maracatu naÇÃo noronha -...

___________________________________________Shima<www.shimajournal.org>ISSN:1834-6057

MARACATUNAÇÃONORONHA Embodied cultural practice and its sustainability on an isolated Brazilian

island

[Received26thJuly2017;accepted14thSeptember2017–DOI:10.21463/shima.11.2.14]

JonFitzgeraldSouthernCrossUniversity<[email protected]>

PhilipHaywardUniversityofTechnologySydney<[email protected]>

ArianneReisUniversityofWesternSydney<[email protected]>

ABSTRACT: FernandodeNoronhaissituatedapproximately430kmfromthenortheastcoastofBrazil,and is theonlypopulated islandwithinaUNESCOWorldHeritage-listedarchipelago of the same name. This article focusses on the contemporary maracatuensemble based on the island,MaracatuNaçãoNoronha, and its significancewithin thelocal community. Maracatu is a distinctive northeast Brazilian performance genre withhistoricallinkstoCandomblé,anAfro-BrazilianreligionthatblendstheAfricanpracticeofworshippingmultiple orixás (spirits) with the Catholic practice of worshippingmultiplesaints. Maracatu has a long history of grassroots performative traditions and is closelyconnected to Brazilian carnaval. Maracatu ensembles typically include percussionists,singers, dancingorixás and characters representingmembersof the courtwithinAfricancrowningceremoniesheldduringtheeraofslavery.ThearticleexaminesthedevelopmentofMaracatuNaçãoNoronhasince2002,withaparticular focusonmusic,movementanddance. It explores links betweenMaracatu Nação Noronha’s activities and the historicaldevelopmentofmaracatu,andexamineshowthegrouphasadaptedtotheisland’ssocio-cultural environment in theprocess of connectingwith, and educating, local and touristaudiences. It discusses the significance and sustainability of embodied practices andcultural identity development and creation in the context of a small island whosecommunity is still significantly rooted onmainland practices. The article draws on fieldtrips by the authors in 2012 and 2014, as well as interviews with local residents heavilyinvolvedwithestablishmentandmaintenanceofislandmaracatu.KEYWORDS: Fernando de Noronha, maracatu, Maracatu Nação Noronha, tourism,culturalsustainabilityIntroductionAfter the Fernando de Noronha archipelago (Figure 1) was discovered by Portuguesemarinersintheearly1500sanumberofEuropeanpowersattemptedtotakepossessionofitbeforePortugueseforcesestablishedapermanentpresenceonthemainislandin1737.In

Fitzgerald, Hayward and Reis: Maracatu Nação Noronha

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the 18th Century a penal colony was established, with the island continuing to receiveconvicts and political prisoners until 1957, when its prison facilities closed. The islandscontinued to be administered by the Brazilian army until 1988 when the archipelagotransitionedtoacivilianadministrationandbecameincorporatedintoPernambucoState.Followingthis,civilianmigration,mainlyfromwithinPernambuco,increasedconsiderably,with the current population nownumbering around 2,000 permanent and around 2,000temporary residents (IBGE, 2016: online) and a variable number of tourists.As this briefdescriptionsuggests, the island’scommunity is somewhatunusual in termsof its relativehomogeneityandtherecentnatureofitsestablishment.WhilethereareparallelsbetweenitandMinamiDaitoinsouthernJapan,apreviouslyuninhabitedislandmainlysettledbyOkinawans in 1900 (see Hayward and Long, 2013) and the Galápagos, which hasexperienceda surge inmainlandEcuadorianmigrants since the 1970s (seeBasset, 2009),the manner Fernando de Noronha operates as a remote outpost of a mainland culturewithoutoriginaljuxtapositionsand/orsyncretisationsofculturalstylesmakesitdistinct–and, like the previously identified locations, gives some explanation for why its culturalpracticeshavebeenlargelyoverlookedbypreviousresearchers.

