In addition to the importance of song in Afro-Brazilian history, I would like to mention the importance of Capoeira, a partner based half martial art and half dance that originated from the plantation slaves.
As told by Henry Louis Gates in the documentary, "Brazil: A Racial Paradise?" Capoeira remains a highly popular cultural activity to this day. The documentary goes on to explain that life on the plantations was very brutal, with beatings and torture inflicted upon the slaves daily. Thus, the plantation slaves needed a way to train and practice defending themselves in case of danger.
The slaves would be gathered, a distance away from the fazenda (big house), and would train each other with these martial arts movements. The movement, a combination of turns, kicks, and arm movements, would be kept in time by the beating of drums. When the cavalry was heard approaching, the beating of the drums would change to the sound of horses galloping, that way the slaves would cease their martial arts movements and replace them with dancing movements.
It is important to remember that the slaves were clever individuals, who when put together, utilized the Capoeira method of training to strengthen their sense of community.
Brief clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0D8VaIli0
Historical map of Brazil
"New Chart of Brazil of Portuguese America, year 1821"
