noel, who apparently lives in Greenland and wears a silk suit when traveling to Brazil and other southern hemisphere countries), where he comes to deliver toys and gifts to good children.  Because Brazil is majority Christian of various denominations, many people will eat a late dinner (which is normal for Brazilians anyway, mostly after 9 pm) and attend a midnight mass on Christmas Eve. If you're up for a little travel trivia, Rio de Janeiro is really famous for having the largest floating Christmas tree in the world, measuring 85 meters high -- almost as high as a 31 story building!

Up next: Art and Literature

BRAZIL: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

During the summer of 2003, I was working at a total immersion Japanese camp (part of the Concordia Language Villages spread throughout northern Minnesota), and I had chosen to work both the first and second sessions. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with all of the money I was making while doing both sessions (I say that as if I had stacks of cash. Anyone who knows CLV, knows we’re paid in experience rather than monetarily). I saw two options: use it as a down payment for a new(er) car or travel. I was confident that my 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity Caprice would make it many more years (it lasted five more months). The next big question was where… I chose Brazil, mostly since I had many English-teacher friends down there, and I thought if I went somewhere where I knew people, I could stay with people rather than in hotels or hostels. So, Brazil it was.

In the mountains of Parana.  Wow, what changes 10 years makes; this is before 8 years of marriage and two babies. That's not even my hair color anymore.  

Brazil is the largest country in South America, and not only the only Portuguese-speaking country on the continent, but the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world. For most people, Brazil conjures up images of the Amazon, gauchos, coffee, pristine beaches full of bikini-clad women, the wild throws of Carnival and samba, racing, and soccer (or fútbol as the rest of the world calls it). And while those things are popular, there is more to Brazil than that.

Brazil borders every country in South America, except two: Chile and Ecuador. And because Brazil is such a large country, not much smaller than the United States, the land is diverse as well. The Amazon rainforest spans across the northwest regions of the country, and its famous coffee grows in the coastal states in the mid- to southern regions. Brazilian coffee is among the best in the world, and prior to the Great Depression on the 1930s, Brazil provided 80% of the world’s coffee.  The southern part is an important agricultural region – famous for their gaucho culture. Part mountainous and part plains, this region is famous for its beef as well as its wine production, both of which are superb.

The country of Brazil is named after brazilwood, a type of tree that has a dark red wood found mostly in the northwest of Brazil, mostly from the state of Pernambuco. During the 15^th and 16^th century, the wood was coveted by Europeans for its ability to create dyes and for other uses, such as musical instruments (like violin bows). Ships carrying brazilwood were often pirated and had its cargo stolen. However, the tree is listed as endangered because of all of this.

An example of brazilwood. This is a viola bow. 

Brazil is just about as diverse as the United States. Because it was also a stop on the slave trade, much of the northern areas have many people of African descent or mixed African descent. Of course, you’ll find many people of Portuguese, Spanish and other European descent, and after WWII, there was a large emigration of Italians and Germans who fled to the southern parts of Brazil. Brazil also is the host of the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, one of the largest communities being that of Liberdade in São Paulo, Brazil's (and South America's) largest city. I was only in São Paulo for a day and didn’t get the chance to go to Liberdade, so it’s definitely a MUST-SEE the next time I go.

While most people know of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, neither of those cities are the capital. The capital is Brasilia, which lies farther inland and has the distinction of being one of the world's few "planned cities." (We talked about the capital city of Canberra, Australia also being a planned city.) And actually, it's the largest city in the world that didn't exist at the beginning of the 20th century.  The principle architect was Oscar Niemeyer (I went to one of his museums in Curitiba where the building looked like a big eye.), and if viewed from above, the city looks like an airplane or butterfly. 

The vast majority of the country claims Roman Catholic as their religion, although Protestantism has been gaining followers in the past decade. There is also a large population who do not claim any particular religion at all. Brazil actually has the world’s largest Catholic population.

