Song of Sadness

In Chopi culture, an ndando is a song that can be used for many purposes, both formal and informal. But regardless of their use, these songs mainly serve as oral histories about past important events or about people who have died. Venancio’s piece is a song of grief and sad remembrance. These types of ndando not only help bring closure to tragic events, they also serve as a link, because when this type of ndando is performed, the Chopi feel that actual contact is made between the singer and the departed loved one. In this film, the details of the event are explained and then counterpointed with Venancio’s poetic rendition of this in his song.