Giraldo Rodriguez-Afro Tambores Bata - by Tomas Altmann

[Facundo]

It must also be noted that Jesus came along during a critical period of change and had the personality necessary to meet those changes and was able to bring the music into a new era.

Facundo,
Is the "critical period of change" you refer to the Cuban Revolution?
-David

David,

I was actually making reference to the emergence of Afro Cuban religion from being considered as an example of superstitions held tenaciously by former slaves. The works of the Cuban scholars I mentioned as well as others outside of Cuba like Bascom brought much light to a culture that had been marginalized by prejudice, bigotry and even violent suppression. The response among the Afro Cuban hierarchy was to closely guard their activities and details of theirs systems from outsiders. As this began to change the need for competent indigenous exponents to represent their practices to world scholars was critical.

Pablo Roche was a product of a very deep religious lineage. His father, Andres Roche was called "Andres Sublime", Andre the sublime, because of his bata virtuosity. Unlike many of today’s players he did not play licks that are reminents of bata language, he could say anything he wanted to on the bata. He was considered as a cariole being borne in Cuba but the old Olorisha who were borne in Africa reveled his ability to speak to them while playing for ceremonies. Pablo was the natural recipient of much of his father's expertise and was held in very high esteem by the elders and religious hierarchy. He also became the exponent that both Ortiz and Bascom sought out to gain insight into Afro Cuban religious music. Also, because of his stature within the tightly closed communities, he could provide access to closed doors while being trusted to not reveal anything that was only for initiates. When Pablo died, it was Jesus who was able to pick up the mantel of representation in terms of stewardship inside the tradition and as an exponent to outsiders. Note this is not to discount the social aspects the Cuban revolution caused. Clearly, it impacted all strata of life in Cuba. Hope this answers your question.

Best regards,
Facundo

[Facundo]

Brother Facundo,did you know that I did live several years in the same exactly block where the Panart/Studios are still standing today,(which become the E.G.R.E.M),National Recording Studios in Cuba. how many recordings of Panart/Studios have you heard.(the person discribing the recording is talking about the facts of having problems listening the Iya)...It could be a historic gem,and still be a clandestine recording,( been historic gems,have nothing to do which been clandestine approach)...The secundero of Pablo Roche was Aguedo Morales and later Raul 'Nasaco' Diaz..how many times did you see Giraldo Rodriguez playing with Pablo Roche.Dr. Zaragemca

Doc,

No, I did not know about your former street of residence and I have no idea how that is germane to this discussion. Please follow my points closely as I will not counter your facetiousness. I am not saying the Panart records Santero vol 1 and 2 were poorly recorded. However, they did not work well for someone trying to dissect the bata rhythms. They had too much reverberation. I disagree with Altmann about the sound quality of the Giraldo recording. The version I have is very clear and the iya drum is very easy to hear. In fact, it was so clear we were able to use it to clarify aspects of the Oritz notation that was giving us problems back when we had to access to an Olubata.

As far as hearing, Pablo in person, I never had that good fortune. Let's put this in perspective. Given the fact that he died in the early fifties from tuberculosis, I would confidently speculate that you didn't either. Unless you are in your seventies, you would have been to young to even know who he was if you had seen him. Nor would you have been up close and around his stable of drummers enough to know who played what with whom. My info comes from someone who was. If my informant is wrong then so be it. He still outranked Jesus and could have well commanded the iya drum if he was on Giraldo’s recording. You know we often take for granted the place in time that we stand and out interface with the people around us. I have had the good fortune of seeing and meeting many people who later turned out to be historical figures when viewed over time that has allowed us to understand the impact of what they did. In any event we view history in retrospect and much of what we determine is speculation. All to say, I make no claim to giving the definitive answer. You may want to consider doing the same.

Best regards,
Facundo

[davidpenalosa]

Facundo,
Thanks for your clear response. As I understand it, while Jesus Perez strove to keep the liturgical nature of the bata intact, Angarica pursued the path of inventos, creative conversations where the bata talk in "nonsense syllables" rather than the liturgical Lukumi phrases.

