Rio de Janeiro
The plot “Arroboboi, Dangbé”, presented by Champion Viradouro in Marquês de Sapucaí, was about the energy of the Serpent Vodum, from battles on the west coast of Africa to Vodun priestesses, a women's dynasty chosen by Dangbé.
Carnival artist Tarcísio Zanon took six floats, two tripods and the front committee's allegorical element to the Sambadrome. There were 23 wings in total.
The parade was divided into five different subthemes. The first about the snake cult; the second of the Mino warriors; the third is about Ludovina Pessoa and the legacy of Vodum in Bahia; the fourth, religious syncretism; and the fifth a tribute to the symbols of Dangbé and the leaders of Candomblé
See how the winning parade went wing by wing:
FRONT COMMISSION
The frontline mission of choreographers Rodrigo Negri and Priscilla Motta embodied the fate of a people in the protective rite of the warriors of Dangbé. One scenographic element was impressive: a huge snake crawled through Sapucaí.
1. PAIR OF MASTER ROOM AND FLAGS BEARERS
Julinho Nascimento and Rute Alves wore the “Save the Infinite Spirit of the Serpent” costume. The couple paid homage to the spirit of snakes and danced the energy of Dangbé to the ancestry of the people of the Costa da Mina.
GUARDS OF THE 1ST PAIR MASTER ROOM AND BANNER
The members wore the “Ophidic Entourage” costume and had the intention of protecting the spirit of the serpent and preserving the secrets and magic of the Voduns of Dan's family.
1st wing: The battle of Aladá against Uidá
In 1660, during the conflict between Uidá and Aladá in presentday Benin, Aladá's snake joined the Uidá army, defeated the enemies and became a voodoo, revered by the population as a symbol of strength and cohesion.
Tripod: Dangbé: Energy of Victory
With an appearance by model Duda Monteiro, Viradouro represented the victory of Uidá, the ancestral cult of Vodum Serpente.
2nd wing: Procession and offerings to the snake god
It depicted the pilgrimages, sacrifices and worship of the people of Uidá for Vodum Dangbé. The school’s muse, Carolina Macharethe, wore the “Oferenda ao Rei de Uidá” costume.
1. Auto Aperalas: The Strength of Infinite Vodum
It represented the grand ceremony in honor of the powerful serpent deity: Vodum Dangbé.
2nd wing (B): Procession and offerings to the snake god
The floor figure was Tia Cléia in the Sagrada Vodúnsi costume, a leader whose job was to recruit new women to the snake cult.
3rd District: Priestess of the Divine Serpent
Bahian women experience Vodúnsis to mystical feminine power. Next, muse Jamilly Marques wore the “Initiação a Dangbé” costume.
2. Auto Oracle Prediction: Open Paths
It symbolized female power by consulting Fá, the oracle of the Jeje people, who sees the predictions for the future on the divination board. Highlight: Emilton Paracambi and Paulo Rodrigues, who wore the costumes “O Grande Fatono” and “O Supremo Vodunon”.
2. SECTOR
4th Wing: Serpentary Rites: The Pact of Allegiance
The pact of loyalty between the Mino warriors, signed in blood and fire so that they would never betray each other.
5th Wing: The Hunt for the Ivory Man: Bravery and Mysticism
In the Dahomean women's army, hunting elephants for ivory was a way to recruit Mino warriors.
6. Wing: The transcendent power of ivory
The oracles were carved from ivory and were used to predict the future and provide protection to the Agojie warriors (the other name given to the Mino). Taissi Hangbé was the first Mino warrior to take command of the Dahomey army.
7th wing: Ahosi The king's wives
This was the name given to the Mino warriors due to their historical importance in protecting the Dahomey Empire. The performing group represented the warriors in battle.
3. Car The Mino Warriors, mythical protection and loyalty
3. SECTOR
8th Wing: The Ludovina Memorial Sea
The Vodum boat crosses the ocean in the faith of priestesses such as Ludovina Pessoa, who brings magical practices related to Vodum to Brazil.
