FESTA JUNINA Brazilian Annual Tradition

Festa Junina is a festival held every year during the month of June, usually
comprised between the days 13 and 29, which had its origin as a heathen celebration of
midsummer solstice and, with the advent of Christianity, became associated with the
nativity of Saint John the Baptist. The origins for its name are controversial some
people arguing that its called Junina for happening always in June, some claiming it
derives from Saint Johns name (Joanina).
Being introduced to Brazil by their colonizers, the Portuguese, the original
tradition already carried traits and features from many different countries, such as China
fireworks and colorful balloons , France bouffant gowns, dance steps and musical
pace , Portugal and Spain dance with fabric strips , for example. Heathen traits such
as lighting up a big fire around which people would dance and sing were kept, but its
former meaning of celebrating summer and fertility faded and assumed other
characteristics and explanations along time.
During these festivals, three catholic saints are worshipped: Saint Anthony (June
th
13 ), saint of marriage; Saint John (June 24th), the Baptist; and Saint Peter (June 29th),
seen often as the holder of the keys of Heaven, protector of widows and fishermen and
also responsible for the weather, specially the pouring rains.
All of the three are revered by the faithful people and many rituals are made in their
creed, but the most notorious are those for Saint Anthony. Being the patron of marriage,
it is believed that he has the power to bring single women a partner through their
prayers and creed on him. Some women will hang icons of the saint upside down, or
lock them inside wardrobes, and keep him under such punishments until they are
favored with a lover. Others will wrap the icons arms with red and white threads of silk
and pray. Some churches offer the bun of Saint Anthony, said to grant prosperity and
to be put close to food supplies, so they wont ever end, and in return the devotees leave
offers usually in money.
Once arrived in Brazil, the Festa Junina festival easily merged into the colonys
culture, due mostly to its similarity with native-indigenous and slave-african rituals and
to the readiness and belief of the people from the countryside mostly farmers and
other types of handcrafters. The traditional clothings are flannel tartan shirts, straw hats,
ragged pants (with some random fabric rags sewn over supposed holes) and boots for
men, long and full skirted dresses, braids and strong make up for women. Some will
paint a few of the front teeth black to simulate the lack of them, which is common
among the countrypeople for the lack of habit and resources to keep a proper mouth
hygiene. People will usually speak with a strong accent, typical to people from the inner
regions of the country (caipiras).
Even though it is celebrated over most of the country, it grew deep roots in the
Northeastern region, where great open air celebrations are still made. One of the most
usual elements in Festa Junina is the symbolic marriage of two persons. It is enacted
through a dance called Quadrilha, in which a line of couples (traditionally a man and a
woman) is made and they follow the instructions of an elected person to play the priest
character, which both directs the Quadrilha and performs the marriage. It is said that this

