A four-day, scantily clad, Hedonistic party
A map of Brazil. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html
Abstract
Carnival is a four-day, pre-Lenten festival in Brazil that has been part of the culture since the 16 th century. It origins are in the ancient Greek spring festival in honor of Dionysus. The Carnival unites the people and encompasses all of the social classes in the country of Brazil . The Carnival takes place during the peak of summer with a festival and parade showcasing numerous samba schools. The Carnival is not just a time to celebrate in Brazil , but it represents a rite of passage for some children. The children are promoted to the next level in their samba schools and become more responsible for their actions. The Carnival represents a celebration of the year and its successes and is displayed through an elaborate parade and festival.
Christ the
Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is located atop the Corcovado Mountain.
The typical
attire for a Carnaval celebration. Many dress up in lavish costumes
or in nothing at all.
Introduction
Brazil is a multi-cultural country where the tradition of the Carnival is a major celebration that has evolved over the years into a lavish festival. The Carnival is a four-day pre-Lenten festival that includes the Afro-Brazilian dance and samba, both symbols of Brazilian identity since the 1930's. This ritual celebrates the peak of summer with music, dancing, drinking, and sensuality while signifying the unification of the Brazilian people. An elaborate, ninety-minute parade is the climax of the Carnival celebration. It showcases the best escolas de samba, samba schools, in Brazil; students spend the whole year in preparation for the Carnival. The Carnival is the most anticipated celebration in Brazil because “it has to do with the people, the color, with the music, and the spirit of the Brazilian people," according to government agent, Daniel Taramona. Carnival is a collective social ritual but it celebrates the individual's impulse to pleasure as an assertion of identity (Dartmouth 2003).
Context of Brazil
Brazil is located on the southeastern side of South America on the Atlantic Ocean . It has a total area of 3.3 million square miles (8,511,965 square kilometers) which is slightly smaller than the United States and is boarded by every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. It is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest country in the world. The climate is tropical for most of the plains in the north but temperate in the south. Brazil does not have the traditional, four-season year since it is mostly tropical, but it does have a monsoon season in August. Brazil has mostly flat rolling plains in the north, with hills and mountains throughout the regions south of the equator. The Amazon Rainforest covers almost half of Brazil . Droughts are a frequent problem for the residents in northeast Brazil, whereas flooding from the Amazon River and its tributaries is a widespread problem in the south.
Brazil gained its independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822, when it overcame military power after fifty years. Brazilians have overcome oppression to advance their country in industrial and agricultural areas. Currently, Brazil is a democratic republic, but from 1889 to 1930, the president alternated his rule between the leading states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. Brazil 's economy was in trouble from 1929-1930 when the coffee industry broke down. The Great Depression also had a major effect on Brazil 's economy and all markets suffered. After 1930, Getulio Vargas led a revolt and his military forces seized Brazil and he ended up as the dictator and reigned until 1945. His major concern for Brazil was social reform and restoration of the physical country. Vargas returned to the President of the Republic in 1950 but then committed suicide in 1954. Juscelino Kubitschek then became president and designated Brasilia as the capital.
There are many natural and man-made wonders of Brazil . On top of the Corcovado Mountain is the statue, Christ the Redeemer, which looks down upon the Sugar Loaf Mountains and is one of the most famous landmarks in Brazil . The beaches along Brazil 's 5,000-mile coastline, along with the rainforests and the Amazon River are natural attractions to Brazil , while the Carnival is the most celebrated and well-known celebration in South America . “There is non-stop music and dancing while the whole country in enveloped with the spirit of celebration; all social boundaries are dropped” (Svich 1963).
Origins of Carnival
The word 'carnival' comes from the Latin words, carne vale, or ‘farewell to the flesh.' The word 'carne' means "meat" and 'levare' means "to remove". Because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat during Lent, they called their festival, carnevale — which means “to put away the meat.” With this "Farewell to the Flesh," the people would evolve into a massive celebration of indulgences and lose themselves in the alcohol, food, music and sex before Lent. The origins of a carnival-like celebration date back to the ancient Greek spring festival in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine. Brazil's carnival goes back to a Portuguese pre-lent festivity called 'entrudo,' a chaotic event where participants threw mud, water, and food at each other in the streets that often led to riots (Bakhtin 1984). Throughout the world, many carnival celebrations have their roots in the African culture. In Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, there is a strong African and Portuguese influence; in New Orleans, the Mardi Gras has a distinctive African and French flair; while the carnival in the Port of Spain is also a mix of African and French cultures. Carnival celebrations are also present throughout Hispanophone America , where African energy is again present, expressed now in a Hispanic voice. The one constant in all of these variations of carnival is an African presence (Grisso). The first Carnival was introduced to Brazil in 1723 with the immigration of people from the islands of Madeira, Acores and Cabo Verde (Cesar 2002). It then was set up as a masquerade carnival ball and later evolved into a street parade involving the samba.
