Tumba francesa is a secular Afro-Cuban genre of

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, song, and drumming that emerged in Oriente, Cuba. It was introduced by slaves from the French colony of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

(which would later become the nation of

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

) whose owners resettled in Cuba's eastern regions following the

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedo ...

during the 1790s. The genre flourished in the late 19th century with the establishment of ''sociedades de tumba francesa'' (tumba francesa societies), of which only three survive.

Characteristics

Tumba francesa combines musical traditions of West African,

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language *Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for Nationali ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Spanish origin. Cuban ethnomusicologists agree that the word "tumba" derives from the

and

Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Mandingo (play)'', a play by Jack Kir ...

words for drum. In Cuba, the word tumba is used to denote the drums, the ensembles and the performance itself in tumba francesa.

Instrumentation

Tumbas francesas are directed by a mistress of ceremonies called ''mayora de plaza''. Performances generally begin with improvised solo singing in a mixture of Spanish and

French patois ''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon o ...

termed ''kreyol cubano'' or ''patuá cubano'' by the lead vocalist (''composé''). After the introduction, the

catá The catá or guagua is a Cuban percussion instrument which originated in the eastern region of the island. It is classified as a directly struck idiophone, traditionally made out of a hollowed tree trunk, which the player hits with wooden stick ...

(a wooden cylindrical idiophone struck with two sticks) is played, and the ''composé'' alternates call and response singing with a group of female vocalists (''tumberas''). After the catá establishes the beat, the three tumbas are played. The tumbas are single-headed hand drums; from largest to smallest they are called premier (or manma), bulá and segón. The premier is now commonly called quinto, as it fulfills the same lead, improvisatory role as the quinto does among the

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

drums in Cuban rumba. In the toque masón, a double-headed bass drum called tamborita (or simply tambora) establishes the rhythm together with the catá. In addition, a

shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

called chachá or maruga is commonly played by the ''tumberas'' and the ''mayora'' throughout the performance. The structure of tumba francesa is related to an eastern type of Cuban rumba called tahona.

Toques

There are three main ''toques'', or types of tumba performance, each associated with a specific dance. *Masón. This is the first toque. It features the whole music ensemble and is associated with a quadrille-style dance similar to the contradanza. *Yubá. This ''toque'' follows the masón and involves the catá and the three tumbas. It is accompanied by the main tumba dance, which is improvised. There are two subtypes of yubá: macota and cobrero. *Frenté (or fronté). Originally the final section of the yubá, this is now considered an individual ''toque''. It involves the catá, the premier and the bulá. It is played in front of the drums, hence the name. An additional toque called ''cinta'' is only performed in Santiago de Cuba. It is called so because the performance takes place around a tree trunk with coloured bands (''cintas''), which are red, white and blue.

Dance

The dance in tumba francesa is similar to Haitian affranchi, which involves a series of straight-backed, held-torso, French style figures followed by African improvisation on the final set, but tumba francesa is danced to drums instead of string and woodwind instruments. The clothes of the dancers are colorful and flamboyant.

History

Tumbas francesas can be traced back to the late 18th century when the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...

triggered the migration of French colonists from Saint-Domingue, bringing their slaves to the

Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a sm ...

of Cuba. By the late 19th century, following the abolition of slavery in 1886, tumba francesa societies became established in this region, especially in Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo. Their establishment was in many ways similar to the old African ''cabildos''. Performers identify tumba francesa as ''French-Haitian'', acknowledging it as a product of Haiti which now resides in Cuba. By the second half of the 20th century, tumbas francesas were still performed in eastern Cuba, especially the toque masón. Other toques however are only played in the context cultural associations. Three tumba francesa societies survive at the moment: La Caridad de Oriente (originally La Fayette) in Santiago de Cuba; Bejuco in Sagua de Tánamo, Holguín; and Santa Catalina de Riccis (originally La Pompadour) in Guantánamo.

Recordings

Unlike other Afro-Cuban genres, tumba francesa remains poorly documented in terms of recordings. The 1976 LP ''Antología de la música afrocubana VII'', produced by Danilo Orozco and released by Areito, presents a variety of yubá and masón toques.

References

External links

4 videos of Cutumba performing the ''tumba francesa''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tumba francesa Cuban styles of music Dance in Cuba Latin American folk dances Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity