Films

There is a small community in Ghana who identify as Brazilians. Their name is the Tabom. They are the descendants of former enslaved Africans and creoles who resettled from Bahia to Ghana during the 19th century, especially after the Malês Revolt in Bahia of 1835. They left Bahia escaping repression, looking for better life opportunities, and in search of their ancestral roots. They were received by the Ga people in British, Danish and Dutch-dominated Accra and gradually integrated to this group and to the larger Ghanaian society. However, despite the fact that they no longer speak Portuguese and that most have never set foot in Brazil, they still cherish Brazil and have never given up their dream to visit Bahia, their ancestral homeland.

Master drummer Eric Odwarkei Morton is one of many Tabom who has dreamt all his life about visiting Bahia. He is a sixth generation Tabom and a key member of his community who presides religious and funerary ceremonies through song, drumming, and prayers. Tabom in Bahia documents Eric’s journey to Brazil and also his preparation for the trip in Accra. The three-week journey took him to urban and rural locations in Salvador, Cachoeira, Santo Amaro, and Valença. Eric met with capoeira and samba-de-roda masters, Candomblé dancers, musicians, and spiritual leaders, members of carnival associations, music teachers and students, and black activists. He was received with anticipation and treated with utmost respect by an Afro-Bahian community that cherishes their African heritage. During the trip Eric not only discovered capoeira, samba-de-roda, samba-reggae, ijexa, and various Candomblé traditions, but also shared agbe, the musical style that he commands.

Ethnomusicologist: Juan Diego Diaz