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Berimbau

Berimbau de barriga

Single-string Afro-Brazilian musical bow of biriba wood and hollowed cabaça gourd that commands the tempo and style of the Capoeira roda.

Photograph · Folkroom Archive · CC BY-SA 4.0+ Add licensed photo →
Classification
Instrument
Origin / Scope
Brazil
Connected Rooms
1 Tradition
Bibliography
1 Source

Archival note & context

Strung with tempered steel wire (arame) harvested from tyre beads, the berimbau is struck with a bamboo vaqueta stick while a smooth stone or coin (dobrão) presses the string to inflect pitch and buzz.

Three berimbaus—the deep gunga, middle médio, and improvising high viola—form the heart of the capoeira bateria.

Used in traditions

1
Capoeira
Salvador da Bahia, Brazil · Dance
■■■■ Thriving

Sources

1

What’s on this page is sourced from the citation below.

SourcePublisherLicence
Capoeira Circle — IPHAN & UNESCO Dossier 00892IPHAN Brazil / UNESCO, 2014CC BY-SA 4.0
"Berimbau." Folkroom Archive (Instruments), https://folkroom.org/instruments/berimbau · CC BY-SA 4.0.