Figure1-MapofFernandodeNoronhaandBraziliancoast(ChristianFleury,2017)AsdiscussedbyReisandHayward(2013),theislandhasanunusualstatusinthatisdirectlyadministered by a state government rather than having an elected body to oversee itsaffairs.The island’s transfer to civilianadministrationoccurredalongsideothermeasuresthat have had a major impact on the island: the designation of large environmentallyprotectedareasunderBrazilianlaw(in1986and1988)thatcontinuetobeadministeredbytheInstitutoChicoMendesdeConservaçãodaBiodiversidade(‘ChicoMendesInstitutefor



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theConservationofBiodiversity’)(ICMBio)andtheUNESCOlistingofthearchipelagoasasite of ‘OutstandingUniversal Value’ in 2001. As a result of thesemeasure, tourism andrelated landusehasbeensubject tovariouscontrols.Legislationhasestablishedacapof246touristsaccessingtheislandbyairatanyonedaybutthereisanecdotalevidencethatthisfigureisgreatlyexceededatpeakholidayperiods,whenextraflightstotheislandarescheduled.Data fromtheStatesanitationcompany indicate that sanitationserviceswereprovided to a total of 8,000 people on the island in July 2016 (Marinho, 2016). Tourismcontinuestoplayamajorpartintheisland’seconomybutinfrastructuraldevelopmentandamenitiesremainmodest,withtheislandmarketingitselftotouristswithinterestsinlocalecologyandlandscapesratherthanmoretraditionalresort-baseddestinations.Given its history as penal colony, the island has few deep-rooted cultural traditions andalmostall artspracticeson the island involvevarious localisationsof traditions importedfrommainlandBrazil.Intheseregards,FernandodeNoronha’smusicculturehasmanyoftheclassiccharacteristicsthatDaweidentifiedinhis2004editedanthologyIslandMusics.Our discussions take up several themes fromhiswork that have been somewhat under-developed in Island Studies’ approaches to islandmusics and, in particular, what Small(1998)referredtoasmusicking–iethehumaninteractionsthatgivemusicmeaninginandforcommunities.Thisfocusallowsustoexplorethe“positiveethosofself-sufficiency”thatDawe(2004:1)hasidentifiedasdistinguishingvariouslyhealthy,vibrantand/orsustainablemusical communities.This, in turn, leadsus to consider those aspects central to amorerecent research and publishing project summarised in Schippers andGrant (eds) (2016).The volume and its constituent case studies explore issues of the sustainability ofmusiccultures with regard to five “domains:” 1) systems of learning, 2) musicians andcommunities, 3) contexts and constructs, 4) regulations and infrastructure and 5) therelationshipwith themediaandmusic industry.Asbefits thevarietyof scalesofmusicalscenesaddressedbytheproject,differentfactorshavedifferentdegreesofprominenceinthecontextsdiscussedbycontributorstothevolume.Similarly,inthecaseofourstudyofFernandodeNoronha,whichalso–crucially–addressesdance,factors1-4areofparticularimportance.Our focus on maracatu music and dance involves attention to particular filaments ofBrazilianculturalhistoryconcernedwiththeexpressionofmusicanddanceasmarkersofculture and identity with regard to Brazil’s African migrant heritage. By addressing aparticularmusicalgenreandpatternofmusickingonFernadodeNoronha,weengagewiththeenduringandresurgenttraditionsofdescendentsofAfricanslavesandthemannerinwhichtheiridentitiesarebeingarticulatedinmodernBrazil.AsBordokashasidentified:

MaracatuNaçãoisthelivingheritageoftheAfricannationsbroughttoBrazilandthevesselwhichallowscultural traditionsandconsciousnessto flourishamongthetraditionallymarginalizedcommunities.(nd:23)

Thisarticleexplorestheseaspects inoneof themorerecentgeo-spatialdisplacementsofAfricanBrazilian culture, in the remote island communityof FernandodeNoronha, andthe manner in which the particular forms of music and dance styles performed by theensemble we profile have come to offer one representation and embodiment of islandculturethataligns itself tothe island’sdistinctivesocialandgeo-spatialcharacter(Figure2).



