Relation of The Conga To The Kongo Ethnic Group
Congo was the word used to designate African slaves brought to Cuba from the Congo region of Africa (Kongo, Kongo-RDC and Angola). According to the rules of Spanish grammar, congo became a masculine noun/adjective and its feminine counterpart was formed by changing final "o" to "a." This Spanish noun/adjective pair has been used in Cuba to designate anything pertaining to the above-mentioned African slaves and their culture. Therefore, some have assumed that "conga" was originally an adjective (as in the expression comparsa conga), and that the comparsa was dropped and conga changed to a noun (del Carmen et al. 2005). However, the word conga may also derive from either maconga ("song") or nkunga ("song" or "sound") in "the language of the Congo" (Ortíz 1924:118).
Ortíz (II 1952-5:34) also states that the drum called “bokú” (one of the instruments of the conga) is “…typical of the congos." Goodman mentions the “comparsa conga” in conjunction with a carnaval figure known as “el Rey del Congo” (the "King of the Congo”), which seems to confirm a kongo ethnic connection to the conga (Pérez I 1988:104). Also, the word bokú means “drum” in Kikongo (Orovio 1981:58).
Read more about this topic: Conga (comparsa)
Famous quotes containing the words ethnic group, relation, ethnic and/or group:
“Caprice, independence and rebellion, which are opposed to the social order, are essential to the good health of an ethnic group. We shall measure the good health of this group by the number of its delinquents. Nothing is more immobilizing than the spirit of deference.”
—Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985)
“The whole point of Camp is to dethrone the serious. Camp is playful, anti-serious. More precisely, Camp involves a new, more complex relation to “the serious.” One can be serious about the frivolous, frivolous about the serious.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“Motherhood is the second oldest profession in the world. It never questions age, height, religious preference, health, political affiliation, citizenship, morality, ethnic background, marital status, economic level, convenience, or previous experience.”
—Erma Bombeck (20th century)
“Unless a group of workers know their work is under surveillance, that they are being rated as fairly as human beings, with the fallibility that goes with human judgment, can rate them, and that at least an attempt is made to measure their worth to an organization in relative terms, they are likely to sink back on length of service as the sole reason for retention and promotion.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)