Ladainhas
Mestre Pastinha 1889 - 1981
Ladainhas (litany in English) are a long solo with no chorus response. Typically, every Capoeira Angola roda starts with the mestre singing a ladainha before the game starts. During it, the players do not play; they remain crouched and listening at the foot of the berimbau. The ladainha typically recounts history, tells a myth, or transmits a message. It will likely be many years before you have the level of Portuguese to understand not only the words, but also the hidden meanings and metaphors that lie beneath them. The lyrics of the ladainha always have some kind of meaning. It could be directions as to how the Mestre wants the roda to be, a story with a moral, remembering great Mestres of the past, a message to one or more capoeiristas present in the roda. They can range from only a couple lines to over 20.
The Ladainha is usually sung as a solo by the Mestre (or senior capoeirista) who is leading the roda, after opening the proceedings with the ‘iê’ whilst two jogadores crouch at the foot of the berimbau.
Commonly during the ladainha, only the berimbaus play. Therefore, the Mestre doesn’t have to strain to be heard over the full bateria, although this does vary from group to group. Usually the Mestre singing the ladainha plays the rhythm “Angola” on the gunga.
A
Angoleiro
B
Bahia nossa Bahia
C
D
Dona Isobel
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
Maior é Deus
Menino quem foi seu mestre?
N
O
O nego religioso
P
Q
R
Rei Zumbi dos Palmares
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