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Figure2-MaracatuNacãoNoronhaposedonbeachwithbackdropoficonicvolcanicoutcrops(promotionalphoto2004)

MusicanddanceasmarkersofcultureandidentityNumerous authors have drawn attention to the power of music and dance ascommunicative media. Ronström (1994: 29) describes them as “affective, open-ended,multivalentemotional symbolic systems”witha “specialpotential for creating feelingsofcommunality” while Nettleford sees dance as “one of the most effective means ofcommunication”and“partofasociety’sancestralandexistential reality” (1993:97).More



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broadly, Fitzgerald also suggests that “creative work, impacting largely at the emotionalratherthanintellectuallevelcanconveyasenseofthedynamicsofidentityformationinacompelling and subtly-nuanced manner” (2014: 90), while Green’s description of thecomplex processes involved in the development of identity through social/musicalexperiencesmightreadilybeappliedtothefieldofdance:

Musical identities are forged from a combination of personal, individualmusicalexperiencesononehand,andmembership invarioussocialgroups—from the family to the nation-state and beyond—on the other hand. Theyencompassmusicaltastes,values,practices(includingreceptionactivitiessuchas listeningordancing),skills,andknowledge;andtheyarewrappedupwithhow, where, when, and why those tastes, values, practices, skills, andknowledgewereacquiredortransmitted.(2011:1)

BasedontheworkofanthropologistssuchasCsordas(2002), it ispossibletounderstanddance andmusic as part of embodied expressions and experiences of the self andof theother that help shape and create collective and individual identity. Because of theirconstantmovement and flux, they create disruptions and ‘unbalances’ that provide newmeanings toexperiencesandarea fundamentalpartof thecreationofculture(Hannerz,1992). In this sense, music and dance can articulate different life dimensions, such asreligious,politicalandsocial,atthesametime.Csordas’(2002)conceptofembodimentiskey to understanding Afro-Brazilian cultural expressions. Contemporary Brazilian dancedirector Claudio Segovia speaks ofmusic and dance as integral aspects of the country’sculturalheritageanddrawsattentiontothecontemporarycurrencyoftheforms:“Besidesthewitnesstheybeartothepast,asheritage,theyarestillalive,apartoftoday,andatthesame time perpetually in the process of change and renewal” (Sawer, 2014: online).ThroughoutBrazil,musicanddanceareoftencloselyentwined,andmanygenre labels–such as samba, lambada, and forró – have been used to refer to bothmusic and danceforms(andthecombinationofthetwo).Forexample,FernandesdefinestheNortheasterngenreof forróas“aBraziliandancingoccasionaccompaniedbythe liveperformanceofaparticular set of musical subgenres such as baião, xote, arrastapé, and forró” (2012: 1).Within Brazil, the nature of one’s connectionwith a particularmusical/dance genre canalso representaconsciousorunconsciousstatementabout identity.Forexample,DraperIII speaks of “forró's continuing relevance to Northeasterners” (2011: 80) and drawsattention to the nostalgic appeal of the genre, while Gomes (2001) notes how southern,middle-classaudiences–whohadpreviouslyshunnedthissupposedlyruralgenre–begantoregardolderversionsofforró(basedonthetraditionalaccordion,triangleandzabumbatrio)asfashionablemusicattheturnofthecentury.Tavares argues that, “our conceptual system is rhythmically linked to our physical andcultural experience. In the African Diaspora, gestures and bodily habits comprise theperformativefieldwhicharethe‘sites’ofexperience”(1998:5).Inthissense,Afro-Brazilianmusic and dance, together with the common performative elements of some of thesecultural expressions, such as ways of dressing, or costumes used in processions such ascarnaval, and the religious-pagan relationship that several of thesepresent, are part of away of living (practice) that has the body (pre-objective) at the very centre (embodied).These bodies, in return, help create and establish an identity that is collective andindividualatthesametime.



