An Introduction to the Folk Dances of Colombia

Author(s): Delia Zapata Olivella

Source: Ethnomusicology , Jan., 1967, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Jan., 1967), pp. 91-96
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of Society for Ethnomusicology

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/850500

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 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FOLK DANCES
OF COLOMBIA

Delia Zapata Olivella

Colombia is the northernmost country in South America and is

bounded by two oceans, the Atlantic in the north and the Pac
in the west. The western part of the country is traversed by three
great Andean ranges, the Western, Central, and Eastern Cordilleras.
To the east are vast plains which slope down to the Amazon valley.
This wide variety of geography has impressed special characteristics
upon the inhabitants of the various regions of the country.
Before discovery by the Spaniards these areas were inhabited by
numerous Indian tribes. Some tribes were totally exterminated during
the period of colonization, others have managed to retain their iden-
tities. The important tribal groups were the Chibcha, the Quimbaya,
the Colima, and the Sinui. They exhibited a high development of hand-
icrafts and plastic arts, in particular, goldsmithing. In their lust for
riches the conquering Spaniards respected neither customs nor be-
liefs. The aborigines were enslaved, their land seized, and much of
indigenous tradition was thus destroyed. The Chibcha people, who had
a social, economic and religious organization almost as highly de-
veloped as those of the Aztecs and the Incas, were almost complete-
ly exterminated and the remainder of the tribes dispersed. Some fled
to the jungles in an effort for survival and in the process of this re-
treat various mixtures of tribal cultures were produced. Notwith-
standing the strong implantation of European culture, Indian influence
played an important role during this period of development of Colom-
bian culture.
The third great influence was that of the imported African Negro.
Thousands of African slaves entered the New World through the At-
lantic port of Cartagena, principal disembarkation point in South
America. Here they were met by Saint Pedro Claver who, in addi-
tion to alleviating their physical suffering, baptized them and instruct-
ed them in the Christian faith. Those who did not become Christians
received harsher treatment. They were set to work in mines, at well
building, or were sold at auction. The Africans were not homogeneous
in their tribal backgrounds, having been selected primarily on the ba-
sis of physique. Having diverse religious beliefs and customs they
soon lost many of their traditions and seized upon the new ideas at
hand, in particular the Christian faith, as a means of material and
spiritual salvation.

91

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92 ZAPATA: FOLK DANCES OF COLOMBIA

Among those Africans brought to Cartagena was one B

chief in his own land. With this man as leader a large number of
slaves managed to escape the city and to establish a well-fortified
village in the jungle. Such was the racial solidarity of this group
that the Spaniards were never able to subdue them. This village is
now known as Palenque de San Basilio and is the center of inherited
African influence in the region.
What legacy did the Spaniards leave Colombia? The conquerors
brought their own culture and implanted it. The artistic expressions
of the Indian and the Negro were despised and in some cases pro-
hibited. Yet Indian and African traits persisted in some measure.
The Spaniards brought the quadrille, danza, contradanza, and other
dances. These were adopted by the Indians and the Negros but in the
assimilation each race chose what was most in accord with its own
preference in kinesthetic expression and introduced into them e
ments of their own folklore, thus creating new, hybrid forms.
some regions the mixture of all three races gave rise to a third
type of folk dance, tri-ethnic in character, thus increasing the
of ancestral patrimony.
In certain cases historical developments have permitted a great-
er conservation of Indian and Negro traditions. On the Pacific coast,
in the Departmentos of Choc6, Valle de Cauca, Cauca, and Nariho, Indi-
ans have intermarried with the whites but not with the Negros. This
is probably due to an antagonism produced by early seizures by the
Negros of the Indians' lands. On the other hand, on the Atlantic
coast the Indian intermarried with the Negro as well. Here condi-
tions of slavery for both races were more onerous and joint strug-
gles against the whites produced greater rapprochement.
Having established the racial backgrounds and admixtures of those
who now constitute the Colombian population we are now in a position
to discuss the more important dances found in the four principal cul-
tural-geographic zones of the country.