What's ironic is that while Perez is associated with the preservation of orthodox bata playing, he was also involved in avante garde uses of the drums. I have video tape of what I believe to be a 1960's modern dance performance by the Danza Nacional. In that film Jesus Perez is playing weird, ad-lib solo iya phrases, that I cannot identify with any bata toque. It had a "free jazz" flavour. There's also at least one Cachao descarga where Perez played iya, although that is not as strange to me as the Danza Nacional thing.
-David

[Facundo]

Facundo,
Thanks for your clear response. As I understand it, while Jesus Perez strove to keep the liturgical nature of the bata intact, Angarica pursued the path of inventos, creative conversations where the bata talk in "nonsense syllables" rather than the liturgical Lukumi phrases.

What's ironic is that while Perez is associated with the preservation of orthodox bata playing, he was also involved in avante garde uses of the drums. I have video tape of what I believe to be a 1960's modern dance performance by the Danza Nacional. In that film Jesus Perez is playing weird, ad-lib solo iya phrases, that I cannot identify with any bata toque. It had a "free jazz" flavour. There's also at least one Cachao descarga where Perez played iya, although that is not as strange to me as the Danza Nacional thing.
-David

David,

I am not sure your discription of Angarica is correct. The Angarica family has deep roots in the African liturgical systems as well. I would think that they too would strive to keep a lot of the old tradition intact. When I first heard one of Papo's CDs, the name escapes me, I was very surprised by Papo's facility with the Yoruba language. When I heard his prayers and the way he spoke with the tonal inflections, he sounded just like the folks in Nigeria. The only other Cuban I have heard like that was the late, Julito Collazo. Are you saying that Anagrica uses these inventos in bembe toques?

I have seen a video of Jesus playing with Danza Nacional. it may be the same one but the group was playing to Arara songs which is quite common. You hear this a lot with some cantos for Babalu, Nanu and Afrekete. In any event, you have peaked my curiosity. The next time I see Puntia I am going to ask him about Papo and Jesus and post his response. Thanks for the info.

Facundo

[davidpenalosa]

Are you saying that Anagrica uses these inventos in bembe toques?

I have seen a video of Jesus playing with Danza Nacional. it may be the same one but the group was playing to Arara songs which is quite common. You hear this a lot with some cantos for Babalu, Nanu and Afrekete.

Facundo,
I'm saying that Anagrica invented bata movements and conversations that are not liturgical. That's what I have been repeatedly told for 20 years anyway. I wasn't addressing his singing or general knowledge of lituragy which of course is vast.

I know the Danza Nacional video w/ Arara that you mentioned. The one I was talking about was accompanied by an iya drum only and the phrasing sounded "free", like free jazz. I don't doubt that Perez's phrasing could be quotes from liturgical toques, I just couldn't hear them as such. It sounded quite abstract to me.
-David

[Facundo]

Are you saying that Anagrica uses these inventos in bembe toques?

I have seen a video of Jesus playing with Danza Nacional. it may be the same one but the group was playing to Arara songs which is quite common. You hear this a lot with some cantos for Babalu, Nanu and Afrekete.

Facundo,
I'm saying that Anagrica invented bata movements and conversations that are not liturgical. That's what I have been repeatedly told for 20 years anyway. I wasn't addressing his singing or general knowledge of lituragy which of course is vast.

I know the Danza Nacional video w/ Arara that you mentioned. The one I was talking about was accompanied by an iya drum only and the phrasing sounded "free", like free jazz. I don't doubt that Perez's phrasing could be quotes from liturgical toques, I just couldn't hear them as such. It sounded quite abstract to me.
-David

David,

Thanks for the reply. I only mentioned Papo's singing to illustrate how close he would appear to be to keeping rather strick tradition. Again, I've never heard about his inventos and can't wait to get Puntia's thoughts on this. Given his ability with the Yoruba language, I wonder if what others are calling inventos is in fact real conversations on the drum. Is the Jesus video a comercial production or a private recording?