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TheHistoryofMaracatuLara (2007) defines maracatu as an expression of Afro-Brazilian popular culture thatincludesmusic, dance, characters and rituals. She highlights its significance to Brazilianculture,assertingthat,forsome,maracatuisawayoflife,arepresentationoftheirculture,and a form of resistance. Vanspauwen (2005: np) agrees and indicates that maracatu“allowslowerclasspeople(sic)touserhythmiccontinuityinordertoshapetheirsocietalcriticism”(2007: 113).Theauthorcomparesmaracatuwithreggae intheway“it forcefullybut implicitly vents common frustrations about poverty, inequality and disenfranchisedethnicity,andcallsforacommunalisingspiritwhereonestaystruetowhatonebelieves”(Vanspauwen, 2005: np). However, unlike reggae, themusical expression ofmaracatu isonlyoneofitsmaincomponents;maracatuisanexampleofatraditionalBrazilianfolguedo–atermthat“signifiesacelebrationorfestival”,sometimesdefinedasa‘dramaticdance’ora “‘folk story with dance’, a popular festival with strong religious and ethnic elements”(WattsandFerro,2012:886).MaracatuoriginsarecloselylinkedtotheNortheasterncityofRecifeanditssurroundingareas,aregionthathasaneclecticethnicandculturalpastthatis livelyperformedduringcarnavalprocessionsthat include“dramaticreconstructionsof,for example, the uprising against Dutch occupation in the eighteenth century, theflourishing sugar industry that was based on slavery during the colonial era, the folkreinterpretation of the Congo empire on Brazilian soil and the ‘belle époque’ of Recife”(Pinto,1994:20).There is considerable debate about the origin of the termmaracatu. Kettner identifies anumber of possible early uses of the term: for instance, to describe a street gathering ofAfricandescendantsplayingdrums;asacodewordtoindicatethearrivalofpolicetobreakupagathering;orasawordusedtoendagathering(2013:20).Silva(1988)suggeststhatthe 19th Century press began to apply the term to describe street processions in whichAfro-Braziliansplayeddrums.Thereis,however,widespreadagreementthattheoriginofthemaracatuperformance is in theReisdoCongo (literally ‘KingsofCongo’, sometimesreferredtoasthe‘ActofTheCongos’)ceremoniesincolonialBrazilfromthesecondhalfofthe 17thCenturyuntil the abolitionof slavery in 1888 (Guerra-Peixe, 1980,Kettner, 2013,Lima,2014,Real,1990,Silva,1988).ThePortuguesecolonialadministrationacceptedtheseceremonies using them as a means of better “inspecting and controlling the order andhierarchiesbetweenblacksubjects”(Silva,1999:364).TheceremoniesinvolvedtheelectionorappointmentofablackAfrican‘king’torepresenthisnationandact“asanintermediarybetween thegovernment and the slaves” (Kettner, 2013: 17).The extendedAfrican ‘court’includedkingandqueen,aswellaspositionssuchasprince,princessandambassador.Thecrowning ceremonies includedmusic (with a focus on drumming), dance and costumedtheatre.Aftertheabolitionofslaverytheceremonywasdiscontinued,andtherewasshiftin authority “from theseKings andQueens to religious leaders andprominent figures intheAfricancommunities”(Real,1990:71);however,aspectsoftheceremonywereretainedin the formof large street processionswith large groups of drummers and dancers. TheparadegroupsincludedcostumedcharactersrepresentingPortuguesecourtmembersandorixásfromtheCandombléreligion.Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion that combines the (African) practice ofworshippingmultipleorixás (spirits)withthe(Catholic)practiceofworshippingmultiplesaints, and the religion incorporatesmultiplenações (nations) “loosely connected to theAfricanethnicplaceoforigin”oftheparticipants(Kettner,2013:27).Candombléorixásareconnected to forces of nature and imbuedwith human qualities.Calungas – dollsmade



