The enchanted bull of Bumba-meu-boi.

• Author: de Azevedo, Kathleen
• Position: FESTIVALS

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A musician on stage blows a whistle that reverberates under the nighttime city lights of São Luis, Brazil. A lone male voice begins singing, and dancers from the performance group Boi Encanto do São Cristovão line up, a jumble of feathers, glitter, and satin. Rattles shake; then the music explodes, as long lines of women and men dressed as natives sweep onto the open dance area in a galloping march that includes a twist of hips. The feathered crowns of their headdresses seem to burst with color; and the yellow, white, and red feathers on the women's hips and tops make it look as if brightly colored Amazonian parakeets are flying around them as they dance. Men flex the muscles on their bare arms as they draw bows and arrows and make sweeping synchronized movements. The singer cries out with enthusiasm: "Eita, que belleza! " [What beauty!]

A chorus of vaqueiros , or cowboys, streams into the mix in satin pants and sequined vests. The wide ribbons adorning their hats hang almost to the floor, making them look a bit like dancing circus tents. The lead vaqueiro , in white satin, snaps a whip of silver tassels. Next, fantastical creatures crowd in: a leopard; a cluster of supernatural beings in long robes and glittering monkey masks; a white dreamy-featured ghost; and a rider half-buried in a horse costume with doll legs straddling the saddle. A campy man in drag as a pregnant woman and another man wearing a blackface stocking mask and a straw hat play--believe it or not--the romantic couple.

By now the dance area is popping with an energetic, thumping rhythm, and the eye-aching color is made more spectacular by two combative bois , or bulls, each brought to life by the man inside the costume. The male dancers manipulating the bull are literally called a miolo or "entrails," and the large costumed body is called the couro , or leather. The couros are heavily embroidered with a long flowing satin curtain that runs along the edge of the costumes, hides the male dancers, and makes the animals appear to float. The two bulls whirl, leap, and shudder. No doubt about it--the Enchanted Bull has been turned loose in a spectacular celebration known as Bumba-meu-boi .

The dance of Bumba-meu-boi reenacts a story called The Desire of Catherine . In the story, the pregnant Catherine craves the tongue of a bull. Her husband, a slave called Pal Francisco, kills one of his master's bulls and gives the tongue to his wife. He then flees to...