Facundo

[davidpenalosa]

I wonder if what others are calling inventos is in fact real conversations on the drum. Is the Jesus video a comercial production or a private recording?

Facundo,
We know that since at least the mid-20th Century, the bata have been steadily incorporating phrases that are just nonsense syllables, rather than actual surrogate speach (liturgical Lukumi). Fernando Ortiz's informants (some of the same gentlemen aleady mentioned in this thread) were decrying this development in the late 1940's and attributed it to the influence of rumba. They called bata rhythms played with a rumba feel "arrumbas" (Los instrumentos de la musica Afrocubana Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Fernando Ortíz 1952, 1954). They felt that the liturgical rhythms were slowly being lost due to the popularity of arrumbas. Drummers who played in ways that were more appealing to the Cuban musical sensibilities were the ones who were more likely to be hired to play for ceremonies. Which rhythms are the actual arrumbas is not stated in the writings of Ortiz, but clearly chachalokuafun and iyésa adapted to batá have rhythmic similarities to rumba. The "talking" okonkolo in those two rhythms is a good case in point. My guess is that the practice of playing those okonkolo variations in didi laro (Chango) is an example of rumba's "profane" influence reaching into the igbodu.

I cannot authoritively speak as to which rhythms and conversations are liturgical and which are not, but I'd make a guess that the bata adaptations of other drums systems: ñongo/chachalokuafun (bembé), iyésa and Arará are not liturgical. I'm certain that the on-going developments in ñongo and chachalokuafun conversations owe more to rumba than Lukumi. I'd be very interested in hearing what Puntilla may have to say about this.

As far as the difference in the Perez and Angarica lineages, that's somthing I've heard, but haven't documented. You know how it is, you hear something over and over again and you accept it. The fact that it's news to you has made me question this "knowledge".

The Jesus video is a commercial production.

-David

[Facundo]

David,

Your points are well taken. I am familiar with the comments of Ortiz’s informants. Given their close proximity to the progenitors of bata in Cuba, Antanda, Salako, Andres Sublime and so forth, it is understandable that they were in a position to know what was being added or invented in ceremonial toques. In any event, here are several questions that naturally come to mind. What is the benchmark for Orthodoxy now and who has ascended as steward to make that determination? You know the “Cuban Drummer Bravado” as I call it, can be an obstacle to getting a clear picture of history or event current accounts of who is playing the right stuff. I have found this to be true with rival rumba groups as well as ceremonial players. There is a tendency to down play the work of their competition.

Also, I think a lot of the changes you speak of are related to singing styles and the fact that the use of African languages for communication today among religious parishioners being lost is a factor in the changes within the drumming. I think that over time as the akpons were less expected to be able to speak and fully understand the language; they gradually began to take vocal liberties that may have inspired the drummers to take liberties as well to support the changes of the akpons. Depending on one's vantage point this could be viewed as natural change, evolution of the music or deviation from orthodoxy.

You may be right about the talking okonkolo parts in the toques you mentioned. However, I think we need to question the three drum model found in Cuba against the set found in Nigeria with the okonkolo being three small drums tied together which does seem to talk. Is the talking Cuban okonkolo an invention or a mode of emulating the Nigerian method? The closest African bata set up I have been able to find comparable to Cuba was in Dahomey. All to say, I think there is a lot to factor and consider when discussing “inventos”. One is for certain, much has been lost over tiem.

