NAME: MadalenaAGE: 3 years oldCOUNTRY: BrazilCITY: Salvador

Madalena is three years old and lives in Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil. Brazil is a huge country in South America.

Madalena’s skin is dark, her hair is very curly and her eyes are dark brown, almost black. Madalena is mulatto, like a huge part of Brazil’s population. She inherited her skin colour from her great-grandmother who was white and came from Portugal and from her great-grandfather who was Brazilian and had African origins and his skin colour was darker than chocolate.

Today Madalena is going off to spend a few days in Salvador at her grandmother’s place with her parents. She is very excited: she’s never been to Salvador and it’s the first time she takes an airplane. Rio de Janeiro is 2000 km from Salvador… three times the distance from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve!

Madalena and her parents take their seats in the airplane. The aircraft steers north and heads to Salvador, the capital of the State of Bahia.

When the family arrives, their grandmother is waiting for them. Madalena can’t believe her eyes: her granny is so different! She wears a flared skirt which touches the ground, with different ornaments such as laces and many layers. On top of it she is wearing a smock, (a sort of long blouse) which is covered with Richelieu embroidery. Over the left shoulder of the blouse she wears a cloth called “pano da costa”, which is a double layer of a very beautiful broidered swathe. Her head is covered with a gorgeous “ojá” which is similar to a turban… She wears long golden earrings with shells, and around her neck there are various necklaces with beads and one shining gold thread. Her bracelets with “balangandãs”2 jingle every time she moves her arm.

In the streets Madalena notices that other women wear clothes similar to her grandmother’s, even if they are not rich. They sit down behind trays and exhibit some delicious food which she had never seen before. Her grandmother explains to her that those women are “baianas de acarajé”, women who sell typical Bahian food in the streets, such as the acarajé. Other typical dishes are the “Vatapá”, “Caruru”, “Mungunzá”,”Umbu”…

Madalena laughs because of all the strange and melodic words she is hearing and which

1 If you include different work topics in this module, this text will be too long for the concentration of children of that age. Therefore this story has to be read in various bits, always discussing it with the children and posing questions such as “do you want to know what happened to Madalena?”

2 Some historians say that this jewellery is from Bahia. These are miniature objects and symbols, originally made out of metal and usually made out of gold or silver. Some of these miniatures have the shape of a sword, a talisman, an animal, a pearl fisher, and fruits. It is said, that the balangandãs keep away bad luck and negative forces.

3 The words which Madalena hears have African origins and they enrich the Portuguese spoken not only in Bahia, but in the rest of Brazil and in Portugal as well. Other examples of Brazilian Portuguese words are bagunça, moleque, fubá, bunda, cochilar etc.

4 According to “Cozinheiro Real”, the most important cook book in Brazil, quitutes is the word used to describe the delicacies of the Bahian kitchen with African origins. These include the moqueca, xinxim, angú, various starters, and famous deserts (quindins and cocadas, ambrósia, lelê..). It is said, that some of these specialties were enriched thanks to ingredients from the Indian kitchen. Quitutes are very similar to biscuits, cookies, small cakes, sweet and salty pastries,… children love there sweets. For more information please click http://www.brasilviagem.com/materia/?CodMateria=36&CodPagina=120

HISTORY

Madalena in Bahia1

she never heard before3. She points her finger to a yellow sweet, a sort of pudding which looks really tasty.

- These are “quindins”, explains her grandmother, they are made with egg yolks, milk and coconut milk. Do you want one?

Madalena accepts. She is fascinated with her grandmother who looks like an African queen, with the trays full of “quitutes”4, with the smiling and nice looking women. It really was a pleasure being there.

Her parents call her. It’s time to go visit her grandmother’s house.

Her grandmother lives in an “candomblé5 terreiro”. She is a “mãe-de-santo”, i.e. a priestess of that religion.

When Madalena enters the candomblé area, she is surprised by the number of people who live there.

