Wed 23 Apr 2025 – 18:00 – Círculo – Decolonial resistance, priestessing, chanting and women’s drumming -2025

Tulipa’s Society Amsterdam and Teatro Munganga welcome you to a series of traditional singing and drumming workshops, alongside gatherings dedicated to sharing knowledge about Brazilian Candomblé and the tradition of priestesses.

Dear community of singers, artists, activists, and all those who support the preservation of diverse knowledge systems on the planet,

We invite you to join our 2025 CÍRCULO—a space for traditional chanting and drumming workshops, community gatherings, and cultural exchange. Throughout April and May in Amsterdam, we will celebrate the long lineage of priestesses who have preserved oral and musical traditions, deeply tied to decolonial struggle and the cosmological permanence of ancestral knowledge in resistance to cultural domination.

We are deeply grateful for last year’s gatherings and warmly welcome 2024 participants to return and feel at home with us once again. Beyond the traditions themselves, this program is about building a support network, receiving wisdom from elders and ancestors, and expanding care and joy within a growing community. We encourage you to participate, contribute, and invite others to join.

We are also excited to announce that this year’s program will extend to Casa das Minas Nagô in Maranhão, Brazil, where we will continue this journey.

Who is this for?

This series is centered on non-European immigrant women, intersex, and non-binary people, but everyone is welcome to attend, support, and engage with the community. If you are unsure whether this space is for you or how to participate, please reach out!

About Tulipa’s Society

Housed at Teatro Munganga, Tulipa’s Society honors Zahar—a Vungira in the Brazilian Candomblé tradition. It is inspired by Sociedade das Tulipas, a sisterhood based at Redandá Candomblé House in Cipó-Guaçú, São Paulo, which has been organizing beneficent events for hospitals treating Wildfire disease and other causes since 1970. 

We will practice Caixa do Divino*—Brazil’s only drumming tradition exclusively led by women. Rooted in Candomblé Houses and Maroon Communities, this tradition is part of the Orixá Oxalá celebrations, an ancient force of nature. The Caixeiras (priestesses) sing and praise the prophecy:

✨ The Earth will know one hundred years of peace, under the rule of children. ✨

Caixa do Divino chantings are slow, steady litanies accompanied by drumming. You will be encouraged to learn both playing and singing simultaneously. The chanting is in Brazilian Portuguese, incorporating words and concepts from Brazilian Creole dialects influenced by Yorubá, Kimbundu, and native languages spoken in Candomblé houses and native communities.

Workshop Facilitator

The workshop will be led by Mameto Kaloyá, a non-binary, queer Roma diasporic descendant born into the Candomblé tradition (Maroon communities and houses). Kaloyá holds the title of Egbomi (poorly translated as ‘young priestess’) in the Candomblé House of Redandá (Cipó-Guaçu, Brazil). From an early age, they inherited multiple drumming and chanting practices from elders and learned the Caixa do Divino from the Caixeiras of the Fanti Ashanti House. Kaloyá is also a long-time participant in the Festa do Divino - Associação Cachuera! and an apprentice of Master Daniel Reverendo, Mother Gunzolande, and other traditional masters.

Workshop Details

💰 Donation: €10 per session (reductions/exceptions available—please reach out)
🗣 Languages: Brazilian Portuguese & English (chanting in Brazilian popular language)
✅ Attendance: No fixed commitment—join as many sessions as you like.

🔸 This space centers non-European immigrant women and non-binary people. However, everyone is welcome to attend and support the community.
🔹 Men are welcome as observers but may not chant or play the drums.

If you're unsure whether this space is for you or how to participate, feel free to contact us!

About the Event: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/

Buy Tickets at  https://munganga.nl/

Get in touch: dimarco.thais@gmail.com and joana.faggin@gmail.com