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Reco-reco

Anacostia Community Museum

Object Details

Caption
The Reco-Reco is a percussion instrument used in Brazilian music. It was introduced to Brazil by enslaved people coming from Bantu speaking areas of Central Africa. It consists of a cylindrical piece of wood or bamboo carved with a sawtooth pattern. The sound is produced by brushing the instrument with a wooden stick. Its name – Reco-Reco – is an onomatopoeic word representing the sound made by the instrument. Initially, it was used in Candomblé ceremonies. Nowadays, this instrument is also used as part of ensembles playing samba and accompanying capoeira (Brazilian martial art) and congadas (Brazilian folk dance); nevertheless, its new version is made of metal pieces instead of wood or bamboo. Dr. Lorenzo Dow Turner, a linguist known for his research among the Gullah communities of South Carolina and Georgia, in Bahia, Brazil, and West Africa, collected this object during a research trip to Brazil 1940-41. He was interested in the tonalities of music and language and how they carry meaning within communities and cultures.
Cite As
Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
2003.0032.0363a-b
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
instrument
Medium
wood
Dimensions
reco-reco: 17 5/16 × 3 9/16 × 3 5/8 in. (44 × 9 × 9.2 cm)
reco-reco scraper: 6 1/2 × 5/16 × 5/16 in. (16.5 × 0.8 × 0.8 cm)
See more items in
Anacostia Community Museum Collection
Anacostia Community Museum
Record ID
acm_2003.0032.0363a-b
Metadata Usage (text)
Not determined
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dl844bae402-f770-4ba1-9478-0973dc0d072c

Related Content

  • Musical Instruments

    Anacostia Community Museum

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