9th district: settlements
In the role of Ludovina Pessoa, the fantasy refers to the CandombléJeje houses in Bahia and the Vodun cult settlements.
Floor figure: Valci Pelé in Pejigã costume. Kpejigan is the lord who watches over the holy altars. Mission for men who do not enter a trance and are initiated into the Vodum cult.
10th Wing: Queen Fu Energy: Magic and movement
Ludovina Pessoa's guiding spirit, Vodum Gu, manifests itself in the Viradouro dancers.
2. PAIR OF MASTER ROOMS AND FLAGS BEARERS
Thiaguinho Mendonça and Amanda Poblete wore the “Freedom Forged in Fight” costume. The guards of the 2nd pair, consisting of the master room and standard bearer, wore the “Metaphorical Chest” costume. According to legend, the term Bogun referred to a chest in which donations to finance the Malês Uprising were kept. Next, drum queen Erika Januza wore the Takará costume. The Takará of Vodum Dan is a pointed ritual instrument used by initiates of the snake family in the trance process.
11th Wing: The Malês Uprising
Viraduro's drum master is Master Ciça, who was disguised as the leader of the Malês Uprising (1835), an uprising against slavery that brought different peoples together. After the drums came the sound truck.
A performance group referred to the legend that Ludovina Pessoa shuttled between Dahomey and Bahia as a bird woman to maintain the Vodum faith.
12th wing: Mobile altars
The mystical cult that crossed the Atlantic with Vodun charm and settled in Brazil.
4th Car Ludovina Gu and the Terreiros Formation in Bahia
It is a great sacrifice for Vodum Gu, who led the warrior Ludovina into the terreiros of Bahia.
4. SECTOR
Syncretic temple between cross and snake. This sector represents the mix of African cults and Catholic liturgies to preserve the holiness of the Jeje people. The communities in this sector represented the intersection of faiths; Follower of Saint Bartholomew, who had the syncretism of a serpent.
13th Wing: Syncretic Shields
The mix of African cults and Catholic liturgies.
14th District: Ladies of Healing and Good Luck (Leaves and Figs)
Through the crossing of faiths, the myths of the serpent became synchronized with Catholic saints.
15th wing: The delicacies of the feast of Saint Bartholomew
The tripod in this sector referred to the Holy Black Supper. The following wings spoke about brotherhoods: Boa Morte, Bom Jesus dos Martírios and the Samba Brotherhood.
16th District: Brotherhood of the Good Death
Inspired by the struggles against slavery, the brotherhood saw itself as an association of Catholic cults linked to the beliefs of Jeje and Nagô origins.
17th District: Brotherhood of Bom Jesus dos Martírios
Organized by enslaved people from Dahomey in the mid18th century. It inspired abolitionist movements.
18th Wing: The Samba Brotherhood
The Guardians of Samba.
5. Auto Syncretic Temples
It depicted syncretic temples and the Jeje matriarchs spoke about the values, charms and magic of the Vodum faith.
5. SECTOR
19th Wing: Crossing Drums The Sacred Touch of Adahum
Play at a fast pace that induces trance and promotes the incorporation of daughters and sons of saints.
20th district: Jeje cannot survive without water and without forest
It refers to the phrase that gives the wing its name and comes from Doné Runhó, one of the matriarchs of the Bogum terreiro in Salvador.
21st Wing: Vodun Deities
It represented the Vodun deities of the night, the moon and the stars. In the next wing were the snakes from the Dan families, which are associated with the water cycle. Then the power of thunder and rainbows.
22nd Wing: The Fall of Rain
The snakes of the Dan family, which have relationships with water cycles to maintain the balance of the ecosystem.
23. Wings: The mystical power of thunder
Dan manifests himself through the combination of colors and maintains the eternal alliance for the balance of the Earth, the cosmic terreiro.
6th chariot: Sacred Cosmic Terreiro
It was a tribute to the Dangbé saga and its ancestral heritage in its Bessem form in the Voduns and Candomblé cult. Jeje religious leaders from Bahia and Rio de Janeiro were present as guests.