Best regards,
Facundo

P.S. Have you check out the interview with Lazaro Pedroso on the batadrumms.com site? It’s a must read.

http://www.batadrums.com/learning_drumming/lazaropinterview1e.htm

[Berimbau]

With the breakdown of Yoruba as an everyday spoken language in Cuba, it is apparent that new strategies were undertaken by Afro- Cubans to preserve the Africanicity of the liturgy through the substitution of Yoruba-derived phonemes for the actual words. Similar strategies have been reported amongst various social and religious organizations in Jamaica and Brasil which were originally Bantu speaking. For example, in Brasil compound words bridging the original Bantu with portuguese were coined to expand the dwindling African lexicon of the so-called Cafundo dialect. Here the Bantu word for the sun, "tangu," became a substitute word for the forgotten Bantu word for the moon, hence, "tangu de noite," or sun of the night.
As with the expansion of Arabic into the New World lexicons of Yoruba and Kongolese peoples, I suspect that anything which could be perceived as "African" became fair game as a cultural resistance to the errosion of African languages.
Now I'm on a limb with my next suggestion, for this is outside of my expertise, but is there not quite a bit of diversity in the organology and performance practices of Nigerian and Dahomean bata drums? That the African sources for bata in Cuban are far from uniform?


Saludos,



Berimbau

[davidpenalosa]

1.
What is the benchmark for Orthodoxy now and who has ascended as steward to make that determination?

2.
You know the “Cuban Drummer Bravado” as I call it, can be an obstacle to getting a clear picture of history or event current accounts of who is playing the right stuff. I have found this to be true with rival rumba groups as well as ceremonial players. There is a tendency to down play the work of their competition.

3.
I think that over time as the akpons were less expected to be able to speak and fully understand the language; they gradually began to take vocal liberties that may have inspired the drummers to take liberties as well to support the changes of the akpons.

4.
Depending on one's vantage point this could be viewed as natural change, evolution of the music or deviation from orthodoxy.

5.
Is the talking Cuban okonkolo an invention or a mode of emulating the Nigerian method?

Facundo,
Great questions and comments.
1.
I definitely don’t know anywhere near enough to identify a benchmark for bata Orthodoxy, if there’s even such a thing, nor do I know of anybody else who is qualified to make that determination. I’d say that the oldest drummers like Chacha are the most informed stewards of knowledge alive today.

I have not detected much concern amongst Cuban bata masters for preserving some kind of absolute Orthodoxy. Maybe if I had met Jesus Perez or Andres Sublime, it would have been a different story. The masters I’ve come in contact with have been concerned that I play the itotele response as they taught me and not the response that some other teacher plays. Perhaps because I play conservatively with Cubans, (not showing off with inventos) this issue of "Orthodoxy" doesn’t come up. I’ve never had a conversation with them about this, so I’m left with my own guesses.

2.
Yes and I have found the North American drummers to be by far the worst.

3.
Perhaps, But I doubt it. There was some enlightening discussion at batadrums.com some years back concerning surrogate speech vs. purely musical improv in contemporary bata. The fact that the elders were decrying the encroachment of "profane" rumba drum language in the bata over a half a century ago, leads me to believe that the situation is even more so today.

4.
For the record, I’m not making any judgements of "good" or "bad" in terms of inventos. I am interested though in distinguishing between rumba-inspired inventos and liturgical surrogate speech.

5.
I’d bet good money that those okonkolo variations are an influence of rumba and have nothing to do with contemporary African bata. For one thing, the phrases are "rumba-ish" and don’t sound like typical liturgical bata phrases. For another, the okonkolo is traditionally the fundamental supportive drum and does not improvise. And finally, the two rhythms in which those okonkolo variations are played are adaptations of non-bata rhythms (bembe and iyesa).

The Cuban bata represent the African bata of the early 1800’s. From what I’ve learned (third-hand Jesus Perez story), the Cubans have preserved the older music far more than the Africans have. The difference between the contemporary Cuban and African bata demonstrates how much the African bata have changed, not the other way around.

According to Dr. William Bascolm’s 1950 article "The Yoruba in Cuba" his African informants said the Yoruba the Cuban babalawos spoke was in the ijesa (iyesá) dialect. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that at least some of the slaves came from that region.