In the past decade, Brazil has made strides in coming up as an economic power. It has a strong manufacturing, agricultural, mining, and service jobs sector that helps to drive its economy to make it one of the fastest emerging economies in the world.

Brazil still struggles with literacy rates among the poor areas and violent crimes in the larger cities; some areas still don't have adequate access to clean water and sanitation. The country is still trying to come up with solutions relating to its infamous favelas, the most famous ones in Rio de Janeiro.  These slum areas are occupied by the poorest peoples in the city, disproportionately minority neighborhoods. The literacy rates are lower than the rest of the population and certain diseases tend to be higher since access to health care is limited. These areas are often one of the central points for drug trafficking; Brazil is the second-largest consumer of cocaine and an illicit producer of cannabis as well. I imagine this will be an issue we’ll see more of in the news in the next few years since Brazil will be the host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well as the 2016 Summer Olympics.

I’m really excited for the opportunity to delve into Brazil’s cultural history to showcase a country that has been close to my heart for almost a decade now. (I was made an honorary Brazilian by my friends.) They take a lot of pride in their arts and history, from their literature to their music to their cuisine. Even though I have a lot of pre-knowledge about Brazil, I’m sure there are things that will still be new to me.

Up next: Holidays and Celebrations

BOTSWANA: THE FOOD

Amidst picking my kids up from my parents from staying overnight, trying to battle crowds of morons to finish up my Christmas shopping to actually wrapping all these gifts, I did manage to find time to do a little cooking this weekend. And not just any cooking: food from Botswana.

At the end of the 2^nd episode in “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” Mma Makutsi mentioned making seswaa. Seswaa is slow-cooked beef brisket. I did find beef brisket, which is a tough cut of meat just below the shoulder; however, it was a little more than I wanted to pay for. They had two: one was $16 and the other was $20. So, I went with a slightly cheaper cut on meat, a top round cut. I know it has a different taste and different fat content, but it was still really good (I retained some of the juices to keep it from drying out too much). The meat was slow-cooked for 2 ½ hours in a pot with very few ingredients: some chopped onions and black pepper. After that time, I took the meat out and pounded it down. I don’t have a pestle (I asked for one for Christmas, so maybe I should’ve waited a couple of days to make this meal), so I used a potato masher instead, and it did the job. I did add a little salt at the end – it reminded me of pot roast my mother used to make. It's not beautiful in a picture, but my stomach though it was. Perfect for a cold winter’s night.

I wish you could smell this picture, like you can in Harry Potter. It certainly made my kitchen smell good. 

I made what’s called ugali; basically it’s pouring cornmeal into boiling water. It was supposed to be the consistency of really thick mashed potatoes, but mine got really dry and crumbly. I did add 2 tablespoons of butter and a little garlic powder. I don’t know if the garlic powder is truly Botswanan, but it certainly was really good. Crumbles and all.

Crumbly ugali. 

The vegetable dish I made is called Botswana cabbage.  It starts out sautéing tomatoes and onions, then adding in some ginger, oregano, thyme, and I added some green chilies, and of course, cabbage. I added water and let it simmer. However, I really should’ve been checking on it a little better because the bottom got a little burnt when the water cooked off. And I think my recipe might have had a typo, because it called for a lot of oregano, much more than mixed well with the other spices. Overall, it had potential of being really tasty, if I hadn’t have messed it up.

Cabbage and tomatoes and all sorts of bits of (burnt) pieces.