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using elements such as wood, wax and cloth - are used to represent both orixás andancestors,aswellastoprotectthenações.Candomblénaçõeshaveaterreiro-typicallyasimplehousewitha largeopenspaceatthebackwhereceremoniestakeplace.Members“expressthroughdance,music,andbeliefsthecommunalethos”(Kettner,2013:29).During18thand19thcenturiestherewasincreasinghostilitytowardstheCandombléreligionfromwithin the Catholic Church and government. Crook notes that this hostility reflects themannerinwhichCandombléhasbeenperceivedto“symbolicallyrepresentedthebarbaric,uneducated, and uncivilized side of Africa” (2005: 152). In the early 20th Century “alongwiththeAfro-Brazilianreligions,maracatuwentthroughalongperiodofmarginalization”(Kettner, 2013: 28)withmany groups ceasing to operate (Lima, 2014, Silva, 1999). By the1960s, maracatu was in serious decline, and there was a general lack of interest in thepreservation of folkloric traditions – a tendency that was compounded by overtdiscriminationofAfro-Braziliancultureduringthemilitarydictatorshipera(1964-1985).The late 1980s saw the re-establishment of democracy and the beginning of a revival ofinterestinBrazilianfolkloreandgenressuchasmaracatu.BarnardinoJosédaSilvafoundedMaracatu Nação Pernambuco in 1989, and the group “began to include complexchoreography,ahornsection,andotherstageand instrumentalelements”(Kettner,2013:23) andmade some of the first CD recordings ofmaracatu. Despite themusic’s history,Maracatu Nação Pernambuco eschewed close connections with the Candomblé religion,which led to criticism from traditionalmaracatupractitioners. TheRecife-basedmangue(ormanguebeat)movementalsomadeasignificantcontributiontotherenewalofinterestinPernambucanofolktraditions(Galinsky,2013).Themovementsupportedthecreationofnew musical hybrids through the combination of Brazilian genres such as maracatu,ciranda, andcocowith internationalpopularmusic genres suchas rock, soul, punk, rap,heavymetalandreggae,andmanguebeatmusiciansintentionallyreferredtotheirmusicasenvenenado(‘poisoned’)“toexpresstheirdisdainfortraditionalpurism”(Sharp,2014:xii).Chico Science (aka Francisco de Assis França) became the most prominent 1990smanguebeat musician. He incorporated maracatu rhythms, as well as alfaia drums andother percussion instruments associatedwithmaracatu, into his live and recordedworkwithNaçãoZumbi.ChicoScience’sexpandingcareerwascutshortwhenhediedinacaraccident in 1997 on the way to a performance, but by this time themaracatu crossoverphenomenonwaswellestablished.Both traditional and hybrid approaches to maracatu continue to thrive today. Leadinggroups such asMaracatuNaçãoEstrelaBrilhante doRecife perform internationally1, andspread of maracatu rhythms across Brazil and internationally has also meant that linksbetweenmaracatu performance, theCandomblé religion, and the concept ofnação havebecome limitedor evennon-existent (Lima, 2014).AsKettnerhas emphasised, there is amarked difference between “a traditional maracatu nation and a percussion group thatplaysmaracaturhythms.”(2103:10)MaracatuNaçãoNoronhaMaracatuperformanceonFernandodeNoronhacommencedasaresultoftheinteractionbetweenamicro-communityofCandomblébelievers interested inmaracatuperformance

1 Maracatuensembleshavealsobeenformedinnumerousinternationalcities,suchasToronto,NewYork, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Edinburgh, Auckland,Manchester, andMelbourne (Courteau, 2008,Cruz,2012).