dance was originated in England around the 13th and 14th centuries, but soon it was
adopted by France, where it had new elements incorporated and was made a noble
dance. Some of the directed steps made by the priest reveal such influence, such as
balanc (balancer), anavan (en avant), return (retourner) and tur (tour). It is
always performed in an open space or a saloon, in the middle of a crowd of watchers,
and usually the sequence of steps is as follows, each pair doing it only with their
partner, being the married couple the leaders of the line:
1. Balanc (swing the body from one side to the other while standing in the same place,
standing the rhythm of the music); 2. Gentlemen greet ladies (usually bowing and
taking their hats off); 3. Ladies greet gentlemen (bowing and holding one or both sides
of their skirts); 4. Exchange sides and setting the marks (man and woman will exchange
their places and receive a code number, such and 1 and 2, which is used when a
command to exchange pairs is given, sometimes); 5. Marea Plimbare the great hang
out (when the line is again formed and starts following the dance steps dictated by the
priest); 6. Shift partner (the couples go through a constant exchange, always with the
couple in front of them in a row, until they are back with their former partner). Usually
it is done first with the men, and next with the women; 7. The Tunnel (The couples
will face each other, give their hands and make a tunnel with their arms. The couple on
one end will pass through the tunnel holding hands and become part of it once they
reach the end, until everyone has passed; 8. The Countryside Path (a march is started,
guided by the first couple in line, through which many obstacles might appear); 9.
Beware the snake! (command given by the priest for which the couples must make a
small leap, like jumping over a snake attempting to bite them, only to keep walking
after it. It can be also used with other elements, such as a fallen bridge, when the last
couple begins the first and the line walks backwards, a rain, when people will cover
their heads with their arms, and so on); 10. Its a lie! (shortly the beware command,
this is said, so the couples can keep their march without worries); 11. Snail (the line
begins spiraling and when the command detour is given, the first couple finds a way
to straighten the line again); 12. The Big Wheel (when the line becomes a full closed
circle that keeps marching with alternated couples. Then a circle made only by the
women is called to the center for a while, making it two circles, followed by an
inversion when the female retreat and the inner circle is made by men, just to merge
both circles again afterwards); 13. Crown the ladies (the men will make a circle with
their arms and pass it around the women from over their heads, having their arms
around their waists until the next command); 14. Crown the gentlemen (same process
as the last one. Men will remove their joined arms from around the women by the
inverse process and women will execute the same step); 15. The Dismissal (when the
couples march in line beckoning to the watchers, the Quadrilha is over but the music
usually keeps playing for the couples who wish to keep dancing).
Two popular games played afterwards are the Correio Elegante (elegant mail)
and the Jail. Correio Elegante is a stand where you can pay a certain fee (usually a small
value) to send someone a letter. You choose what will be said in the ticket and if you
want anonymity or to be identified at its end. After paying and writing the message, the

person behind the stand will ask an assistant to deliver it to the addressed person. As for
the Jail, it works similarly, but you can pay to put someone inside an improvised Jail
and the prisoner can only leave if someone pays another fee for it. A third popular game
is the Kiss Stand, where a beautiful girl (sometimes there is a boy, too) stand and you
can pay a certain fee in exchange for a smooch/peck kiss.
Since during this time of year one of the most common crops are corn, many of
the traditional recipes are made of it, such as Canjica, Curau, Pipoca, Pamonha, Bolo de
Milho (corn cake), Broa de Milho (corn sweet bun), Caldo de Milho (corn soup), Espiga
de Milho Cozido (cooked corn still attached to its husk) and so on. Recipes made from
other ingredients are also usual, such as Paoca (a portion of sweet peanut flour
compacted into cylinder or rectangle block shape), Arroz Doce (sweet rice, rice
cooked with sugar and milk, usually seasoned with lemon zests, cinnamon, cloves or all
of them), Ma do Amor (love apple, an apple covered in caramel attached to a stick),
Rapadura (a hard bar made of sugarcane juice, boiled and dried into a brick form,
sometimes used as a sweetener instead of sugar), Cocada (Coconut-ed, a soft candy
made of shredded coconut, milk/condensed milk and egg yolks), P-de-Moleque (boyfoot, a sweet made of toasted peanuts and rapadura) and Quento (big/very hot, a
punch made of boiled wine and fruits, ginger, cinnamon and sometimes cachaa, a
typical alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane) for exemple. This food is usually sold
in small stands, and the money raised is frequently donated to charity institutions and/or
afford the festival expenses.
In the Northeastern region the festival may last a whole month, while in the rest
of the country it usually lasts from a couple of days to a week, hardly more than that.
References:
Carnaval e Festas Juninas - Coleo Voc Sabia ? Stio do Picapau Amarelo
Autor: Mendes, Miguel
Editora: Globo Editora
Como bom Festa Junina Volume I
Autor: Avi, Iv Ramon do Amaral
Editora: Esfera
Como bom Festa Junina Volume II
Autor: Vrios
Editora: Esfera
Festas Juninas
Autor: Brando, Toni
Editora: Studio Nobel