Lundu (dance)

Lundu (also spelled landu or landum) is a style of Afro-Brazilian music and dance[1] with its origins in the African Bantu and Portuguese people.

[4] This exchange enabled subtle amalgamations of musical styles between Angola, Brazil and other African slave trade countries.

[12] In 1749, Brazilian musician Manuel de Almeida Botelho immigrated to Lisbon, bringing with him the modinha and lundu musical styles.

[14] Historians have even called the style the “…most characteristic late 18th century [genre] of dance and song in Portugal and Brazil”.

[15] Lundus are characterized by varying structure, the interplay of tonic and dominant harmony, and strummed chords layered atop a syncopated rhythm reminiscent of traditional West African music.

Lundu documented by Von Martius in Brazil, 1817-1820. Play ⓘ .
A Lundu performance in the 18th century, as depicted in a print from artist Rugendas