Finally, this is one meal where I broke tradition and left the bread for last. Called magwinya, or fat cakes, it starts out as a dough of flour, sugar, yeast and salt and worked it until it was smooth and rests for a half hour. Afterwards, I made small balls of dough and fried it. The recipe said it was similar to Yorkshire puddings, but I thought it was closer to fried biscuits that you find in the southern US. (And if you think about it, there is definitely a link between the two areas; however, this particular one may be more of an influence from the British, seeing how I’m not sure how much grains were actually harvested and ground before their arrival; they tend to use more root vegetables and tubers. But it’s not like they didn’t have access to buying flour, I suppose. I will have to check on this though. Please, if you know, leave a comment and let me know the origin on magwinya and whether or not it is related to southern fried biscuits or not.) And of course, I thought I had vegetable oil but apparently I didn’t, so I had to use olive oil. But they turned out really well. I never followed up to see what they put on it, so I put butter and strawberry jam. Needless to say, there are no leftovers.

Because "fat cakes" were exactly what I need when we're in Christmas cookie season. 

We are at the peak of the Christmas season and the end of the year, which makes me reflect on what’s really important in my life. I think this meal somewhat represents life in general. There are core things that make up the bulk of the meal – that part that fills you up – which is the seswaa and ugali. Then there is the part of life that doesn’t turn out the way you planned, but you really strive to still make it the best it can be: the cabbage. And of course there are the sweet moments – the fat cakes with strawberry jam – that makes everything worth waiting for, the things that memories are made of, and reminds you there is still good in the world, often of few ingredients. And of course, it’s all best enjoyed with the ones you love. It seemed like such a fitting meal seeing how Kwanzaa starts this week. Happy holidays, everyone!

The final product; Or, a visual representation of my life. 

Up next: Brazil 

BOTSWANA: MUSIC AND DANCE

Like most African countries, music education and music in general is such an integrated part of their culture that it’s hard to separate music from its society. Most of the Tswana folk music is vocal music without the use of drums (somewhat rare for African music), but it does make use of stringed instruments in a lot of its music. The guitar has become popular in Tswana folk music in recent decades, overtaking the traditional segaba, although it is making a comeback. The segaba is a one-stringed instrument with a metal resonator on the end, some of which looks like old cans attached to the wooden base (reminding me of the township art mentioned in my last post). It’s played by striking the string with another wire attached to a wooden handle and sounds like a beginning violin player.

Kwaito music is a genre of music that originated out of Johannesburg, South Africa and has become really popular in nearby Botswana. A lot of South African culture has made its way across the border, but that’s probably to be expected, seeing how Johannesburg is roughly a five-hour drive from Gaborone. To me, there are elements of American hip-hop and of Caribbean dancehall.  It's kind of catchy. I like it. 

An African style of rhumba that originated in Central Africa is called kwasa kwasa, a style that is slightly slower than rhumba (that actually is an Afro-Cuban form of music). Since it’s really hard to separate a lot of music styles with corresponding dances, kwasa kwasa has a simpler foot movement and more erotic movements as well. Some artists like Vee sped it up a little and created the style known as kwaito kwasa, making it a new dance form. The piece I put here is one of Vee's pices as an example of kwaito kwasa. I like this piece, although I think it would be great if someone took this and mixed it as a house beat.  

Rock music and hard rock music are becoming more popular in Botswana. Because of the younger generation’s access to the Internet and television stations like MTV, rock has gained popularity in recent years. Hip-hop is also highly popular with influences from the United States, Europe, and the rest of Africa. Likewise, African and Caribbean reggae is also highly popular as well. Fortunately, there were a lot of artists listed on Wikipedia; but unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of available music on Spotify. (I’m not really happy with Spotify lately; I may switch over and try Pandora.)  

Dance in Botswana is not just merely for entertainment; many times, it served a purpose. The traditional dances of Botswana are often used to pass on stories and for healing ceremonies. It’s often expressive and rhythmic. Different regions certainly have their own dances as there are different dances for different purposes, but some of the more popular ones come from the San or Bushman.

One of the healing dances involves having the sick person lie down next to a fire while the dancers dance and sing and clap around the sick person. The dance starts out slowly and gradually gets faster, at times stopping to assess the health of the sick individual, only to start back up on the dance. It always starts in the evening and can last anywhere from 3-8 hours. This video is a little long, but it's a really good look into the San bushmen way of life and the healing dance. It's also a good example to hear spoken "click" language. 

