African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African Americans 791
Catholic brotherhood during
procession of feast of Deus Pai (June
13), Trindade, Sáo Tomé.
Photo © Gerhard Seibert.
are registered in a copybook. In the night of the seventh day the nozado, a gathering in
memory of the dead, takes place. However, there is no nozado if the dead is a child or a
person without offspring. At the invitation of the mourning family the litany group
(ladaínha) sings, the women serve coffee and food, while the men drink palm wine and
aguardente (gin), playing the popular cardgame bisca 61. The following morning, the
eldest son knocks three times against the wall saying: “Come with me.” Thereupon, all
attendants go to the church celebrating the seventh day mass. On their way to the church
they may not turn backward. When they return from mass, the most intimate relatives of
the dead walk three times around the house. The nozado recurs after the thirtieth day
mass and at the end of the time of mourning. This period, during which women are
dressed in black and men sometimes only wear a crape, lasts one and a half year in the
case of a mother, one year and three months following a father’s death, and six months
for the grandparents, an aunt, uncle, parents-in-law, and elder siblings. If a young child
has died, neither the parents nor the elder siblings are in mourning. The surviving
dependants may hold a nozado annually on the day of death of the late family member.
These gatherings are announced through the local radio station.
A ritual called bócadu held on Ash Wednesday unites all family members in the house
of the oldest relative, mostly a woman. After the attendants have sung the litanies, the old
woman puts dishes with the local festive food upon a mat on the ground: angú, djogó,
calulú, cozido de banana, izaquente, and maize pudding, giving everybody a mouthful
(bócadu) and her blessing. Due to the beginning of Lent the dishes may not contain meat.
A favorite drink is palm wine, termed vipema in creole. One dish containing all delicacies
is set apart for the relative who has died most recently. During the meal the family
members entertain each other with anecdotes and small stories. The bócadu symbolizes
the passage of the elder’s wisdom to the younger generation and strengthens the unity of
the family members with each other.