Performance
The carnival parade is a public celebration combining some elements of a circus and a public street party. The samba is one element of the carnival that is the most anticipated and recognized activity. Samba is not only a dance and style of music but also a way for many participants to express their power as individuals, as well as a way to convey their rich cultural traditions through music and dance. The samba parade “includes the song, the drumming, the costume, the dance, the creation of massive mobile sculptures mounted on trucks, all fused into a coherent whole which reflects the chosen theme" (The Shipbuilders 2003 ). The Carnival is not unique to Brazil ; it can be experienced from New Orleans , Louisiana , and throughout the Caribbean countries with each place having a different carnival culture with different local traditions. What is unique about the Brazilian Carnival tradition is the magnitude of the celebration. The Brazilian carnival tradition is possibly the biggest community arts manifestation in the world and has the most lavish, colorful costumes. “I call it community arts because it is very much driven by independent community-based organizations called Samba Schools,” says samba writer, Gilberto Gil (1993).
Artifact
This is a video of a traditional samba dance and performance done at the Carnival. It shows the culture and lavish costumes worn during the Carnival celebration. http://homepage.mac.com/mulatao/iMovieTheater9.html
Interpretation
Prognosis for Carnival
The Brazilian Carnival is an ever-growing celebration, not just in Brazil , but around the whole world. The number of people celebrating Carnival has increased significantly since 1997. Governmental officials believe this is due primarily to word-of-mouth dissemination and from the media. The media has helped the Carnival increase in population since it publicizes the celebration as far as a year in advance. “The Carnival is the most popular celebration in South America . It is not only part of the culture and religion of Brazil , but of the entire world. The Carnival is expanding its horizons and becoming popular everywhere” (Teissl, 2000).
Conclusion
The excitement and thrill of the Brazilian Carnival is an unforgettable experience for many who attend this four-day, pre-Lenten festival. The samba is one major part of the celebration and is the climax of the parade, as well as of the year for many children. The Brazilian people spend up to nine months preparing for the climax of this celebration at the end of summer. This celebration was established for religious reasons but now holds a special, more secular significance for the Brazilian people. The Brazilians anticipate this vibrant celebration since it eliminates the boundaries between social classes and creates opportunities for the people to enjoy the music and dance of their country . The arts associated with the Carnival offer the Brazilian people: a dynamic tool for self-expression and exploration; a genealogically tool to seek out their roots; a creative tool to develop new forms of looking at the world and its cultures; and finally, a unifying tool to not only discover what we have in common, but also to celebrate what makes us different. The power and creativity that underlies these art forms can transform lives.
Internet References Cited
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Cesar, Irene
20 Jan. 2002. Irene's Country Corner .Electronic Document,
<http://www.irenescorner.com/home/braziliancorner/carnival/>, accessed October 20, 2004.This site provides a personal look at the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro . Cesar talks about the many traditions and rituals of the Brazilians.
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Dartmouth Foreign Programs in Brazil
19 Feb. 2003. Electronic Document,
<http://www.dartmouth.edu/~brazil/gallery/cluster2.html>, accessed October 20, 2004.This site offers a guide to the tradition and ways of the Carnival. It is very concise in its reasoning about the Carnival.
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The Shipbuilders
25 Nov. 2003. Afro-Brazilian music . Electronic Document,
<http://www.theshipbuilders.com/resources/resources.php?pagepath=samba_essay& date=25%20Nov%2003>, accessed October 20, 2004.The Shipbuilders are a group of musicians/artists from Scotland who research and perform various types of music. This site introduces the samba dance and how it has Afro Brazilian presence. There are many techniques and rituals explained.
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Wikimedia Foundation
History of Brazil . Electronic Document,
<http://www.fact-index.com/h/hi/history_of_brazil__1889_1930_.html>, accessed September 19, 2004This site gives a brief overview of the geography and history of Brazil . It also has many facts about Brazil as a country.
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The World Factbook: Brazil . Electronic Document, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html, accessed September 19, 2004.
This website was created by the Central Intelligence Agency and provides information on the geography, people, government and economy of Brazil .
Peer-Reviewed References Cited
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Bakhtin, Mikhail
1984 Rabelais and His World . p.329. Bloomington : Indiana UP -
Chasteen, John Charles
1996 The prehistory of Samba: Carnival dancing in Rio de Janeiro , 1840-1917. p.29 . Journal of Latin American Studies 28.1
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Gil,Gilberto
1993 The Music of the World is Bigger than World Music . Afropop Worldwide Listener's Guide.
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Green, James N
Beyond Carnival . University of Chicago , 1999.
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Grisso.
The African, and Spiritual, Origins of Carnival . On–line interview.
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Oliveira, Nilza
1996 School of Samba . Benson Collection Stacks.
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Svich, Caridad
1963 Carnival . p.10 Alexander Street Press.