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whoattractedtheattentionandengagementofabroadercommunity(domain2,intermsof the aforementioned sustainability models). The original impetus came from DonaNanete,oneoftheisland’slongestcontinuousresidentsandthematriarchalheadofoneofthe island’s most important extended families. Dona Nanete arrived on Fernando deNoronha in 1947, when the island was under military rule. She was a follower ofCandomblé, but had to hide her religious activities since the island authorities stronglyopposedthepractice,andherhusbandwasaconservativemanofruraloriginswhodidnotshareherlovefortheartsorsupportherinvolvementinactivitiesoutsideofthehome.Shemaintained her Candomblé practice by holding secretmeetings at her housewith otherislandwomenwhofollowedthereligion,andshehadalong-helddesiretobringmaracatutotheisland.In2002,Nanete’sdaughter,DôraMartins,establishedalocalmaracatugroupwithagroupoffriends,withcostumesmadebyhermother.Afterseeingtheensemble’sinitialcolourfuland dynamic performances, a number of other islanders became interested in joining.Despitethis,theregulatory-infrastructuralaspectsoftheisland’sadministrationintervened(domain4)withregardtoregulardeparturesofmemberswhoheldonlytemporaryislandresidence permits. This disrupted the continuity and development of the group, and itdisbandedafterashorttime.AsJuniorWaldeck(Martins’nephewandNanete’sgrandson)hasdescribed,twoyearslateradifferentgroupofpeopletriedtoestablishanewensemble,taking thecostumesNanetehadmadeandmakingadeliberate intervention(in termsofdomain 1 - systemsof learning) bybringing in amestre (master/director) fromRecife totrain them. Repossessing his grandmother’s materials, Waldeck intervened (domain 3 -contexts and constructs) by taking the maracatu materials to his aunt pousada(guesthouse) andasserting that sheneeded tobecomemanagerof thematerials and thebroader project of local maracatu performance in order to ensure its continuation(interview2014).NaneteandMartinsthenusedtheirownmoneytobuyinstruments,andafurtherinitiativebeganin2004,whenthegroupbegantostageoccasionalperformancesataprominenttouristvenue,BardoCachorro,runbyNanete’sson,NeyMartins.Althoughtheensemblewasnowestablishedonafirmerfootingthanin2002,residencyissuesonceagain created difficulties – this time in relation to the search for a qualifiedmestrewhocouldprovideprofessionalleadership.Eventually,MartinsmadeprogressbyrecruitingMestreBabu,aformermemberofoneofPernambuco’sleadingmaracatuperformancegroups,andhesettledontheislandin2004.Initially,thegrouponlypossessedasmallnumberofinstruments;asituationthatchangedin 2007 when a government-funded local environmental project recognised the culturalvalueofMaracatuNaçãoNoronhaanddonatedmoneytopayforlocaladultsandchildrento learn the percussion skills necessary to perform large ensemble maracatu (Waldeck,interview,2014).Local cultural activistGrazielleRodriguez,Nanete’sgranddaughter,hasdescribed the2007carnaval presentationby themaracatugroupas the firsthighqualityparade performance staged on the island (interview 2015); and in 2008 Bar do Cachorrobegan to schedule weekly ‘Cultural Night’ performances for tourists and locals. WhileMestre Babu gave percussion lessons to people interested in participating in the group,leading to an overall improvement in the standard of performance, this improvementresultedinaless-inclusiveapproachtomembership.Waldeckrecallsthatafterhereturnedtothe islandafteruniversitystudies inRecifehe foundthatmaracatuhad“turned intoaclosedgroup,noonecouldgoout,noonecouldgetin”(interview2014).Buttheexclusiveapproachtomembershipbegantochange in2009,asensemblemembersconfrontedtheissue:



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Some people were developing a bit of a ‘star complex’… People reallyunderstood you cannot be a hostage to these people,must open it up againbecausenoonecancome.Afterthatmaracatuisopen.(interview,2014)

