Circling with/in : sharing dancing in Candomblé and intercultural research

Abstract

Tacka dacka dak tacka dakka dakka dak. The dancers’ feet march in counter-clockwise direction as their shoulders rotate up and to the back of the body, scapulae sliding down as heels hit the ground, following the down accent of the drums. Here in the ritual house of Mãe Oba, located in a peripheral zone of Salvador da Bahia in Northeastern Brazil – the dancers, daughters and sons (filhas and filhos) of the saint – trace circular pathways around the perimeter of the room. Their shoulder rotations draw energy from all direc-tions and churn inwards, activating through texture and effort a spherical space in which propitious forces may come from any side. Torsos, pelvises, and supple spines echo the undulations of gathered energy initiated by this shoulder movement, the gincar, creating dynamic polycentric systems (Rosa 2012). Their collective perambulations pause for a moment as the dancers spin unto themselves so that the circle becomes a wheel of semi-indepen-dent cogs rotating on the spot. Then, colluding with the roll of the drums, the daughters and sons of the saint continue moving on their circular trajectory.