-“Here live the “família-de-santo”, explains the grandmother. “People who are connected to each other through the worship of Olurum (the supreme being) and of his Orixás, guardians of the elements of nature. I have many children here who didn’t come out of my belly! Those are the “filhos e filhas-de-santo” who help me in my work.”- Axé6! - is the word used to greet one another.

You can see some children over there.

Madalena notices a small boy who plays a sort of a drum.

- “It’s called “atabaque”7 and we use it especially during our feasts. - Feasts??? I want to go to one! - says Madalena enthusiastically.- Very well, tomorrow is the 25th of June. We will make the “Fogueira de Xangô” and you can take part of it!

The next day, there is a big frenzy. White and red flags are hung everywhere, which represent

5 Candomblé is one of the most common Afro-Brazilian religions in Brazil. In this religion, the priests and the followers (the” povo-de-santo”) stage in private and public ceremonies, a tight relationship with the ancestral Forces of Nature. Candomblé was developed in Brazil after the arrival of the slaves from Africa. Some of these slaves were priests and they brought with them their culture, their orixás, and their language between 1549 and 1888. The “terreiro of candomblé” is simultaneously the house of those who believe in candomblé and the symbolic house of the orixás and the temple of worship. This rite goes hand in hand with Catholicism, because there is often a coexistence of symbols.

6 This word is used in different situations, such as to call someone, as an approval, as an incentive and in rejoicing. It has a sort of resemblance with the “Ave” of the Catholics, and it is considered a sacred word, it has stronger and more emotive connotations. In ioruba language it means vital and sacred energy.

7 The atabaque used for candomblé is a percussion instrument. It is a high cylindrical drum made out of wood which is used as a resonance box. The upper part is covered by a leather membrane. Depending on the animal skin that is used and the size of the box, it emits different sounds: low-pitched, middle-pitched and high-pitched and it is called respectively Rum, Rumpi, and Le. Every orixá is linked to a different sonority and a different rhythm. The three types of atabaques are played constantly and simultaneously only in the hut. The atabaques sold in music shops are very different to those used in candomblé, because they are considered holy objects.

the colours of Xangô8. The walls are decorated with flowers and with shredded dendê palm tree leaves. The women starch their impressive robes and the food is made…

Madalena looks attentively at everything, she is amazed. Ricardo, the little boy who was playing with his atabaque, convinces her to help out decorating.

In the afternoon, Madalena and her parents have to leave the sacred territory. There is one part of the ceremony which is only for the “família-de-santo”. In the evening Madalena and her family can come back. Inside the hut (where the ceremonies are held), there are a great many people waiting for the gong of the atabaque and the singing… There are women on one side and men on the other. Madalena stays with her mother and she surprisingly finds out that her little friend takes part in the ceremony. Ricardo is an “alabê”, he plays the drum in the “terreiro”.

The “filhos-de-santo” enter the circle and dance around a bonfire, called by the rhythm of the orixás. The candomblé area starts to fill up with people whose clothes drag along the ground.

The feast goes on filling everyone’s heart, there are always more sounds, mysterious prayers and you can feel the heat of the emotions which are felt.

Madalena isn’t used to being so tired. It’s almost midnight when the drums accompany the songs of Oxalá, creator of humankind. The melody is very beautiful and sung by everyone with great enthusiasm. It was worth staying awake to watch all that happened and it’s now time to share the food of the worship.

The feast comes to an end. The Fogueira de Xangô burns outs slowly. Madalena falls asleep around her mother’s neck. In her hand she holds the green and yellow9 striped “fio-de-contas”10, which fell from Ricardo’s neck during the ceremony.