Since that time,MaracatuNaçãoNoronhahas continued to exist in twomain forms – asmaller,coregroup(ofaround12-15musiciansanddancers)thatpresentsperformancesatBar do Cachorro on Monday evenings, and a large procession group (featuringinstrumentalists, singers, costumedorixás and court characters) that performs as part ofthecarnavalprocession.Waldeck has identified concerns about island people’s willingness to commit adequatetimeandenergytomaracatu:“Peopleputworkfirst,funsecond,thirdplaceismaracatu.”(interview 2014) and Maracatu Nação Noronha has also faced obstacles in gainingacceptance within the largely Protestant island community, given the genre’s historicallinkstotheCandombléreligionandthemore“extreme”elementsofitstraditionalpractice,suchasspiritualpossessionandanimalsacrifice.Onetactichasbeentopresentmaracatuas an important part of Pernambuco’s cultural heritage rather than a quasi-religiouspractice. Group members have also actively engaged with islanders by presentingcommunity workshops. For example, a 2011 project offered maracatu training to islandchildrenonSaturdays.Evidenceforthegrowingacceptanceofmaracatuontheislandcanbe ascertained by growing community support for the provision of a cultural space forNanete.MarianadeAlbuquerque,formerPernambucoStateGovernmentCulturalProjectOfficer,recallsthat,in2014localpoliticiansconsultedislandersaboutwhattowith“averybigroominabuildingclosetotheBardoCachorro…EverybodysaidtheyshouldhavethatroomforthemaracatuandespeciallyforDonaNanete.”(interview2015).2Mestre Babu initially worked with a small group of instrumentalists and expanded theensemble’s skills beyond drumming, introducing conga, cowbell and carrilhão. He alsoidentifiedoneofthedrummers(RobsonNascimento)asasuitablesinger,andlateraddeda second,EldaPazhas.Membershipof the smallgroup isattained throughauditionwiththemestre, and potentialmembers are required to attend at least three days a week inordertodevelopsuitablelevelofskillstojoin.Asmallgroupofaround15instrumentalists,singers,anddancersperformsweeklyatBardoCachorroinfullcostumepresentingasetofmaracatusongsandinstrumentals.Theseconcert-styleperformancesaredesignedtobothentertain and educate audiences and they present the genre as an important NortheastBrazilian cultural activity without highlighting any religious connections. At a 2014performance attended by one of the authors, Waldeck (one of the singers) explainedaspects ofmaracatu tradition and localmanifestationsof the genre to the audience, andstronglyemphasised the fact that theNoronhagroup isnota religiousgroup,and isnotassociatedwithanyextremeCandombléelements.GabrielleRodrigueshasexplainedthatthis focusonculture,ratherthanreligion,was initiallyconceivedasawayofmakingthegenremoreappealingandlessthreateningtolocal,mainlyProtestant,audiences(interview2015).Sincetouristaudiencesprovedtobeinterestedinthegenre’sculturaltraditions,theperformancesalsobegantoincorporatetalksaboutmaracatuhistory.

2 Theyear2014alsosawthefirstlocalmusical‘fusion’projectinvolvingmaracatu,whenleadingislandmusicians, DiogoMutti and Ricardo Buiu, organised and directed a Chico Science ‘covers’ show atlocal tourist venueBarMuzenza (aka Pizzaria).Mestre Babu and JuniorWaldeckwere recruited toplay maracatu-based rhythms that represent an integral element within Chico Science’s musicalhybrids.Waldeckrecallsthat“peoplelovedtheshow,alltheplacespeoplestopme”(interview,2014).



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The weekly Cultural Night performances take place on the dance floor (rather than thestage) andensemblemembers are in very closeproximity to theaudience.Performancesare loud, physical and theatrical - with performers making large, exaggerated physicalmovements. This is especially true of the (three) alfaia drummers, who use dramaticextended arm movements connected to the prominent maracatu alfaia rhythms, whichhaveadistinctiveheavyaccentonthefirstsixteenthnoteafterbeat3inabarof4/4.Theagogôbellplaysarepetitivesyncopatedpatternthatprovidesatemporeferenceforgroupmembers, while sectional changes are signalled by the mestre – with the temporaryremoval of the alfaia drums providing a notable textural modification at sectionalchangeovers.Performancesoftenincludemusicwrittenbymembersoftheensemble,sinceMestreBabuhascollaboratedwithsingersRobsonNascimentoandEldaPazhastocomposeanumberoforiginal songs. Lyrics typically focus on some aspect ofmaracatu traditions, such as thesymbolicsignificanceofmaracatuinstruments.Theyalsomakeoccasionalreferencetolifeontheisland-asinthesong‘PraQuemvaiChegar’,whichincludesthelyrics:“aquitudoépaz,tudoélindo,golfinhosseexibindo”(‘everythinghereispeace,everythingisbeautiful,dolphinsshowing-off’).Attheendofeachshow,touristsintheaudienceareencouragedtoparticipate in both music and dance activities. A number are invited to borrow aninstrument, learn a simple rhythmic pattern, and then perform their part within anensemble made up of fellow tourists (Figure 3). After this, all audience members areencouraged to join in a ciranda dance – a rhythm/dance from Itamaracá in mainlandPernambuco – before continuing with single/couple dancing. This conforms to thetendency that Gibson and Connell draw attention to of including tourists “in someelementsofperformance,whetherdrummingordancing,whereidentitiesarecreatedandre-created” (2005: 197) as ameans of encouraging tourists to “negotiate the identities oftheirhomeenvironmentwithnewlyencounteredtouristspaces”(ibid:198).

