"The rara is an important cultural expression in the haitian
peasantry; the term applies to a type of music, as well as to an
orchestra and to a time of the year.
It is about events essentially related to the carnival and the holy
week. The rara
is the visible and official side of voodoo secret societies, so it
is closely tied to ritual practices of african origin (the word rara
could be derived form a yoruba term meanin "noise making").
(...) Orchestras are structured (notably with a "prezidan"and
a "kolonel")
and indulge in
games that can become violent. (...) Music and chants in dialog are
alternated, while the crowd danses along, growing as the rara groups
go by. Rara chants can be satirical, obscene, religious or political.
If politicians have often used certain raras in their own interest,
rara demonstrations have on the other hand more often been turned
against them -therefore most meetings and demonstrations make use
of raras"*
Here is a simple "kata". It is a basic rhythm for spelling
chants, played on the "boula", a small drum, with two sticks. It
is more often found int the "Rabôday",
a rara rhythm, and in many other rhythms: Pétro,
Bonda, Chaille-au-pied, etc.
In the complete version, bamboo horns or "vaskins" can be heard.
