This amazing video was produced by Michael Silvers, an American ethnomusicologist that spent some time in Brazil with a Fulbright scholarship to study the relationship between the culture of forró, a kind of popular dance music, and the climate of Northeastern Brazil. Early last year he participated in the annual meeting of the “rain prophets”. He says:
Farmers from around the northeast of Brazil gathered in Quixadá, a town in the interior of the state of Ceará. The prophets, who learn from the time they’re young how to predict when and how much it will rain each year, make their forecasts by observing nature. Some listen to birdsong, others measure honey inside dissected bees. The stars, the leaves, and the behavior of ants all suggest how much rain will fall, and the prophets share their predictions so farmers will know when to plant their seeds.
The meeting’s footage shows a great sample of repente – that could be considered a far cousin of rap music.