[Tango-L] Translation of Tango Part # 3

[Bruno Romero]

The origins of the word tango/ LATITUDES SPANISH COURSES IN BA

 

  Dear Members this is the last delivery of the origins of the word tango.

  When in BA consult us for

  Spanish Courses at www.latitudesweb.com.ar

 

  or call 155-262-2719

 

  About some tango terms (SOBRE ALGUNOS TIRMINOS TANGUEROS)

 
Por Eduardo Rubin Bernal

 
Academico Titular

 
Academia Nacional del Tango

   Today: Tango III

 

As we have said in a previous note, the word tango is of African origin,
which may have come from the Portuguese, and may have arrived to the African
continent by the middle of the 15th century. The historian, Roberto Selles,
also agrees that Tango is an African word, although he does not profess its
Lusitanian origin, he accepts that tango is an aboriginal term brought to
America by the slaves. Anyhow, both ways of thought are not conflicting
given that from the Portuguese’s early presence in the area to the
beginnings of black slave trade over one century had passed by. The term
Tango well could be considered a “borrowed” term linguistically speaking in
some or all African tribal languages. 

 

   

Roberto Selles, in his work on the Origen of Tango, (Ediciones Hicuba,
Buenos Aires, 2004), mentions the Cuban, Fernando Ortiz, and his work
Glossary of Afro-negrismos, that some African languages such as those from
the inhabited coast of Calabar, at the extreme of the Niger River, that to
dance is called “tamgu” and “tuggu”. Likewise, the Soninki or Sarakolom
inhabitants of Sudan were aware of the word “ntiangu”. Also, F. Ortiz says
that the Mandingas from West Sudan called “dango” to dance, and called
tomton or tamtamngo to the drum. Along these lines, Selles and Nestor Ortiz
Oderigo confirm what we said above, adding that in several African idioms
“tamgz” and “taggu” mean to dance and “tamtamngo” means drum.  

 

Selles concludes that the word “tamtamngo” formed by the onomatopoeia “tam
tam” and the dissonance “ongo” changed into “tango” with the inceptions of
“drum” “a place where to dance”, “dance”, and “rhythm”. In the same way, it
arrives in America, South of Spain and Portugal from the spoken forms by
blacks slaves during the 16th and 17th century. This is in reference
naturally to the African dances and rhythms distant from our denomination of
our tango, although we now know it had a lot to do with the origin of
Argentine Tango.

 

Afterwards, towards the beginnings of the 19th century the word was already
present in Andalucía, Spain and in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but not yet
connected to the naming of the upcoming native musical specie from Rio de la
Plata.

 

Perhaps it was Carlos Vega, the great Argentine musicologist, the first one
in comprehending and explaining the long path taken by the peculiar word
“Tango”.

 

In signing off of this series of notes we quote sparingly. The word Tango
did not apply in the time mentioned above to the type of porteño singing,
which had not yet been born. Tango then was simply the Andalucian Tango. It
is not after the 1900’s, when as a result of a diverse upbringing of a wider
spectrum of music under the name of Tango, the composers are required to
utilize a wider palette of musical resources. The musical composers find in
the Milonga the next of kin of the Andalucian Tango, but with a stronger
precedence and of richer form than the latter, and in keeping with under the
familiar and imported name of Tango. However, all that it remains from the
Andalucian Tango is the name, which can now be called Argentine Tango.

 

Chan
Chan. Until next time

 

(translated by Bruno)