Brazilian Culture is the result of the mixing of different ethnic groups that participated in the formation of the Brazilian population.
The predominant cultural diversity in Brazil is also a consequence of the large territorial extension and the characteristics generated in each region of the country.
The white individual, who participated in the formation of Brazilian culture, was part of several groups that arrived in the country during the colonial era.
In addition to the Portuguese, the Spanish arrived from 1580 to 1640, during the Iberian Union (the period in which Portugal was under Spanish rule).
During the Dutch occupation of the northeast, from 1630 to 1654, Flemish and Dutch people arrived and remained in the country even after the Portuguese retook the area. The French, English and Italians also arrived in the colony.
However, it was from the Portuguese that we received the fundamental cultural heritage, where the history of Portuguese immigration to Brazil is confused with our own history.
They, the colonizers, were responsible for the initial formation of the Brazilian population. This was the result of the process of miscegenation with Indians and black Africans, from 1500 to 1808. For three centuries, the Portuguese were the only Europeans who could freely enter Brazil.
To find out more:
- What is culture?
- Brazilian Population
- Cultural Diversity
- Cultural diversity in Brazil
- Immigration from Brazil
- Popular culture
The Formation of Brazilian Culture
The formation of Brazilian culture resulted from the integration of elements from indigenous cultures , from the Portuguese colonizers , from black Africans , as well as from various immigrants.
Indigenous Culture
Brazilian Indians contributed many things to our cultural and social formation. From an ethnic point of view, they contributed to the emergence of a typically Brazilian individual: the caboclo (a mixed race person of white and Indian origin).
In cultural formation, the Indians contributed with vocabulary , which has numerous terms of indigenous origin, such as pindorama, anhanguera, ibirapitanga, Itamaracá, among others. With folklore, legends such as curupira, saci-pererê, boitatá, iara, among others remained.
The influence on cuisine was more present in certain regions of the country where some indigenous groups managed to take root. An example is the northern region, where typical dishes are present, including tucupi, tacacá and maniçoba.
Roots such as cassava are used to prepare flour, tapioca and beiju. Various hunting and fishing tools , such as the arapuca and the puçá. Finally, various household utensils were left as inheritance, among them, the hammock, the gourd and the bowl.
To find out more:
Portuguese Culture
Portugal was the European country that exerted the most influence on the formation of Brazilian culture.
The Portuguese carried out a cultural transplant to the colony, highlighting the Portuguese language , spoken throughout the country, and the religion marked by festivals and processions.
The administrative institutions, the type of construction of towns, villages and cities and agriculture are part of the Portuguese heritage.
In Brazilian folklore , the large number of Portuguese festivals and dances that were incorporated into the country are evident. Among them are the cavalhada, the fandango, the June festivals (one of the main festivals in the culture of the northeast) and the farra do boi.
Folklore legends (the cuca and the bogeyman), children’s songs (live fish, the carnation and the rose, spinning top, etc.) remain alive in Brazilian culture.
If you want to know more about the country’s folklore: Brazilian Folklore .
African Culture
Black Africans were brought to Brazil to be employed as slave labor. Depending on the cultures they represented (religious rites, dialects, customs and traditions, physical characteristics, etc.), they formed three main groups, which presented marked differences: the Sudanese , the Bantu and the Malês (Islamized Sudanese).
Salvador, in the northeast of Brazil, was the city that received the largest number of black people, and where several cultural elements survive.
Examples include the “ Baiana costume ”, with turban, lace skirts, bracelets, necklaces, capoeira and musical instruments such as the drum, atabaque, cuíca, berimbau and afoxé.
In general, the cultural contribution of black people was great:
In food , vatapá, acarajé, acaçá, cocada, pé de moleque, etc.;
In dances (quilombos, maracatus and aspects of Bumba meu boi )
In religious manifestations (Candomblé in Bahia, Macumba in Rio de Janeiro and Xangô in some states in the Northeast).
To learn more, also read the articles:
Immigrant Culture
Immigrants have made important contributions to Brazilian culture. The history of immigration to Brazil began in 1808, with the opening of ports to friendly nations by D. João.
To populate the territory, Portuguese, Azorean, Swiss, Prussian, Spanish, Syrian, Lebanese, Polish, Ukrainian and Japanese families came and settled in Rio Grande do Sul.
The great highlight were the Italians and Germans , who arrived in large numbers. They concentrated in the south and southeast of the country, leaving important marks of their cultures, mainly in architecture , language , cuisine , regional and folkloric festivals .
The wine culture in southern Brazil is mainly concentrated in the Serra Gaúcha and Campania regions, where descendants of Italians and Germans predominate.
In the city of São Paulo, the large influx of Italians gave rise to neighborhoods such as Bom Retiro, Brás, Bexiga and Barra Funda, where the presence of Italians is notable. With them came typical pasta dishes such as macaroni, pizza, lasagna, cannelloni, among others.
