The African influence

The African culture is extremely diverse and its features depict both the history of the people as the continent's - considered the territory inhabited more time on Earth. This is because the inhabitants of Africa evolved in an environment full of contrasts and multiple dimensions. Culturally they are very different, speak a vast number of languages, practice different religions, live in dwellings diversified and engage in many economic activities. Tribes, ethnic and social groups that make up the population of customs, traditions, languages ​​and religions specific.

Since the arrival of blacks in Brazil, there was a great influence of African culture in the way we live in many circumstances.

 We highlight the presence african-Brazilian in our language of African origin have the following words: rum, boy, quindim, eggplant, voodoo, wasp, nap, thong, samba, gherkin, bass drum, acarajé, carimbó, hominy, etc.. Also noteworthy names: Jurema, Yuri, Joaquim, Jusefa, etc.. We can not forget the importance that brought in food: paçoca, feijoada, quindim, tapioca, maize cake, acarajé, vacapá, bobo, mulatinho beans, palm oil, yams and cassava. Brazil had a strong influence of African religion, such as Cacumba, Yemanja and Candoblé. The candoblé for example, is a fetishistic religion (but that was influenced by Christianity), now common in our country and that originally came from Africa.

Racism and prejudice are rooted in the process of enslavement of African peoples by Europeans. Slaves were employed in virtually all activities in the three and a half centuries that lasted slavery in our country.

These people suffered, but brought with characteristics that were not lost over time and remain today aucumulada diversity in Brazil.

In Brazil, African culture came through the slave trade that brought the country to people from Africa as slaves. Formed mainly by Bantu, Nago, Jeje, Hausa and the Africans had their Malian culture rebuked by the colonizers. In the colony slaves learning Portuguese, came to be named after Portuguese and forced to convert to Catholicism. Yet it was they who helped give rise to the african-Brazilian religions, currently broadcast in several regions of the country's most practiced in Brazil are Candomblé and Umbanda.

However, the contribution of Africans in Brazilian culture was not limited to religion. Dance, music, cuisine and language received influences that prevail in Brazil until the present day. In regional cooking, for example, African heritage is evident, especially in Bahia. The oil palm, a palm tree which is extracted from the African palm oil, was introduced by slaves in the region and is now used in various dishes of African influence as vatapá, pigweed and acarajé. Already the language of Brazil won new words like drumming, boy, blessed, and stink voodoo.

The music was also very favored by African culture, which contributed to the rhythms that are the basis of much of Brazilian popular music. An example is the musical genre lundu, along with other genres that originated the rhythmic base of the Gherkin, samba, choro and bossa nova. Besides contributing rhythmic, were also brought some musical instruments like the berimbau, the agogo and afoxé, all of African origin. The best known of them in Brazil is the berimbau, an instrument used to create the rhythm that accompanies the steps of capoeira. In folklore are of African dances cateretê, jongo and samba, conga drum and musical instruments, the opossum and marimba.

Alunas:  Arlete, Camila.

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