DANCES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST

The Cumbia

The cumbia is the most representative dance of the area. In

origin it is believed to be tri-ethnic and it represents the amorous
conquest of woman by man. It is always danced in pairs. The coup-
les form a large circle in the center of which the musicians are sit-
uated. During the dance man and woman do not touch each other.
The woman carries in her raised right hand one or more lighted
candles and with her left hand she holds her skirt and marks the
rhythm. The candles serve two functions, to light the way and as a
weapon by which the woman defends herself against the advances of
her partner. He, in turn, must be ready to avoid the woman's thrusts

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 ZAPATA: FOLK DANCES OF COLOMBIA

of the burning candles. The Indian influence is shown in the dancing

of the woman, which is reserved but graceful; that of the Negro in
the dancing of the man which, although showing a certain regularity,
is freer and more ebullient; that of the Spaniard in the costumes and
in the song which is of course in the Spanish language. The cumbia
may be accompanied by one of two folk ensembles, the conjunto de
cana de millo or the conjunto de gaitas. The melody instrument in
the first ensemble is an open pipe with a single reed, in the second
a fipple-mouthed flute. The remaining instruments in both ensembles
are of the percussion family. In the past the cumbia was a purely
instrumental form but sung stanzas have since been introduced.

The Bullerengue
This is characteristically a dance of the Negro communities. It
is believed to have had a ritual significance, to have been utilized in
puberty rites of women. Also, it was in the past always sung by
women, often by virgins dressed in white. The dance is accompanied
by two conical drums of differing sizes, the tambor mayor and the
llamador, and by the maracas and handclapping. The women dance
with their feet close together and with gentle forward and backward
motions of the hips, following the flow of the rhythm. In the motions
of the dance the skirts describe various figures and the dancers at
times seem to be caressing their abdomens. Dancing is done both in
lines and in small circles. With each change of figure the dancers
jump forward toward the tambores as if bowing to or greeting them.
The Lumbalui

The mingling of African tribes produced a dialect composed of

African and Spanish terms known as lumbalu. This dialect is still
preserved in the village of Palenque de San Basilio in the Depart-
mento of Bolfvar and attests to the African origin of many traits of
its inhabitants. The funeral rites still practised by the older inhab-
itants is also known as lumbalu. Two tambores accompany the dance.
The first, the pechiche, was originally 1.8 meters in length but due
to wear has now been shortened somewhat. The second drum used is
the llamador. The skill and privilege of playing the tambores for the
lumbalu has remained in one family, that of the Batatas.
In the funeral rite the women dance and sing around the corpse.
Those men not playing the drums clap. The songs are in the lum-
balu dialect and the specific rhythms of accompaniment carry names
such as Angola, Congo, etc. In the past this rite was only celebrat-
ed at the decease of a member of that group known as the cabildan-
tes, descendants of chiefs of the village.

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94 ZAPATA: FOLK DANCES OF COLOMBIA

The Fandango

In Colombia this term has two distinct meanings. A fandango is

place where people gather to dance or to organize a fiesta of reli-
gious or patriotic nature. It is also a type of music accompanying a
dance which has two modes of performance. In the first it is danced
in a large circle around the musicians, as is the cumbia. In the
second it is danced in the streets accompanying the floats of the car-
nival procession. In the latter form three steps are taken forward
and one backwards and a turn is them executed, the dance thus mov-
ing slowly to match the slow progress of the floats. All carnivals
begin with a fandango, which has the function of awakening a desire
for diversion among the spectators. Although there is in reality no
specific choreography, the music indicates when steps are taken and
when turns are made. It may be danced individually or in pairs. In
the turns the couples may lock arms or hold each other's waists. At
times the male dancer holds the female by the waist while she de-
scribes a circle, but he may gyrate simultaneously in the same di-
rection or the couple may circle in opposite directions. Almost any
accompaniment is utilized for the fandango: tambores only, the con-
junto de cafa de millo, the conjunto de gaitas, the accordion, or even
an orchestra.
Other common dances of the Atlantic Littoral are the merengue
and the paseo. Both are representative of the Departamento de Mag-
dalena.

DANCES OF THE PACIFIC COAST

The Currulao

According to some historians the Negro slaves in Cartagena

danced the currulao after their hard daily labor and in violation of
the prohibition of dancing and drumming. The currulao passed from
Cartagena southward to the Departamento de Antioquia where it was
popular until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Through the
sale and exchange of slaves, the wandering of fugitives, and prospect-
ing on the auriferous rivers, the dance was carried to several de-
partmentos of the Cauca River valley, Valle de Cauca, Cauca, and
Nariio, and the currulao became almost the exclusive dance of both
men and women in the coastal areas of this region.
The dance begins with the invitation of the male partner to the
female by gestures utilizing a handkerchief. At the beginning the
woman indicates her refusal, also through the use of a handkerchief.
She finally signals her assent with her handkerchief and executes
three small graceful circles which are followed by figures of eight.
During the smaller figures the man pursues his courtship of his
partner with a slight stamp and small jumps. Thus, successively
with small circles and figures of eight they pass the night dancing.