8 Xangô is the orixá of fire, of lightning and thunder, defender of justice. He is associated to the Catholic saints, in this case to Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter. Many other orixás are linked to a Catholic saint, that way they could be venerated when candomblé was persecuted and its followers were discriminated. You can watch “Roda de Xangô” on this website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiYXmcSQDmU

9 These are the colours of the orixá Oxumaré, the deity of rain and of the rainbow, of masculine and feminine nature.

10 “Fio-de-contas” is a thread with various beads in a row, which is of great importance in the symbology of candomblé. These are given to all followers and they vary according to the colours, and according to the role and the statute of the person who uses it inside the terreiro. They symbolize not only a link to the orixá but also the protection, which the deity bestows. The braking of the “Fio-de-contas” can indicate bad luck (which may scare and preoccupy the person and the community), but it can also mean the beginning of a new cycle, a new start, a moment of change which requires the breaking of the thread.

General Information

Brazil (officially Federal Republic of Brazil) is the giant of South America and the 5th biggest country in the world. Its economy is the biggest in Latin America and the 9th at the international level. Brazil was “discovered” in 1500 by the navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral, who was in the service of the Portuguese Crown.

Brazil’s main characteristic is its diversity, due to its territorial extent, its landscape, its climate and its natural resources. At the biological level the country is a jewel of humanity. It is home to millions of species of animals and plants (biodiversity). This great biodiversity is threatened by various factors such as livestock production and agriculture, exploitation of wood, mining, extraction of petrol and gas, poaching, the building of dams and other infrastructures, contamination of water, climate change, fires, and invasive species.

Multiracialism

Also at the genetic and cultural level, Brazil is known for its diversity. Brazil’s population is a prototype of multiracialism. This is due to the mix between indigenous, colonizers and European immigrants and African slaves. When Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived in what is

INFORMATION11

Brazil

Brazil today (the area is now delimited by frontiers), the territory was inhabited by 2 million indigenous12. They were divided in big “nations” made of various ethnic groups.

The indigenous Brazilian population is supposed to be about 500.000 people, i.e., 0,4% of the total population. The huge difference between the initial numbers and the actual numbers today, shows a massive extermination by the colonizers. The indigenous population also decreased because of the diseases which were brought by the Europeans and against which they didn’t have any antibodies. Since the arrival of the Portuguese, considerable intermarriage between indigenous and whites has occurred, even if this was illegal at that time (it was officially authorized only in 1755 by D. José).

In the XVIth century, when African slaves were brought to Brazil, this gave rise to intermarriages between black, whites and indigenous. And don’t forget, that the Portuguese colonizer was already the result of a genetic mix, because of the different nations who have passed through and lived in the Iberian Peninsula.

Brazil is a multiracial country. According to the official census, 49.4% of the population is white, however, 86% of the population has more than 10% of African genes. This discrepancy is the result of widespread racism

11 This information is only for the teacher, in case he needs to have a deeper knowledge of the topic. If needed, he will be able to answer the children’s questions, using a language which is easy to understand.

12 Some experts, speak about much higher numbers, i.e. 5 million people.

in Brazil’s society. Mulattoes want to be categorized as whites and not as blacks.

Multiculturalism

Ethnic diversity didn’t only turn into a genetic mix. It also lay the foundations for Brazil’s richness. Its plurality and its originality are today being exported through its music, dance, literature, etc.

What is known as “Brazilian culture” is owed especially to the integration of European and indigenous cultures with the African culture and this can also be called the Afro-Brazilian culture.

Examples of this cultural mix, such as “samba” and “capoeira” are the pride of Brazil. African- -Brazilian religions and many of the words used in Brazil are an example of the influence that the slaves brought with them from their home countries.

The African-Brazilian culture hasn’t always been praised as it is done today. On the contrary, it has been despised and persecuted and it was seen as a wild and heretic manifestation of uncivilized people compared to the European model of culture. It was only from the middle of the last century, that the Afro-Brazilian culture started being accepted: first through samba, which became

very popular and then through capoeira, which Getúlio Vargas in 1953 defined as the only national sport. At that time, the persecutions of Afro-Brazilian religions such as “candomblé” and “umbanda” decreased. Umbanda became more and more popular especially among the white middle class. Writers and composers such as Jorge Amado, Toquinho and Vinicius de Moraes were inspired by the Afro-Brazilian music and followers of its religion.

