Batuque (Brazil)

Batuque (drumming) was a general term for various Afro-Brazilian practices in the 19th century, including music, dance, combat game and religion.

Batuques, or drumming ceremonies were an important cultural activity among the African population. These performance circles were a regular occurrence on Sunday evenings and holidays, drawing large crowds of enslaved Africans. Laws introduced in 1822 allowed police to shut down batuques. Despite the police repression, the batuques persisted covertly at the town's outskirts or along the shoreline.

Africans devised tactics to safeguard the batuques. They would scatter when the police approached and reconvene elsewhere to resume. In some cases, they responded to police repression with violence.

Within the batuques gatherings, there were specific groups dedicated to a combat game known as pernada in Rio and batuque or batuque-boi in Salvador.

In Bahia, the batuque dance evolved into various forms of samba, while the combat game was gradually absorbed by the capoeira. In the province of Rio Grande, batuque became the general term for Afro-Brazilian religion.