“ARROBOBOI, DANGBÉ”

 GRES United of Viradouro | Carnival 2024

Synopsis – Summary

…IT HAS BEEN AWAKENED!

OPEN PATHS TO THE TURNING POINT! THE PREDICTION OF THE ORACLE, LORD OF ALL COUNSEL, FORETELLS A TIME OF GREAT BATTLES. A TIME OF STRUGGLE. AND A TIME OF VICTORY!

THE MAINTENANCE OF THE BELIEFS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE COSTA DA MINA REGION LIVES ON IN THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE VOODUN PRIESTESSES, WOMEN CHOSEN AND INITIATED INTO RITES OF PRAISE TO THE SACRED SERPENT, WHOSE MYSTICAL TRAJECTORIES ARE INTERWINED IN EPIC COMBAT, TACTICAL CAMOUFLAGE AND VITAL RESILIENCE.

ARROBOBOI: “SAVE THE INFINITE SPIRIT OF THE SERPENT”!

DANGBÉ – THE WORSHIP OF THE SERPENT

A SINUOUS BEAM SLIDES ACROSS THE GROUND, RASHES THE LEAVES, SHAKES THE EARTH AND BUBBLES THE WATERS. IT IS DANGBÉ, THE VOODUN OF PROTECTION, BALANCE AND MOVEMENT. IN IT, NOTHING BEGINS OR ENDS, EVERYTHING ADVANCES, EVERYTHING RETURNS. IT IS THE CONSTANT WHIRLING OF THE UNIVERSE, THE CLOSED CIRCLE, A SENSE MATERIALIZED BY THE IMAGE OF THE SNAKE SWALLOWING ITS OWN TAIL.

THIS IS HOW DANGBÉ SHINED AMONG THE PEOPLE OF UIDAH, ON THE COAST OF MINA, AFTER THE EPIC BATTLE AGAINST THE NEIGHBORING KINGDOM OF ALADÁ.

THE SERPENT CROSSED THE FIELDS WHERE ALADAH'S ARMY WAS, GOING TO JOIN THE OPPOSING SIDE. THE GREAT SACRIFICER RAISED THE ANIMAL SO THAT IT COULD BE SEEN BY THE ENEMY TROOP, PROSTRATED BEFORE THE SERPENT. AFTER AN INTENSE ATTACK, THE VICTORY OF UIDAH WAS CONSECRATED. THE VICTORIOUS NATION BEGAN TO BRING OFFERINGS AND TO HOLD GRAND PROCESSIONS TOWARDS THE TEMPLE BUILT TO REVERENCE THE DIVINITY.

LATER, THE WORSHIP OF DANGBÉ WOULD JOIN OTHER VOODOONS CULTS PRESENT IN THE KINGDOM OF DAHOME, WHICH EXPANDED ITS DOMAINS AFTER INTENSE FIGHTS AGAINST NEARBY KINGDOMS. BATTLES IN WHICH A POWERFUL FEMALE ARMY, SPIRITUALLY PREPARED BY VOODOONS PRIESTESSES, STANDED OUT.

THE MYSTIC PACT OF THE MINO WARRIORS

LIKE THE RIVER THAT MELT DOWN FLOODING THE FOREST, THE TROOP BREAKS ACROSS THE HORIZON. A RED TRAIL OF BLOOD ON THE EARTH, IN THE INSANITY OF WAR AND THE DIGNITY OF FIGHT. A TONGUE OF EMBERS AND A VINE OF FIRE THAT MAKES THE DRY STRAW CRACKLE, ATTACK WITH FEARLESSNESS AND FURY REVEALING THE POWER OF WOMEN-SOLDIERS CONSECRATED IN FAITH AND IN BATTLES, PROTECTED BY THE SUPERNATURAL.

THE MINO WARRIORS, THE MOST FEARED WOMEN IN THE WORLD, WERE WIVES AND GUARDIANS OF THE PALACE OF THE KING OF DAHOME, AS WELL AS BOLD ELEPHANT HUNTERS, WHOSE IVORY WAS USED AS RAW MATERIAL IN OFFICIAL AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES.

WHEN RECRUITED, THEY TOOK PART IN AN INITIATION RITUAL LED BY VOODUN PRIESTESSES, LADIES OF THE THRONE OF MAGIC AND ENCHANTMENT. IN THIS SACRED ASSEMBLY, THEY MADE A MYSTIC PACT SO THAT THEY WOULD NEVER BETRAY EACH OTHER. THE SPIRIT OF COLLECTIVENESS FORGED THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON THEY HAD: THE NON-NEGOTIABLE VALUE OF LOYALTY.

WITH INTELLIGENCE AND FAITH, THEY FORMED MORE THAN AN ARMY: THEY ORGANIZED A POWERFUL BROTHERHOOD, AN ALLIANCE CONSECRATED BY THE ENCHANTING FORCE OF THE VOODUN. THUS, THEY BECAME WELL-FIGHTINGLY IMPLATING AND SPIRITUALLY INVULNERABLE. ATTRIBUTES SPREAD TO THE WINDS BY FEMALE LEADERS OF DAHOME IN OTHER FIGHTS, THIS TIME FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE SACRED IN NEW TERRITORIES WHERE THE HEIRS OF THE SERPENT PLACED THEIR FEET AND PEJIS.

THE MYSTICAL VALUES OF THE WARRIORS CROSSED THE ATLANTIC IN THE CHEST OF MEMORIES AND BELIEFS OF A PRIESTESS FROM DAHOME, WHO ARRIVED IN BRAZIL ON THE THRONE OF GU QUEEN. LITTLE WAS KNOWN ABOUT HER PAST. BUT MUCH WOULD BE KNOWN ABOUT HER FUTURE.

LUDOVINA PESSOA AND THE VOODUM HERITAGE IN BAHIA

WITH THE MISSION OF PERPETUATING VOODUN CULTS IN BRAZIL, LUDOVINA PESSOA WAVED ACROSS THE IMMENSE OCEAN WITH THE MYSTICAL COMPANY OF HER ANCESTORS. SHE BECAME THE PILLAR OF TERREIROS CONSECRATED TO VOODUN, AMONG THEM THE SEJA HUNDÉ, IN THE CITY OF CACHOEIRA, IN THE RECÔNCAVO BAIANO, AND THE TERREIRO DE BOGUM, BUILT IN THE HEART OF SALVADOR.

IN BOGUM, A CENTENNIAL HOUSE OF FEMALE LEADERSHIP, SEEDS OF FREEDOM WERE PLANTED, BECOMING AN IMPORTANT PLACE OF SUPPORT FOR THE MALÊS REVOLT, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN SALVADOR IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY.

THE WORD “BOGUM” HISTORICALLY REFERRED TO A VILLAGE NEAR THE COAST OF THE MINE. ACCORDING TO ORAL TRADITION, THE TERM ALSO REFERRED TO THE CHEST WHERE THE GOLD AND DONATIONS INTENDED TO FINANCE THE POPULAR INSURRECTION THAT UNITED THE BLACK PEOPLE AGAINST SLAVERY WERE STORED.

IF ON THE ONE HAND THE REVOLT WAS SUFFOCATED, ON THE OTHER, THE TIES BETWEEN THE PRIESTESSES AND THE FAITH OF THE PEOPLE BROUGHT TO BRAZIL WERE STRENGTHENED. JUST LIKE THE WARRIOR ANCESTORS OF DAHOME, IT WAS NECESSARY TO USE LOYALTY SO THAT THEIR MAGIC PRACTICES COULD CROSS TIMES AND BORDERS IN THIS NEW TERRITORY MARKED BY THE PERSECUTION OF THEIR BELIEFS. BROTHERHOODS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS INSERTION OF THESE PRIESTESSES, LEADERS OF A LEGION OF SISTERS OF FAITH.