The main Nigerian family who play bata for ceremonies don’t even practice the religion anymore because they converted to Islam some time ago. At one point their Iman said that they could no longer play those "animist" drums. Later though, they were able to get that ruling changed because the bata are their livelihood.

As far as the three-drum model of the Cuban bata, they strike me as a complete battery, quite perfect actually.

Thanks for turning us onto that Lazaro Pedroso interview. It’s a good contribution to this thread. It’s interesting what he says about the youth distorting the traditional rhythms. Ewe master drummer C.K. Ladzekpo says that in Africa the older drummers have always said that and the inventions of the youth eventually become the traditions.

There was a woman scholar who used to participate in the batadrums.com forum who was working on an in-depth comparison of Cuban and African bata. Now I’m inspired to inquire if she has finished her dissertation.
-David

[pcastag]

My teacher in Havana ( Alberto Villareal) actually has a set of Jesus Perez fundamentos. Although he didn't really learn to play from Jesus, he spent many years with him in the conjunto, and undoubtedly picked up a lot from him. Compared to some of the more contemporary goups, his playing is very direct, and straightforward, which leads me to believe that many of the licks we hear today are actually inventos. Some of the stuff being played would hard to decipher as language, due to the complexity of the rhythm.

[davidpenalosa]

Compared to some of the more contemporary goups, his playing is very direct, and straightforward, which leads me to believe that many of the licks we hear today are actually inventos. Some of the stuff being played would hard to decipher as language, due to the complexity of the rhythm.

I also hear more straight-forward phrases being played by older bataleros, which leads me to the same conclusion. I don't nessesarily agree that complexity rules out surrogate speech. To me, it's more about the types of phrases involved. Do they sound like known litrugical conversations, or are they flashy and rumba-like? All the North American drummers I've known have been attracted to obscure toques and flashy conversations. The pursuit of the latter would seem to lead one to inventos. It's the kind of natural evolution you find in music. Jazz didn't sound like be-bop when it started out. I know that bata are ritual instruments, but drummers are also musicians.
-David

[Facundo]

Facundo,
Great questions and comments.
1.
.....I’d say that the oldest drummers like Chacha are the most informed stewards of knowledge alive today.

I have not detected much concern amongst Cuban bata masters for preserving some kind of absolute Orthodoxy. . . . . . I’ve never had a conversation with them about this, so I’m left with my own guesses.

2.
Yes and I have found the North American drummers to be by far the worst.

3.
Perhaps, But I doubt it. There was some enlightening discussion at batadrums.com some years back concerning surrogate speech vs. purely musical improv in contemporary bata. The fact that the elders were decrying the encroachment of "profane" rumba drum language in the bata over a half a century ago, leads me to believe that the situation is even more so today.

4.
For the record, I’m not making any judgements of "good" or "bad" in terms of inventos. I am interested though in distinguishing between rumba-inspired inventos and liturgical surrogate speech.

5.
I’d bet good money that those okonkolo variations are an influence of rumba and have nothing to do with contemporary African bata. For one thing, the phrases are "rumba-ish" and don’t sound like typical liturgical bata phrases. For another, the okonkolo is traditionally the fundamental supportive drum and does not improvise. And finally, the two rhythms in which those okonkolo variations are played are adaptations of non-bata rhythms (bembe and iyesa).

The Cuban bata represent the African bata of the early 1800’s. From what I’ve learned (third-hand Jesus Perez story), the Cubans have preserved the older music far more than the Africans have. The difference between the contemporary Cuban and African bata demonstrates how much the African bata have changed, not the other way around.

According to Dr. William Bascolm’s 1950 article "The Yoruba in Cuba" his African informants said the Yoruba the Cuban babalawos spoke was in the ijesa (iyesá) dialect. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that at least some of the slaves came from that region.

The main Nigerian family who play bata for ceremonies don’t even practice the religion anymore because they converted to Islam some time ago. At one point their Iman said that they could no longer play those "animist" drums. Later though, they were able to get that ruling changed because the bata are their livelihood.

