The word "cangoma" means "drum" in the Bantu language. The song celebrates the end of slavery, which brought much oppression to Africans and their descendants who were brought to Brazil. While the percussion is optional, it really adds a lot of flavor to this highly charged Brazilian folk song. The text is written in a Portuguese dialect. Also available for Three-Part Mixed/Optional Baritone Voices (BL831) and TTB Voices (BL918).