The other important dance serves two purposes for two different groups of people. For the Sarwa peoples, the dance is to celebrate good hunts, however the Tswana people use it as a rain dance. The Setswana word for rain is pula, which also happens to be the motto of Botswana as well as the term for their currency.  (When I was in high school, my friend and I who were both part of the mellophone section in marching band devised rain dances in order for us to take breaks. Weirdly enough, it worked almost every time within an hour of doing the dance. One time we did it really quickly and caused a tornado watch a few hours later. We were sort of famous. Sort of.)

Up next: the food!

BOTSWANA: ART AND LITERATURE

Most of the art in Botswana comes from two different peoples. The first being the !Kung peoples, or sometimes called the San or Bushmen. And no, that exclamation point is not a typo. The language of the !Kung people is otherwise known as the “click language,” thought to be one of the oldest and most complex languages in the world. The explanation point signifies where the click is.  Since the !Kung peoples mainly lived in the Kalahari Desert in the areas of Botswana and Namibia, their art tends to be made from objects found in the Kalahari Desert, such as ostrich shells, bones, clay pots, beaded jewelry, and wooden carving (including that of animals). There was evidence of ancient cave drawings that still appear today as vibrant etchings depicting important aspects of life at that time: hunts, animals, ceremonies and recording the stepping stones of life.

The other style of art in Botswana is tied to the Nguni peoples, a style that is similar to many tribes of the southeast regions of Africa. The Nguni peoples created more intricate carvings out of stone, wood, or clay/ceramics. They also specialize in what’s called township art – that is, art that is made from discarded items like bottle caps, cans, pieces of wood, animal skins, etc. They use these materials to make objects that are used in everyday life, like musical instruments, walking sticks, blankets, baskets, etc. While there are many areas between the two types of art in Botswana that are different, there are large commonalities between the two as well, as evident in many aspects of their cultures and societies.

This is made from beaded wire. Pretty cool, huh? Check out more here: www.wow-imports.com .

Bessie Head is often considered one of Botswana’s most revered authors. Originally born in South Africa to a wealthy white woman and a black servant, racial discord in that country led her to eventually leave and move to Botswana. The novel that she is most well-known for is When Rain Clouds Gather, some of which seems was inspired by her own life story in some ways, in my opinion.  The subjects of her novels tend to be about African life, especially about humble beginnings and the struggle of life, as well as religion (raised as a Catholic, she later converted to Hinduism). Although she died in 1986 at the age of 48 from hepatitis, the Bessie Head Heritage Trust and the Bessie Head Literature Awards were established in 2007 in honor of her.

Another writer that I think should not be left out is Unity Dow. She is probably better known as not only as a judge, but the first female judge in Botswana’s High Court. She has long fought for women’s rights and human rights in general.  One of the key cases she was involved in was making the change that the children of a women are legally Batswana. (Tradition holds that nationality comes from the father.)  She has written five books that often deal with the dichotomy of Western life versus traditional life, including relevant topics like AIDS and poverty.

One of the major independent newspapers publishing daily is the Mmegi.  (Another newspaper read in Botswana is Botswana Guardian, but for some reason, I couldn't get the site to come up.) It literally means “The Reporter” in Setswana. It’s an English-language newspaper based out of Gaborone, and they do have an online edition at www.mmegi.bw. What gets me when I was browsing their site are the differences in English-language journalistic writing. In the US, unless it’s an op-ed column or a high school paper, the wording is very cut and dry. Theirs use a little more casual words and phrases, making it sound more like a conversation you would hear (well, maybe a little more professionally written than that), rather than a non-emotional dry “just-the-facts-ma’am” style of writing. Barring everything I’ve been taught about journalistic writing, I like it though. But you know me, I tend to gravitate toward less formalities any day. 

Up next: music and dance