Religious origins for some, collective dance for others: Where does the name 'samba' come from? More than a hundred years after the invention of the genre, the debate persists among historians. Decoding, on the occasion of the 184th Rio Carnival, which starts on February 9th

The Africas that I have recreated, to resist is the law / Art is a rebellion,’ sang the members of Mangueira in 2023, one of the most prestigious and oldest samba schools in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), during their carnival parade. Because it is no secret that samba draws inspiration from African dances and rhythms, imported by slaves over almost four hundred years of the slave trade. But how and why the name 'samba'? More than a hundred years after the beginnings of this musical style, which has become over time the standard-bearer of Brazil worldwide, the debate is still unresolved

From semba to samba, there is only one step

The most widespread hypothesis is that the word samba would derive from 'semba', itself coming from the Kimbundu language spoken in Angola. The word refers to an 'umbigada', that is, a 'navel strike' with which slaves invited themselves to dance. But the word samba could also refer to a prayer uttered by slaves during batuques, festive and religious gatherings at the same time, where they asked for the end of their slavery and suffering.

There is the history of the word and then there is the history of the practice, and both are a bit mixed," explains Anaïs Fléchet, historian at the University Paris-Saclay. "The samba initially appears in the Recôncavo region, near Salvador de Bahia, which was the major region of sugar cane plantations and, therefore, one of the main regions for the importation of African slaves. And in this context, the batuques developed.

A friend named Samba.

Samba is also and above all a common name in Bantu languages, spoken in about twenty countries in the southern half of Africa. What if it was a slave named Samba who gave his name to the music that makes the world dance? This is the theory of Salloma Salomão Jovino Da Silva, a musician and historian, affiliated researcher at the University of Lisbon. 'Examining the records of the slave trade, I found between 250 and 300 people with the name Samba or its derivatives: Sambi, Sambu, Sambaiba…,' he says. Additionally, the words Sambo in the United States or zambo in Spanish-speaking America are found, where they are considered terms with racist connotations

Cultural appropriation

Despite its undeniable origins, the Africanness of samba has not always been emphasized. 'From the end of the 19th century and the abolition of slavery in 1888, slaves from the Northeast migrate to the large cities of the South, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, then the capital of the country [Brasília only becomes the capital in 1960]. It is upon arriving in Rio that samba undergoes musical and choreographic transformation, blending with the rhythms of European ballroom dances,' recounts Anaïs Fléchet.

Samba, perceived by the elites as something originating from African blacks and therefore as something barbaric, then becomes a product of Brazilian mass culture, whether through carnival, radio, and later, record. But this phenomenon of nationalization also implies the idea of whitewashing. Not only will the Afro-Brazilian aspect be highlighted, but also the mixed-race aspect of the music," continues the researcher

Article source:jeuneafrique