As far as the three-drum model of the Cuban bata, they strike me as a complete battery, quite perfect actually.

Thanks for turning us onto that Lazaro Pedroso interview. It’s a good contribution to this thread. It’s interesting what he says about the youth distorting the traditional rhythms. Ewe master drummer C.K. Ladzekpo says that in Africa the older drummers have always said that and the inventions of the youth eventually become the traditions.

There was a woman scholar who used to participate in the batadrums.com forum who was working on an in-depth comparison of Cuban and African bata. Now I’m inspired to inquire if she has finished her dissertation.
-David

David,

Thanks for your response as well. I am very much enjoying this exchange! You know, of course, that my objective here is not to give a definitive answer to any of this stuff. Rather, to offer unconsidered aspects that might be a factor in what we are seeing today. I firmly believe that studying, investigating and trying to understand the music is far more complex than most imagine. Any one phenomenon, such as bata inventos in this case, may have a multiple causes that might involve various academic disciplines such as history, sociology, psychology, and musicology. And even then the models within these studies may still fail to explain the adequately explain the phenomena.

Regarding your responses:
1. I think you are right. The oldest players would know better than anyone. When you mention Chacha, we also have an issue of location as well. Mantanzas has its' history and Havana has another. Would you happen to know if anyone has done a study to identify the various lines of bata in each of these places? Even during Pablo Roche's time, he had competition from Fermin. Who was Fermin's master? Who descended from his line? What are the lines in Mantanzas? I have not detected much concern about Orthodoxy either other than "play it the way I thought you".

2. Nice to know I am not alone in that observation!

3. I mentioned the issue of the akpons because of an item in the Pedrozo article. Note his remark about Lazaro Ros' invento in the Oya song. I am sure this was not the only invento that started with an akpon. Note that it appears that some of the young drummers did not know this Lazaro's invento was a diversion.

4. Point taken.

5. Save your money, I am not a gambler and it appears that there is no sure way to verify one side or the other. I not sure I agree with your assesment of the role of the okonkolo. Yes, from a musical standpoint its' role is supportive because of the general timekeeping assignment. However, in liturgical terms it speaks with a repeating phase. The ki ha or ki la, as the way drummers sound it out, is saying (dide) di de, di de. Dide means get up or arise in Yoruba, a call of the Orisha to awaken. By improvise; are you speaking about the moves made by the okonkolo in chachalobafun? Are you saying that these appear rumba inspired? You may be correct but I am not convinced that is the case having heard the three drum okonkolo parts played as well as the gudugudu that is sometimes played with bata in Nigeria. That is not to say that what we are hearing today from Nigeria is all "Old World". I often argue with those who point to Nigeria today as the benchmark for orthodoxy. I contend that you don't have a mass on-going exodus from a place without drastically impacting the overall social fabric of that location. Those being the case, Nigeria, Benin, Zaire (Congo) are but shadows of their former cultural selves in terms of their indigenous institutions. Looking back to these places as the benchmark for cultural orthodoxy without factoring in the local impact of slavery is a big mistake.

Again, I would not be so quick to assert that Cuban bata is indicative of " Old World " bata. This is related to another issue I often raise when trying to compare "Old World" to its' Diaspora cultural progeny. Hands down it is absolutely amazing that so much was preserved in places like Cuba and Brazil. However, when we consider that the objective of slavery was tied to the need for hard labor work force, we understand that exportation of African youth was at the top of the agenda. The youth are not the major repository of any culture. Therefore the most profound aspects and fullness of the culture were never exported to the "Diaspora". What was preserved resurrected and continued was what was known by key youth who had learned by being in close proximity to their elders. This is, of course, a generalization and there were exceptions. My point is that what we see in Cuba is what was remembered by selected individuals who knew more about an aspect of their former homeland than others. On the other end, Africa suffered because many of the youth who would inherit the information after years of apprenticing were gone. The bata found in Cuba may not be indicative of all "Old World" bata.

