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The Indecent Calinda. The Calinda was a voodoo dance brought to Louisiana from San Domingo and the Antilles by slaves. One observer wrote of it,. “The contortions of the upper part of the body, especially of the neck and shoulders, are such as threaten to dislocate them.”.
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The Calinda was a voodoo dance brought to Louisiana from San Domingo and the Antilles by slaves.
One observer wrote of it, • “The contortions of the upper part of the body, especially of the neck and shoulders, are such as threaten to dislocate them.”
“It is not so much of the legs and feet as of the upper half of the body, a sensual devilish thing tolerated only by Latin-American masters.”
Considered indecent by the “respectable” portion of the population, it was officially banned throughout the State in 1843, but continued to be performed for many years afterward.
An early version of the Calinda was danced only by men, stripped to the waist and brandishing sticks in a mock fight while at the same time balancing upon their heads bottles of water. As soon as a dancer spilled a drop of his water he was banished from the field.
Many of the lyrics of a kalinda song were also used for social protest. They generally spoke of current events and frequently ridiculed authority figures.
"DanséCalinda, Bou-doumBou-doum, DanséCalinda, Bou-doumBou-doum,DanséCalinda, Bou-doumBou-doum! DanséCalinda, Bou-doumBou-doum!"
Bou-doumBou-doum was a sound meaning to fall down, when a Creole child took a tumble his mammy would say, 'He make bou-doumbou-doum on the floor.
http://www.frenchcreoles.com/ArtTheater/CalindaDance/calindadance.htmhttp://www.frenchcreoles.com/ArtTheater/CalindaDance/calindadance.htm
