Iaiá - Ioió
- 1) Terms that were once used to refer to the slave master's sons and daughters
- 2) Iaiá and ioió are also used simply as "filler sounds," like "la la la" in English.
Vou dizer ao meu senhor / Que a manteiga derramou
A manteiga não é minha / A manteiga é de ioió
I will tell my master / That the butter spilled
The butter is not mine / It belongs to the slave master's son
Iê
- A shout used to call peoples’ attention. It is usually used in a prolonged form before the ladainha in order to start the roda: Iêêêêêêêêêêê! When shouted shortly and sharply – Iê! – it is used to end the roda. Iê is also used in verses of the chula or louvação: Iê, viva meu mestre (Iê, long live my master)
Igreja
- Church.
Santa Maria mãe de Deus / Eu fui na igreja e me confessei
Saint Mary mother of God / I went to church and confessed
Ilha de Maré
- An island in the bay area around Salvador, Bahia.
Maré Maré, vim da Ilha de Maré
Maré Maré, I came from Maré Island
-inho, -inha
- The diminutive suffix, added to words 1) to show smallness (canário --> canarinho); 2) to place emphasis (devagar --> devagarinho); or 3) to show affection (amigo --> amiguinho)
Canarinho de Alemanha que matou meu curió
Little German canary that killed my songbird
Eu falei devagar, devagarinho
I said slowly, very slowly
Ir
- To go. It’s an irregular verb, so it conjugates in the present as vou, vai, vamos, vão; and in the past as fui, foi, fomos, foram.
Tenho que ir embora, eu não posso demorar
A maré tá cheia, meu barco vai navegar
I have to go away, I can’t delay
The tide is in, and my boat will navigate
Xô xô meu canário / Meu canário foi pra Alemanha
Shoo, shoo, my canary / My canary went to Germany
- Note: Fui, foi, fomos, and foram are also the past tense of the verb ser (to be):
Foi no clarão da lua, eu vi acontecer
It was in the moonlight, I saw it happen
Irmão - Irmã
- Brother, sister.
Camarada o que ele é meu, camará? – É meu irmão
Irmãozinho de coração
Comrade, what is he to me? – He’s my brother
Little brother of the heart
Itabaianinha
- The diminutive form of Itabaiana, a city in the Brazilian state of Sergipe.
No dia que eu amanheço dentro de Itabaianinha
Homem não monta cavalo, mulher não deita galinha
When I wake up in Itabaianinha
Men don’t mount horses, women don’t care for the chickens
Iúna
- 1) A large bird, commonly held as a symbol of wisdom. Iúna is a corruption of its actual name: Inhuma or Anhuma. The word comes from the Tupi language of the Brazilian Indians, and means “black bird.”
- 2) A mesmerizing berimbau rhythm used in capoeira regional for games between advanced players, utilizing the cooperative throws of the cintura desprezada. In other capoeira lineages, iúna is the funeral toque.
1) A iúna é mandingueira quando tá no bebedôr
Foi sabida, foi ligeira, mas capoeira matou
The iúna bird is clever when perched on the water fountain
It was smart and quick, but capoeira killed it
2) Toda Bahia chorou
Quando capoeira de angola perdeu seu protetor
Mestre Pastinha foi embora, Oxalá que o levou (...)
Berimbau tocou Iúna num toque triste de morte
A capoeira foi jogada ao som desta canção
All of Bahia cried when capoeira angola lost its protector
Mestre Pastinha went away, it was Oxalá who took him
The berimbau played Iúna in a sad rhythm of death
Capoeira was played to the sound of this song
