Maculele (dance)

Maculelê (Pronounced: mah-koo-leh-leh) is a dance from Brazil where a number of people gather in a circle, called a Roda , with one or more Atabaque positioned at the entrance of the circle. Each person brandishes a pair of long sticks, traditionally made from biriba wood from Brazil. The sticks, called Grimas, traditionally measure 24 inches long by 1 and 1/8 inch thick. As the Maculelê rhythm plays on the Atabaque, the people in the circle begin rhythmically striking the sticks together. The leader sings, and the people in the circle respond by singing the chorus of the songs. When the leader gives the signal to begin playing Maculelê, two people enter the circle, and to the rhythm of the Atabaque, they begin striking their own and each other's sticks together. On the first three beats, they strike their own sticks together, making expressive and athletic dance movements, and on each fourth beat, they strike each other's respective right-hand stick together. This makes for a dance that looks like "mock stick combat". (Also, traditionally in Maculelê, the players wear dried grass skirts).

The origins of Maculelê are shrouded in mystery, and there are many stories, theories and beliefs that claim "this is how Maculelê came to be". Here are two:

1.) During the slave era in Brazil, the slaves in the sugarcane plantations would gather and play this "Maculelê" game to vent their anger and frustration from being slaves. At this time, machetes were used instead of sticks. Sticks were later incorporated for safety reasons, but sometimes, some experts still use machetes.

2.) There were two tribes in Brazil. A peaceful one, and a warlike one. The warlike tribe would always attack the peaceful tribe, who had no way of defending themselves. Until, one day, during an attack, a young boy named "Maculelê" picked up a pair of sticks, and fought off the other tribe. The other tribe never attacked again. The boy did manage to fight them off completely, but died trying. His home tribe then made a mock combat dance using sticks and named the dance "Maculelê" in his honor and memory.

Maculelê is sometimes practiced by itself, but is quite often practiced alongside Capoeira, and featured in many Capoeira performances.