Jongo  Jongo, also known as "caxambu" or "tabu", is a dance and musical genre of black communities from southeast Brazil. It originated from the dances performed by slaves who worked at coffee plantations in the Paraíba Valley, between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and also at farms in some areas of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. Jongo is a member of a larger group of Afro-Brazilian dances, such as "batuque", "tambor de crioula", and "zambê", which feature many elements in common, including the use of fire-tuned drums, the call-and-response form of group singing, the poetical language used in the songs, and the "umbigada", a distinctive step whereby two dancers hit their bellies . Jongos usually take place during a nightlong party in which several people dance in pairs or in a circle, to the sound of two or more drums, while a soloist sings short phrases answered by the group. The drums, built from hollow tree trunks covered with animal hide in one of the extremities and tuned by the heat of a bonfire, are called "caxambu" or "tambu" (the bigger one) and "candongueiro" (the smaller one). Other instruments can also be used, such as a large and low-pitched friction drum, called "puíta" or "angoma-puíta", and a rattle made of straw and small beads, called "guaiá", "inguaiá", or "angóia". Jongo songs, also called "pontos", are sung in Portuguese but may include words of African origin. Often improvised, they are of several types, each one with a particular function: the "pontos de louvação" are used to salute spiritual entities, the owners of the house and the ancestors; the "pontos de visaria" or "bizarria" are sung for fun purposes, to enliven the dancers or as a vehicle for satirical commentaries; the "pontos de demanda", "porfia", or "gurumenta" are used by singers who challenge each On the coffee plantations during the nineteenth century, jongos occupied an intermediate position between religious ceremony and secular diversion. Performed on weekends or on the eve of holidays, they were often the only form of entertainment available to the slaves, and also the only opportunity to perform forbidden African religious rites, even if disguised as profane dances.