Samba de Roda

Samba de roda is the oldest form of samba, the Afro-Brazilian circle dance and drumming tradition of Bahia's Reconcavo region, above all the towns of Santo Amaro and Cachoeira. Participants form a ring around atabaque drums, handclapping and a solo dancer who exchanges places with the next through the umbigada, the symbolic touching of navels, while call-and-response songs in Portuguese and African-derived languages praise Catholic saints and orixas alike. Carried to Rio de Janeiro by Bahian migrants, it seeded urban carioca samba, and UNESCO proclaimed it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.