São Manuel berra-boi

berra-boi

berra-boi = local name in the São Manuel field report

On Lenten nights in São Manuel, praying bands walked the streets and back roads to plead for the souls trapped in purgatory, and the low hum of a whirled board — the berra-boi — carried ahead of them, doubled by the clack of a matraca. At Santa Rosa do Viterbo, the bands gave the instrument up out of dread: even after Lent had passed, the frightened singers swore, its eerie whistling kept sounding on into the dark.

o berra-boi, feito de tabuinha com barbante amarrado na extremidade, que rodada no ar produz forte zumbido

the berra-boi, made from a small board with string tied at the end, which when rotated in the air produces a strong hum

Rossini Tavares de Lima, 'Folclore paulista' (1971), pp. 47–71, section 'Grupo religioso'

Particulars

Object

Small board with cord tied at the end, rotated in the air for a strong hum.

Function

Instrument used in the local Recomendação das Almas alongside a matraca.