Figure3-MaracatuNacãoNoronhadrummersandtourists(photo:JuniorWaldeck,2014)



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Figure4–TouristsparticipatinginacirandadanceatBardoCachorro(photo:JuniorWaldeck,2014)

The annual carnaval parade performance takes place on the Saturday evening of thecarnival period. The carnaval rehearsal period begins around one month before theperformance, and culminates in an intensive period of daily practice during the weekbeforetheparade.Participationintheparadeensembleisopenandanyonewhocanlearnthetwomusicalpiecesplayedattheparadeareeligibletojointheensemblefortheevent.Prominentlocalresidentsarealsoinvitedtoparticipateascourtcharactersandanumberof dancers play the part of orixás such as Iemanjá (mother/ocean), Oxum(freshwater/gold/precious stones), Iançã (female warrior) and Xangô (male warrior,thunder/justice). Linking back to our earlier discussion of embodied performancepractices,Waldeckhasexplainedthatmanyobserversfamiliarwiththecustomaryparadebelievethatthepeopleappearinginroleasorixás temporarilyembodythemandtherebymerit the symbolic protection they receive by following the imposing visual and sonicpresenceofthemasseddrummers.Asaresultofthis,theappearanceoforixásincarnavalperformances formsa visible and spiritual-conceptual link to the very traditions that arefrequentlydownplayedinthemusic’spromotionontheisland(Figure5).



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Figure5–Orixámaracatuperformersat2010carnaval(photo:JuniorWaldeck)ConclusionsKettner (2013: 23) has drawn attention to the “the inclusion ofmaracatu in the culturalmarket during the 1990s” and has suggested that this re-connection represents animportantelementofthemaintenanceofBrazil’sculturallegacy.Thisarticleconcurswiththis characterisation and argues that, by exposing tourists and residents to a local,historically-groundedmanifestationofmaracatu,MaracatuNaçãoNoronhacanbeseentobe making a notable contribution towards the enrichment of contemporary Brazilianculture.Tourismplaysasignificantrolehere,providingbothanaudiencethroughweeklyshows that enable the ensemble to continue and to consolidate its identity as a distinctFernandodeNoronhanentity. In thismanner, the importationofmaracatualongwithapopulation largely originating from Pernambuco state has allowed maracatu to becomelocalised on the island as both an imported but also socially appropriate form for thecommunity that sustains it. In thismanner, it ismultiplyembodied– in theactants thatfacilitateit,inthecommunity,andintheresourcecontextandphysicalspaceoftheisland.Throughlocal investments inthe“domains”ofsystemsof learning(domain1),buildingaperformance community (domain 2) and creating appropriate contexts and constructs(domain 3) in the face of regulations on personal movement that affect participants(domain4),maracatushowseverysignofbeingasustainable localpracticeontheislandforsometimetocomeand,thereby,actsasmodelforotherfledglingculturalpracticesonotherremote,lowpopulationislands.

Acknowledgements – thanks to all our informants on the island and to Junior Waldeck for providing the photographs reproduced in the text. The authors’ fieldwork in Fernando de Noronha in 2014 was financially supported by Southern Cross University’s Division of Research and School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.



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