Translating songs to summon spirits: No tempo do cativeiro

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Same as we did with the caboclos (Indigenous guiding spirits) I think it would be a good idea to translate a ponto about the preto velho (the old black man) so we can learn while singing along.


As mentioned in the overview article about Umbanda, pontos are songs sung by the members of a centre similar to Christian hymns. The aim of pontos is to induce mediumistic trance in the mediums of the temple and honour orixás or guiding spirits.


The lyrics in Portuguese and English side to side:



No tempo do cativeiro - During my captivity

Quando o senhor me batia - When the owner beat me

Eu rezava pra Nossa Senhora - I'd pray to Holy Mary

Ai meu Deus... - My God...

Como a pancada doía - How the blow hurt


No tempo do cativeiro - During my captivity

Quando o senhor me batia - When the master beat me

Eu rezava pra Nossa Senhora - I'd pray to Holy Mary

Ai meu Deus... - My God...

Como a pancada doía - How the blow hurt


Trabalhava na lavoura, - I worked in the plantations

No açúcar, no sisal - In the sugarcane fields, in the sisal

Nego era chicotiado - We used to be whipped

No velho tronco de pau - In the old wooden trunk

Quando cheguei na Bahia - When I arrived in Bahia

A Capoeira me libertou - Capoeira freed me

E até hoje ainda me lembro - And to this day I still remember

Das ordens do meu senhor - My master's orders


Trabalha Nego, Nego trabalha - "Work n****, n**** work!"

Trabalha Nego pra não apanhar - Work n**** so you won't get hit

Trabalha Nego, Nego trabalha - "Work n****, n**** work!"

Trabalha Nego pra não apanhar - Work n**** so you won't get hit


No tempo do cativeiro - During my captivity

Quando o senhor me batia - When the owner beat me

Eu rezava pra Nossa Senhora - I'd pray to Holy Mary

Ai meu Deus... - My God...

Como a pancada doía - How the blow hurt

 

Unlike the ponto from Mariene de Castro, this ponto is mostly in plain Portuguese with some expressions showing some form of creole ("nego" instead of negro) a common characteristic in pretos velhos.

 

A second point to notice are the Catholic references, showing how Umbanda has been closely related with Christian and Spiritist influence from it's beginnings.

 

But going beyond linguistic details the main focus of the song is to remind us of the horrors of the plantation system in Brazil. The famous photograph of Whipped Peter is probably the most crude and shocking evidence of the inhuman practice that existed in the American continent for centuries.


Peter (1863). The original photograph is under the National Portrait Gallery from the Smithsonian Institution.


This article was written by Eduardo Guimarães and registered in the Brazilian National Library. The content is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or profit is prohibited. With reproduction without a profit motive is allowed with the consent of the author. 

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