Syncretism13

The African-Brazilian religion had to develop a sort of syncretism, because of the persecutions. The result was to integrate Catholic influences in the African-Brazilian culture in order to survive. Every orixá has a Catholic equivalent and they are celebrated on the same day as their Catholic counterpart.A similar process occurred for capoeira as well. Capoeira was a type of wrestling match developed by the slaves to keep in shape and to free themselves from tensions. Capoeira was prohibited at that time and therefore it had to be integrated with some music and elements of dance, in order to be camouflaged.

Discrimination

There is a paradoxical situation in Brazil’s society. The African-Brazilian culture

13 The amalgamation of different religions and cultures, with a new interpretation of its elements.

predominates at a popular level and it is seen as the genuine culture of the country. But at the same time, African-Brazilians are excluded from politics, from literature, from sciences and from a more erudite artistic production. The myth of racial democracy, which says that Brazil is an example of a peaceful and just ethnic integration, is not true according to the evidence. There are huge inequalities between the white, the black and the mulattoes, especially regarding the distribution of income, Human Development Index, access, teaching and the quality of the teaching, violence, and access to jobs and work conditions. Brazil is one of the 10 most unequal countries in the word, where 2O% of the richest people (especially whites) detain 63% of the national production while the 20% poorest , the majority of them black or mulattoes detain only 2.4%.

Bahia

Bahia is also known as the region of happiness, because of the happiness of its inhabitants, the colourfulness of the dresses, its festivities, Bahia is the centre of African--Brazilian culture. It’s the region where most part of the population is mulatto and also the region where the African influence is strongest, e.g. in the clothes, music, kitchen, and lifestyle. Bahia is now the icon of “Brazilianism”, also thanks to various personalities such as Jorge Amado

and João Ubaldo Ribeiro in literature and Dorival Caymmi, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Maria Bethânia for the music.

Before starting any activity, please show the children on the map where Madalena comes from and where Portugal is.

Children of all shades

HowtHeactivityworks

- Madalena is mulatto. Do you know what that means? Her skin is coloured (her relatives are black and white). - Do you know any children who have the same skin colour as Madalena? And with other skin colours?

Read the story “Children of all shades”14

- Every child was happy with its own colour. At the beginning of the story, what skin colour was Miguel most happy with? (white) And at the end? (all colours) And which skin colour do you prefer? - Which one of the children that Miguel met during his trip could be from the same country as Madalena, i.e. from Brazil? (Lumumba, the black boy and Pena de Águia, the red Indian).

Speak about the story “Meninos de Todas Cores” (Children of all Colours), and using the globe, look for the continents mentioned in the story.

- Do you think that in every continent people have the same skin colour? Do all children have the same skin colour in Portugal?

Speak about this so that the children understand, that having children with a different skin colour in the same country or continent, is due to: a) people imigrate from their home

Activities

country and b) marry people with a different skin colour - giving birth to children who are mulattoes15 , as Madalena is.

This was exactly what happened in Brazil, where white Europeans mixed with the indigenous population (Indians 16). Then, these two races were mixed with blacks from Africa, who were taken to Brazil as slaves. Brazil is now a country where you find children of every colour.

- In Portugal there is also an increasing miscegenation, through the arrival of immigrants from different countries.

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

Materials

PAINTBRUSH + PAPER + INk

HowtHeactivityworks

Ask the children to mix the colours of their ink and observe what happens. Then every child should do his or her own painting of “Madalena in the country of children of all colours”. The children should use the colours they have previously mixed. The paintings should be hung on a “Wall of all Colours”.

14 You can find it on http://www.minerva.uevora.pt/netdays2002/meninos_todas_cores.htm

15 Mulatto –Black + White; Caboclo – Indian + Black; Cabrocho or Capuzo – Indian + Black; Ainoço – Brazilian + Japanese.

16 When the Portuguese discovered Brazil, they thought they had arrived in India. That’s why they called the indigenous people “Indians”, which are not to be confused with Indians from India.

