“O Ensaio é na batida do tambor”: uma etnografia do ritual de pagamento de promessa da Irmandade de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Tavares-RS.

Abstract

The present work accomplish an ethnography of the ritual of the Quicumbi Promise Payment, guided by the beat of the drum. The Rehearsal, performed by the Brotherhood of Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Tavares - RS, is a religious ritual that takes place from the commitment made between a devotee and the saint - the promise. The Brotherhood was formed by enslaved African men taken to the Coastal Peninsula of Rio Grande do Sul in the 19th century, where the current municipality of Tavares is located. Currently, the generation of their descendants, comprised of 12 brothers called “dancers” and 2 musicians, perform the ritual within 12 hours of duration. The ritual connects music, singing and dancing to bring the message of thanks to the grace achieved by the Virgin Mother of the Rosary. In this context, the Quicumbi drum, together with the güiro (called caninha) and the tambourine, comprise the percussive instrumental ensemble that performs the music of the Rehearsal. Thus, the purpose of this research was to observe the Quicumbi drum along with the other instruments of this percussive ensemble within the context where where they are inserted, and which constitutes a place where they acquire sense and meaning. In addition to the anthropological contributions, the study of this instruments was supported by the ethnomusicology field and dialogued with Historiography. The Quicumbi drum is more than a tool that produces sound, its beats are voices that echo in the sound landscape of the Peninsula, calling devotees to Nossa Senhora do Rosário.