Berimbau
Berimbau
A single-string musical bow with a gourd, the main instrument of capoeira. Its rhythm (toque) determines what game the players in the roda play.
Quick Facts
Definition
The berimbau is a musical bow. It consists of a wooden staff (verga), a steel string (arame) and a hollow gourd (cabaça) as a resonator. In one hand the player holds the bow with a stone or coin (dobrão) that changes the pitch, and in the other a stick (baqueta) and caxixi rattle. In the roda, three berimbaus of different sizes are usually played: the gunga with the deepest tone, the médio and the viola. The gunga player leads the roda. The rhythms are called toques, for example Angola or São Bento Grande, and each sets the tempo and character of the game, from slow play near the ground to fast and high.
Relations to other terms
See also
A circle of players and musicians within which capoeira is played. Music, singing and clapping set the rhythm and character of the game.
AtabaqueAtabaqueA tall hand drum of African origin. In the capoeira roda it holds the basic rhythm together with the berimbau and pandeiro.
PandeiroPandeiroBrazilian tambourine with jingles around the rim. In the capoeira roda it accompanies the berimbau and atabaque.