Reco-reco

Object Details

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)

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.