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 ZAPATA: FOLK DANCES OF COLOMBIA 95

The instruments of accompaniment are a marimba entirely con-

structed of wood, a cununu macho (male), a cununu hembra (female),
two bombos (macho and hembra), and a number of guasas. The
cununus, like the tambores of the Atlantic Coast, are conical with
single heads but are closed rather than open at the bottom. The
bombos have two heads and are played with sticks rather than the
hands. The guasas are rattles in the form of tubes of bamboo filled
with seeds.
The other common dances of the Pacific littoral fall into two

groups. The first, comprising the arrullo, juga, bunde1 an

negra, are religious forms associated with the Nativity. The second
group, including the jota, danza, and contradanza, are social dances
derived from but dissimilar to these forms of Spanish origin. All
have their own choreography. The first group is accompanied by the
same instruments as the currulao although a flute may be substituted
for the marimba. The accompaniment of the second group is pro-
vided by a clarinet; a requinto or doblante, a small drum with two
heads akin to the military drum; a bombo; and cymbals. The clari-
net has superseded the flute previously in use.

DANCES OF THE ANDEAN ZONE

The Bambuco

The bambuco can be traced to colonial times and is one of the

most representative of Colombian dances and musical forms. How-
ever, it is most frequently performed in the interior or mountainous
zone of the country. Some scholars consider it a form of tri-ethnic
origin since it has also been popular in the Pacific coastal region
which is primarily inhabited by negros and where its form is some-
what similar to that of the currulao. However, most scholars be-
lieve it to be a mixture of Indian and white choreographic and musi-
cal traits. Whatever its origin, the bambuco has had a dominant po-
sition in the popular choreographic and musical history of the nation
and has been an extremely popular compositional form.
The bambuco is a courtship and may be danced by one couple or
many. Both partners carry handkerchiefs, as in the currulao. The
dance begins with the invitation to the woman by the man. They then
describe figures of eight, following this by movements with the el-
bows, the torsos often being inclined from side to side and the el-
bows touching in the turns. The man then attempts to kiss his lady
who avoids the kiss and slaps him on the cheek. She then flees and
he pursues her trying to stamp on her skirt. She then turns around
and pursues him in turn. He is finally caught and gives his handker-
chief to the woman who takes a corner of it and dances around the
man. He kneels so that she may continue to dance around him. T
finally leave holding arms and dancing in a combination of step and

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96 ZAPATA: FOLK DANCES OF COLOMBIA

A second common dance in this region is the torbellino (whirl-

wind). This is a spirited dance frequently danced for diversion fol-
lowing work in the fields. It lends itself well to the singing of coplas,
self-contained stanzas, and other improvisations. Like the bambuco,
it is usually accompanied by a group of fretted string instruments,
guitar, bandola, and tiple, in various combinations. The tiple is con-
sidered a characteristically Colombian instrument and is found prin-
cipally in that country.

DANCES OF THE EASTERN PLAINS

The Joropo, Pasaje, and Galer6n

Of these the joropo is the most characteristic. The term refers
not only to the dance and the type of music that accompanies it but,
as in the case of the fandango, to the meeting place where people
gather to dance. The Spanish influence is obvious in all these dances
in the frequent use of accented heel clicks and stamps. The move-
ments of the feet often follow extremely complicated musical rhythms.
This characteristic is especially strong in the careo, a type of duel
or dialogue in heel taps by couples face to face. It may also be ex-
ecuted by an individual as an invitation to dance or a lover may ex-
press his ardor through heel clicks and taps, the form of the dance
thus depending upon the sentiments being expressed.
The above brief survey will serve to introduce the reader to the
rich and diverse dance forms of Colombia. The author, herself a
Colombian, has been engaged for some years in the preparation of a
work which will present detailed choreographies of the folk dances of
the country which will be published in Spanish.
Instituto Popular de Cultura
Call, Colombia
Translated by George List

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