Necklaces of noodles

Materials

NOODLES (STAR-SHAPED OR ANY OTHER SHAPE WITH A WHOLE IN THE MIDDLE + INkS + NORMAL THREAD OR NYLON THREAD)

HowtHeactivityworks

Ricardo and all other children and adults, who practice candomblé, use one or more “fio-de contas”, made out of coloured beads. These threads represent the connection with the orixás who are seen as the protectors, and some are linked to Catholic Saints.

Do you want to make your own “fio-de contas”?

Put the material at the children’s disposal. Explain to them that the colours used for the “fio-de-contas” are linked to an orixá. Every orixá has its own personality as normal people do.

NaMeoftHeorixá fuNctioN persoNality coloursoftHeNecklace

ExuMessenger for the Gods. He is sassy and aggressive Red and blackOgum Guardian of war and protector of work Impatient and obstinate Navy Blue Oxóssi Guardian of hunters and of hunting Intuitive and emotive Light BlueObaluiê Controls illnesses and their healing Timid and vindictive Black and Red, or Red, Black and White Oxum Guardian of love, of happiness and of freshwater maternal and calm Yellow and GoldIansã Controls the winds, rays and storms Impulsive and unpredictable Red or Light Brown

Ossaim Guardian of the use, of the powers of the leaves and of herbal medicine Unstable and emotive White with green stripes Naná Controls fertility, illness and death Vindictive and not sincere White, Blue and RedOxumaré Transporter of water between the sky and earth, he controls the rain and the rainbow sensitive and tranquil

Yellow and Green Iemanjá Mother of all orixás, Goddess of the sea and of the oceans Maternal and calm Transparent, Green or Light Blue Xangô Guardian of fire, thunder and of justice sassy and brash White and RedOxalá Creator of mankind equilibrated and tolerant White

Give the children the information they need, write it down and put it in a visible place. If the children don’t understand a word or a concept, explain it to them.

Help every child to choose the colour/colours they want to use for their “fios-de-conta”. Probably some of the children will choose a certain colour only because they like it, others may choose it according to the personality or the function of the orixás.

When the noodles are painted and dry, teach the children how to make a necklace, passing the thread through the hole (if needed do it with the help of a needle) and don’t forget to close it with a knot when you finished your work.

Exercises

Materials

PAPER + MATERIAL TO WRITE AND DRAW

HowtHeactivityworks

In the candomblé area, the “família-de-santo” shares the tasks. Everyone has a different task. Ricardo is “alabê”, plays the “atabaque”. There is also the “agiboña”, the “foster mother”. Example: You could ask the elder children to take care of a younger one.

And here in the room, which tasks can you accomplish? (babysit, tidy up the room, open the curtains, clean the dust, wash and arrange the toys, verify if there is any toilet paper in the bathroom, arrange the books, separate the materials for recycling...)

Make a list of tasks with the children

- And which name can we give to those who carry out an activity? (Bookseller for someone who works with books, handler for a person who takes care of animals, gardener for someone who takes care of plants etc...)

Make a chart with the tasks the children would like to accomplish. In this chart, write down the tasks which the children have to do. All children have to accomplish their roles, according to the dates fixed on the chart (e.g. weekly, twice a month or monthly).

“Quindins”

Materials

INGREDIENTS OF THE RECIPE

HowtHeactivityworks

- In the story, Madalena ate quindins bought by her grandmother from the “baianas de acarajé” (who were in the street selling tasty food) and liked them very much. Do you also want to try quindins? We can learn how to make them ourselves17!

Explain that the quindins are a Portuguese- Brazilian dessert which has a Portuguese and Brazilian influence. In Portugal there is an equivalent to the quindim, which is called Brisa-do-Lis, in Leiria (made without coconut milk, but with almonds).

eNricHMeNtactivity

Materials

MOLDING CLAY OR OTHER SIMILAR MATERIAL + TRAYS OR SOMETHING SIMILAR + PLAY MONEY

HowtHeactivityworks

Set up a stand where food can be sold. The food you sell can be real, e.g. you can prepare it following a recipe found on the internet18 or you can sell fake food, e.g. made out of molding clay or of objects found in the room.

