A Panorama of Research on Candomblé Music

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the Brazilian academic corpus on candomblé music. Based on the CAPES Theses and Dissertations Catalog, we attempt to perform a quantitative study to determine the amount of research carried out in Brazilian graduate programs within the context of ketu candomblé with an emphasis on percussion instruments and work conducted in the State of Santa Catarina. Data collection was performed induring the second half of 2017, temporally addressing all the works covered by the platform. After a review of recent ethnomusicological studies and other sub-areas of music, we conducted a critical and comparative analysis of the works found. Appreciating the importance of extramusical factors (BLACKING, 1995) to fully understand cultural practices, we also contemplated theses and dissertations in the areas of history, anthropology, sociology, and the arts. The results demonstrate a lack of academic research at the national level in the field of candomblé music and the absence of objects studied in the State of Santa Catarina.

Keywords

• Etnomusicologia. Música do candomblé. Pesquisa na pós-graduação brasileira. Banco de Teses e Dissertações da CAPES.