Ethics in the sung duels of northeastern Brazil

Collective memory and contemporary practice1

Bibliographic Data

ID3812279
AuthorsElizabeth Travassos
Year2000
Volume9
Issue1
Pages61-94
Publication date2000-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Ethnomusicology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0968-1221 • E-ISSN: 1741-1920
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09681220008567292
OpenAlexW2085721500
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited7

This article deals with a genre of Brazilian sung poetic duels called "cantoria”, “repente” or “desafio”. It begins with a short description of the performance context of cantoria, commenting on some of the poetic styles the singers employ, including "louvação “ (praise), "elogio “ (eulogy), "malcriação “ (rudeness) and "sabedoria” (knowledge). There follows a discussion of the ethical norms that inform contemporary practice during confrontations, which the singers contrast with the great duels of the past. During the highly idealized “heroic era “ of the tradition, two singers confronted one another as adversaries, while today they engage in “friendly bouts “. I deal with "folhetos de cordel”, pamphlets which publish representations of sung duels, treating them as one of the ways in which the collective memory of cantoria is elaborated and preserved. I suggest that sung duels demarcate a space in which the contestants temporarily suspend their social identities to confront one another as equals. Thus, cantoria establishes a neutral arena in which, through poetry and music, the experimentation of ethical and logical solutions related to hierarchy and equality can take place

Aesthetics · Art · Collective memory · Context (archaeology · Eulogy · Linguistics · Literature · Poetry · Praise · Sociology · Theology · Arts and Performance Studies · Brazilian cultural history and politics · Literature, Culture, and Criticism · History · Philosophy

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