Distribute the roles of sellers and buyers. If you have the materials for it, the sellers should be dressed and look as much as the Baianas (remember the description of Madalena’s grandmother or google it on the internet and find images of the “Baianas de acarajé”.

Inform the children, that in Brazil the currency has a different name: it’s called “Reais” and not “Euro”. Make

banknotes and coins of foreign currencies, so that the children can find out more about the Euro and its value.

This dramatization should be accompanied by Brazilian music.19

17 You can find various recipes online, by typing “quindim recipe” in a search engine.

18 Here are some examples of dishes that can be used: salty food – aberém, mocotó, bobó, caruru, efó, feijão de leite, galinha de cabidela, maniçoba, mininico de carneiro, moqueca de aratú, moqueca de peixe, moqueca de câmara, moqueca de maturi, moqueca de mapé, moqueca de petitinga, muganga, sapatel, sarrabulho de vaca, siri mole, vatapá, xinxim de galinha, zembê. Sweet food – alúa, sweet rice, baba-de-moça, beiju, bolinho de estudante, canjica, cocada, lelê, mugunzá, pamonha, pé-de-moleque…

19 It would be very interesting to listen to the song “O que é que a Baiana tem?” which can be found on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojo3I59Gn6c. The lyrics can be found on http://letras.terra.com.br/carmen-miranda/259221/. More popular Brazilian music can be found on YouTube, typing in “Música da Bahia”.

Percussion

MATERIALS

USE MATERIALS WHICH ARE NOT NEEDED ANYMORE TO BUILD DRUMS. YOU CAN USE MATERIALS SUCH AS BOXES, TINS, BOTTLES ETC.

HowtHeactivityworks

Music is in the heart of every Brazilian. Instruments are made out of anything (e.g. plates, pans, frying pans, knives, tables, bottles and cups, or even a box of matches) to brighten up a party or a meeting with friends.

Brazilians especially like percussion instruments, i.e. those which produce a sound due to impact20. They like to play drums (“batucar”21 in Portuguese) everywhere and anywhere.

Almost anything can be used as a percussion instrument. To produce a sound, you only need to drum on the instrument, either with your hands or with another object.

Let the children listen to the sounds of the objects which they are surrounded by.

After that, take up the challenge and build drums with materials which are not needed anymore. Build drums of different sizes and listen to the different sounds. Will the bigger drums make a lower sound than the smaller ones? If they are build with similar materials, then this will be true. Remember the 3 “atabaques” used in “candomblé” – Rum, Rumpi and Le, from the biggest to the smallest, from the lowest to the highest.

eNricHMeNtactivity

If you have the chance, invite one or more Brazilians to come to school and show the children what “batucada”/drumming is.

Do the same thing with Capoeira22, which is full of rhythm and movements23.

Ask the children to do something themselves, according to what they have been taught.

20 Also instruments which produce a sound by shaking them, e.g. maracas, or when you scratching them such as reco-reco are part of this category.

21 More about “batucada” can be found on http://www.pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batucada_%28ritmo%29. On YouTube you can have a look at some batucadas just by typing in the term in the search engine.

22 Look at what is said about “Capoeira” under “Syncretism”, in the information for the educator.

23 You can watch Capoeira videos on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mku2Ujkn6x4

Brazil TOPICS TO BE EXPLORED IN THIS MODULE

Multiracialism + Multiculturalism + Religious Diversity

CONTENTPersonal and social developmentknowledge and understanding of the worldImprovement of communication and expression

ACTIVITIESChildren of all ColoursNoodle NecklacesTasksQuindinsPercussion

CO-FINANCIAMENTO

Depósito Legal: 310987/10