Published
Musica funeraria Afro-Colombiana
“The art of mourning the ancestors in San Basilio de Palenque”
“Today we are going to record the first album by Las Alegres Ambulancias. We are here with Champeta-man, Sebastián Salgado from the group Oriki Tabalá, and other people from the town. They are the bullerengue singers of Palenque, legendary older women who drink rum, sing at wakes and honour the memory of our ancestors. According to Palenquero tradition, without them there can be no proper burial.”
Whenever a peasant dies, the family hires Las Alegres Ambulancias to perform at the wake, which lasts nine or ten days and nights.
Lumbalú is a funerary ritual of Palenquero culture in Colombia involving dance, song, music and performance. It appears to be an African tradition, mainly from Angola, brought to Colombia by enslaved people. The community performs it during the nine nights following a death to honour the soul of the deceased. According to Palenquero tradition, after death the deceased returns home twice a day for the next nine days—at 6:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.—and at those times the community gathers in the house to perform the lumbalú.
UNESCO recognises the tradition as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.