As dinâmicas de um trabalho de campo etnomusicológico na prática dos Bombos em Lavacolhos

Abstract

According to the ethnomusicologist Helen Myers, “fieldwork is the most personal and essential task required for an ethnomusicologist” (1992: 21). It consists of being in the world, as referred to by Jeff Titon, promoting a lively experience in close contact with subjects as a privileged means of learning a specific musical practice through experience. (Barz and Cooley 2008) This was the principle that guided the fieldwork I carried out in Lavacolhos between 2012 and 2013, concerning the practice/tradition of “Bombos de Lavacolhos”.
The practice occurs at three calendar festivities and integrates players - men - a male choir, the Lavacolhos community (some living outside the village), and craftsmen. It also involves the local authorities and the priest. This complexity has led to the formulation of various questions, such as: What exactly comprises drum performance in Lavacolhos? Who are the protagonists? What are the iconic dimensions of its musical instruments? What sort of power games are involved? In this paper I intend to focus on matters related to the challenges and particularities I have encountered during my fieldwork research, to reflect on some aspects concerning gender issues, social roles reformulation and local authority and church interferences in the drumming practice.