That a number of slaves came from ijesa is a given. There were Yoruba group identities maintained in Cuba from Oyo, Abeakuta, Egbado, Dahomey and a number of other places. Methods from Oyo and Egbado dominate Yoruba practices in Cuba along with other influences. Again, there is much to consider on this subject.

Thanks,
Facundo

[davidpenalosa]

1. Would you happen to know if anyone has done a study to identify the various lines of bata in each of these places?

5. By improvise; are you speaking about the moves made by the okonkolo in chachalobafun? Are you saying that these appear rumba inspired?
...The bata found in Cuba may not be indicative of all "Old World" bata.

Facundo,
1.
I don't. I've never heard an explanation of how the Matanzas and Havana styles diverged from each other. Both locals claim that they are the original. These would be good questions for the bata forum. Too bad that forum is getting so heavily spammed lately.
2.
Yes, absolutely. If the okonkolo variations in chachalobafun are not a sign of the rumba influence in bata, I don't know what is. Chachalobafun is a bata adaptation of the bembe system and to my ears, has been very receptive to rumba influences. The fact that chachalobafun is not liturgical and the inventors of the okonkolo variations are also rumberos who have never heard African bata, would lead me to believe that there's no gudugudu connection.

However, are you able to post a sound clip of what you are talking about? I'd be very interested in hearing it. I'm always open to being proved wrong. Of course, I have not proved that I'm right either.

As far as the Cuban connection to "Old World" bata, I heard a second-hand story that originated with the late Regino Jimenez. Supposedly, when Regino and Jesus Perez traveled to Ife (I think it was) in Nigeria, they played for the top bata priest there. The Nigerians were amazed at how intact the Cubans had kept the liturgical rhythms. I have a recorded interview with Regino that I believe covers this topic. It's buried somewhere in my research drawer though.

But yeah, the Cuban bata most likely have a variety of influences. I have not done anywhere near the research as some others have. I agree that "studying, investigating and trying to understand the music is far more complex than most imagine".
-David

[Facundo]

With the breakdown of Yoruba as an everyday spoken language in Cuba, it is apparent that new strategies were undertaken by Afro- Cubans to preserve the Africanicity of the liturgy through the substitution of Yoruba-derived phonemes for the actual words. Similar strategies have been reported amongst various social and religious organizations in Jamaica and Brasil which were originally Bantu speaking. For example, in Brasil compound words bridging the original Bantu with portuguese were coined to expand the dwindling African lexicon of the so-called Cafundo dialect. Here the Bantu word for the sun, "tangu," became a substitute word for the forgotten Bantu word for the moon, hence, "tangu de noite," or sun of the night.
As with the expansion of Arabic into the New World lexicons of Yoruba and Kongolese peoples, I suspect that anything which could be perceived as "African" became fair game as a cultural resistance to the errosion of African languages.
Now I'm on a limb with my next suggestion, for this is outside of my expertise, but is there not quite a bit of diversity in the organology and performance practices of Nigerian and Dahomean bata drums? That the African sources for bata in Cuban are far from uniform?


Saludos,



Berimbau

Brother B,

Welcome to the limb! Let me first pose a question. Are the linguistic changes you mention really part of a folk trying to survive? I think the latter. We should remember that the Arabic and Christian incursions into all of Africa had an economic agenda. Items never before seen in those areas were touted as evidence of cultural superiority. Upward mobility on the world stage was and still is the carrot dangled upon caving in to the aggressive evangelism of Muslims and Christians. This also means adoption a foreign cultural construct and abandoning their own. In doing so, the intellectual property of the indigenous people is also trashed. Sorry, I went off on a tangent.

I am not quite sure how much diversity constitutes "a lot". Beyond that, I am not sure how to respond to what you suggest. Cuban bata is fairly uniform with major differences being between Havana and Mantanzas.

Best regards,
Facundo