BETWEEN THE CROSS AND THE SERPENT: SYNCRETIC TEMPLES

NOW, NOT ONLY VOODUN PROTECTED WOMEN. WITH THE BROTHERHOODS, WOMEN ALSO PROTECTED VOODUN. THUS, THEY BECAME LADIES OF HEALING, FORTUNE, FERTILITY, DIVINATION, ADVICE AND DESTINY. SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE WAS GIVEN EVEN TO WHITE MEN AND WOMEN WHO PUBLICLY REJECTED THE WORSHIP OF SPIRITS, BUT WHO BEGGED FOR HELP FROM MAGIC IN THE BACKGROUND OF CATHOLIC TEMPLES OF WORSHIP.

IN CACHOEIRA, AT TERREIRO DO SEJA HUNDÉ, LUDOVINA WAS THE LINK BETWEEN MANY OF THE PRIESTESSES GATHERED IN BROTHERHOODS, ESTABLISHING TIES OF BELONGING BETWEEN THE CLANS. UNITED, THEY WOVE AN ASSOCIATIVE MATRIARCHAL NETWORK, BUILT WITH DEVOTION AND LOYALTY, A PACT SIGNED UNDER THE CROSS AND THE SERPENT SO THAT THEY WOULD NEVER ABANDON EACH OTHER.

AMONG BEATING AND PRAYERS, DRUMS AND LITANIES, THEY GATHERED TOWARDS PRAISE AND PROCESSIONS TO CATHOLIC SAINTS, WITHOUT GIVING UP ANCESTRAL PRECEPTS, INCLUDING COOKING AND DISTRIBUTING FOOD, PERPETUATING THE MISSION OF PROVIDING THEIR PEOPLE WITH ABUNDANCE AND PROTECTION.

THEY PROFESSED FAITHS THAT DID NOT EXCLUDE EACH OTHER BY MIXING RITES LINKED TO THE DIVINITIES OF THE AFRICAN COAST AND THE BAROQUE EXPRESSION OF CATHOLICISM. THEY THUS CONSTITUTED A TYPE OF FEMININE AND SOLIDARITY DEVOTION THAT ALSO OVERFLOWED IN GESTURES, LANGUAGE, HAIR, SMELLS, TALISMANS, BALANGANDÃS, COSTUMES, FOOD, THE WAY OF DANCING AND SINGING, IN SHORT, OF BEING AND BEING IN THE WORLD. A POWER THAT IS ETERNALIZED IN THE CONSTANT STRUGGLE FOR THE VOODUN BELIEF, ITS ENCHANTMENTS, RITES AND MYSTERIES.

EARTH, COSMIC TERRAIN

“WITHOUT WATER AND WITHOUT FOREST, JEJE WILL NOT SURVIVE”

(DONÉ RUNHÓ, PRIESTESS WHO LED THE BOGUM UNTIL 1975, IMMORTALIZED IN A SCULPTED BUST IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ENGENHO VELHO DA FEDERAÇÃO, IN SALVADOR).

AND HERE WE ARE, VIRADOURO AND JEJE, CROSSING ENERGIES AND DRUMS. THE FORMATION OF CANDOMBLÉ IN BAHIA IS THROUGH THE LEGACY OF THE VOODUN BELIEF, MANIFESTED IN AGUIDAVI, WHO COMMANDS THE WAR RING OF ADARRUM. IT IS IN THE RITUALS AND IN THE DIVINITIES THAT HAVE BEEN CONNECTED TO OTHER AFRICAN RELIGIOUS MATRICES, FLOWING LIKE A RIVER SINKING THROUGH THE FOREST, TOWARDS THE SEA. AND, JUST LIKE SNAKES, THEY SURVIVE AND EXPAND IN SKINS THAT RENEW THEMSELVES.

