Carimbó drum

Carimbó is a tall Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

. It is made of a hollow trunk of wood, thinned by fire, and covered with a deerskin. It is about 1m tall and 30cm wide.

Carimbó dance

Carimbó is also a Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian dance. The dance was a common dance in the northern part of Brazil, from the time that Brazil was still a Portuguese colony, originally from the Brazilian region of Pará

Pará

Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...

, around Marajó

Marajó

Marajó is an island located at the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. It is part of the state of Pará.- Geography :With a land area of 40,100 km² , which compares to the size of Switzerland, it is the largest island to be completely surrounded by freshwater in the world...

 island and the capital city of Belém

Belém

Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...

.

Carimbó was a loose and very sensual dance which involved only side to side movements and many spins and hip movement by the female dancer, who typically wore a rounded skirt. The music was mainly to the beat of Carimbó drums. In this dance, a woman would throw her handkerchief on the floor and her male partner would attempt to retrieve it using solely his mouth.

Over time, the dance changed, as did the music itself. It was influenced by the Caribbean

Caribbean music

The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. They are each syntheses of African, European, Indian and native influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves...

 (for example, Zouk

Zouk

Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...

, kompa

Kompa

Compas is a musical genre derivative of the Haitian Méringue, the national music of Haiti that people have been dancing and playing since the 1800s. written as Compas Direct in French, and Kompa or konpa in Haitian Creole. Worldwide, several festivals annually feature Compas music and other aspects...

, and Merengue

Merengue music

Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...

 styles) and French/Spanish dance styles of the Caribbean.

The style survives today, with Caribbean radio stations in the northern states of Brazil, such as Amapá

Amapá

Amapá is one of the states of Brazil, located in the extreme north, bordering French Guiana and Suriname to the north. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south and west is the Brazilian state of Pará. Perhaps one of the main features of the state is the River Oiapoque, as it was once...

, playing the music. The Carimbó style has formed the basis of some new rhythms like the Sirimbó, the Lari Lari and the Lambada

Lambada

Lambada is a dance from Pará, Brazil. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in Latin America and Caribbean countries...

.