ENERGY THAT IS REBORN IN THE CULT OF VODUNS, TODAY SPREAD THROUGHOUT BRAZIL IN VARIOUS HOUSES CONSECRATED TO THE ENTITIES. AND IF YOU WONDER WHAT POWERFUL FORCE THIS IS, FEEL THAT IT LIVES IN THE PAIN AND PLEASURE OF CREATION, IN THE NATURE OF THINGS, IN THE SOUND EXPLOSION OF THUNDER, IN THE BREATHING OF LEAVES AND IN THE RUNNING OF WATERS. IT IS IN THE MAGIC OF THE LUNAR. IN THE HEAT OF THE SUN. IT LIVES IN THE FALLING OF THE RAIN THAT WATERS THE PLANET, THIS MAGICAL TERRITORY FLOATING IN THE COSMOS. IT IS IN THE INFINITE POWER OF THE SERPENT, OWNER OF EVERYTHING THAT NEITHER ENDS NOR BEGINS, IN THE ETERNAL WHIRL OF THE UNIVERSE.

ARROBOBOI! GREETING AND EVOCATION OF THE ENERGY THAT TRANSITS BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH! ENTITY VISIBLE IN THE ENCHANTMENT OF THE RAINBOW, THE SACRED BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS HUMANS TO THE VOODUN DIVINITIES. AND THAT CONNECTS US TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE ETERNAL HEIRS OF DANGBÉ: WISDOM, STRUGGLE, UNION AND VICTORY!

CHALLENGED…

CARNIVAL DESTINY AND AUTHOR OF THE PLOT: TARCÍSIO ZANON
TEXT: JOAO GUSTAVO MELO

TO THE COMPOSERS,
THE SAMBA SCHOOL PARADE IS CONSOLIDATED AS AN ARTISTIC LANGUAGE THAT HAS ACHIEVED IMMENSE IMPACT. IT IS NOT INTENDED AS AN ABSOLUTE AND IRREFUTABLE TRUTH, BUT IS ESTABLISHED AS THE ORIGINAL POETRY OF A COLLECTIVE WORK BASED ON COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE AND HISTORICAL HERITAGE, WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPRESENTING THE SACRED OF THE PEOPLES OF THE DIASPORA, WHO ARE THE BASIS OF THE UNIDOS DO VIRADOURO COMMUNITY.

SOME ELEMENTS DISPOSED IN THIS NARRATIVE ARE THE RESULT OF ACADEMIC STUDIES OF UNCONTESTABLE QUALITY. HOWEVER, ALONG WITH THIS RESEARCH, IS THE STRENGTH AND GREATNESS OF THE ORAL WISDOM THAT IS CULTIVATED IN TERREIROS, LEGITIMATE MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES OF THE SACRED, INSTITUTIONS CONSTITUTED BY THOSE WHO HAVE DEDICATED THEMSELVES OVER GENERATIONS TO THE ENERGIES AND ANCESTRAL PRECEPTS OF VOODUN.

THROUGH INTERVIEWS, EXPERIENCES, VISITS AND READINGS, WE ARE TOGETHER BUILDING A NARRATIVE PATH THAT IS LINKED TO THE POETRY OF THE PLOT THAT REVEALS THE MAIN ELEMENT AND REASON FOR THE EXISTENCE OF OUR ASSOCIATION: SAMBA! IT IS SAMBA THAT WILL LEAD US THROUGH THIS ARTISTIC IMMERSION, REVOLVING IMAGINARIES ABOUT SILENCED PEOPLE WHO RAISED THIS BRAZIL-TERREIRO. BY COMBINING THE STRENGTH OF VOODUN CULTS WITH ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE, WE WILL BUILD THIS PATH TOGETHER, WHICH EXPANDS OUR HORIZON TOWARDS A TRULY FREE, RELIGIOUSLY DIVERSE AND SOCIALLY EQUAL COUNTRY.

GO FORWARD, VIRADOURO!

ARROBOBOI, DANGBÉ!