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{{infobox music genre
| name              = Tumba francesa
| stylistic_origins = 18th century [[Afro-Haitian]] music
| cultural_origins  = Early 19th century in [[Oriente Province|Oriente]], [[Cuba]]
| instruments       = [[Catá]], premier, bulá, segón, tambora, chachá or maruga
| subgenres         =
| derivatives       =
| image             = Guantánamo CF9A1071.jpg
| regional_scenes   = [[Santiago de Cuba]], [[Guantánamo]]
}}
{{Infobox intangible heritage
| ICH         = La Tumba Francesa
| State Party = Cuba
| Domains     = 
| Criteria    = 
| ID          = 00052
| Region      = LAC
| Year        = 2008
| Session     = 3rd
| List        = Representative
}}

'''Tumba francesa''' is a secular Afro-Cuban genre of [[dance]], [[song]], and drumming that emerged in [[Oriente Province|Oriente]], [[Cuba]]. It was introduced by slaves from the French colony of [[Saint-Domingue]] (which would later become the nation of [[Haiti]]) whose owners resettled in Cuba's eastern regions following the [[Haitian Revolution|slave rebellion]] during the 1790s. The genre flourished in the late 19th century with the establishment of ''sociedades de tumba francesa'' (tumba francesa societies), of which only three survive.

==Characteristics==
Tumba francesa combines musical traditions of [[West Africa]]n, [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]], [[Music of France|French]] and [[Music of Spain|Spanish]] origin. Cuban ethnomusicologists agree that the word "[[Tumba (music)|tumba]]" derives from the [[Bantu language|Bantu]] and [[Mandinka language|Mandinka]] words for drum.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ortiz |first=Fernando |author-link=Fernando Ortiz Fernández |title=Los instrumentos de la música afrocubana, Vol. IV|date=1954|publisher=Cárdenas y cía|location=Havana, Cuba|page=114}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Alén|first1=Olavo|title=La música en las sociedades de tumba francesa|date=1986|publisher=Casa de las Américas|location=Havana, Cuba|page=45}}</ref> In Cuba, the word tumba is used to denote the drums, the ensembles and the performance itself in tumba francesa.<ref name="Ramos">{{cite book|last1=Ramos Venereo|first1=Zobeyda|editor1-last=Kuss|editor1-first=Malena|title=Music in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Encyclopedic History, Vol. 2|date=2007|publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin, TX|pages=265–280|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uspTNzJ_NoYC|chapter=Haitian Traditions in Cuba|isbn=9780292784987}}</ref>

===Instrumentation===
Tumbas francesas are directed by a mistress of ceremonies called ''mayora de plaza''. Performances generally begin with improvised solo singing in a mixture of [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Haitian Creole|French patois]] termed ''kreyol cubano'' or ''patuá cubano'' by the lead vocalist (''composé'').<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Figueroa Arencibia|first1=Vicente Jesús|last2=Ourdy|first2=Pierre Jean|title=Contacto lingüístico español-kreyol en una comunidad cubano-haitiana de Santiago de Cuba|journal=Revista Internacional de Lingüística Iberoamericana|date=2004|volume=2|issue=2|pages=41–55|jstor=41678051}}</ref> After the introduction, the [[catá]] (a wooden cylindrical idiophone struck with two [[palitos|sticks]]) is played, and the ''composé'' alternates [[call and response (music)|call and response]] singing with a group of female vocalists (''tumberas'').<ref name="Ramos" /> After the catá establishes the beat, the three tumbas are played. The tumbas are single-headed hand drums; from largest to smallest they are called premier (or manma), bulá and segón. The premier is now commonly called quinto, as it fulfills the same lead, improvisatory role as the [[quinto (drum)|quinto]] does among the [[conga]] drums in [[Cuban rumba]].<ref name="Ramos" /> In the toque masón, a double-headed bass drum called tamborita (or simply tambora) establishes the rhythm together with the catá. In addition, a [[shaker (musical instrument)|shaker]] called chachá or maruga is commonly played by the ''tumberas'' and the ''mayora'' throughout the performance.<ref name="Ramos" /> The structure of tumba francesa is related to an eastern type of [[Cuban rumba]] called [[tahona]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Orovio|first1=Helio|title=Cuban Music from A to Z|date=2004|publisher=Tumi|location=Bath, UK|page=208|isbn=0822332124|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGzKzOH9vawC}}</ref>

===Toques===
There are three main ''toques'', or types of tumba performance, each associated with a specific dance.

*Masón. This is the first toque. It features the whole music ensemble and is associated with a [[quadrille]]-style dance similar to the [[contradanza]].
*Yubá. This ''toque'' follows the masón and involves the catá and the three tumbas. It is accompanied by the main tumba dance, which is improvised. There are two subtypes of yubá: macota and cobrero.<ref name="Ramos" />
*Frenté (or fronté). Originally the final section of the yubá, this is now considered an individual ''toque''. It involves the catá, the premier and the bulá.<ref name="Ramos" /> It is played in front of the drums, hence the name.

An additional toque called ''cinta'' is only performed in [[Santiago de Cuba]]. It is called so because the performance takes place around a tree trunk with coloured bands (''cintas''), which are red, white and blue.

===Dance===
The dance in tumba francesa is similar to Haitian [[Affranchi (dance)|affranchi]], which involves a series of straight-backed, held-torso, French style figures followed by African improvisation on the final set,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BN_49ho6AKkC&pg=PA60 |title=Caribbean and Atlantic Diaspora Dance: Igniting Citizenship |isbn=9780252036538 |access-date=18 March 2014|last1=Daniel |first1=Yvonne |date=15 December 2011 }}</ref> but tumba francesa is danced to drums instead of string and woodwind instruments.<ref name="Daniel">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhCRJ4u_CYIC |title=Dancing Wisdom: Embodied Knowledge in Haitian Vodou, Cuban Yoruba, and Bahian Candombié |author=Daniel, Yvonne |year=2005 |page=122 |isbn=9780252029660 |access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref> The clothes of the dancers are colorful and flamboyant.<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/RL/00052 |title=La Tumba Francesa |publisher=UNESCO.org |access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref>

==History==
Tumbas francesas can be traced back to the late 18th century when the [[Haitian Revolution]] triggered the migration of French colonists from Saint-Domingue, bringing their slaves to the [[Oriente Province]] of Cuba. By the late 19th century, following the abolition of slavery in 1886, tumba francesa societies became established in this region, especially in [[Santiago de Cuba]] and [[Guantánamo]]. Their establishment was in many ways similar to the old African ''cabildos''.<ref name="Ramos" /> Performers identify tumba francesa as ''French-Haitian'', acknowledging it as a product of Haiti which now resides in [[Cuba]].<ref name="Daniel" /> By the second half of the 20th century, tumbas francesas were still performed in eastern Cuba, especially the toque masón. Other toques however are only played in the context cultural associations. Three tumba francesa societies survive at the moment: La Caridad de Oriente (originally La Fayette) in Santiago de Cuba; Bejuco in [[Sagua de Tánamo]], [[Holguín Province|Holguín]]; and Santa Catalina de Riccis (originally La Pompadour) in Guantánamo.<ref name="Ramos" />

==Recordings==
Unlike other Afro-Cuban genres, tumba francesa remains poorly documented in terms of recordings. The 1976 LP ''Antología de la música afrocubana VII'', produced by Danilo Orozco and released by [[Areito (record label)|Areito]], presents a variety of yubá and masón toques.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Alén|first1=Olavo|title=Liner notes of Antología de la música afrocubana VII|date=1976|publisher=Areito|location=Havana, Cuba}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Cuban rumba]]
*[[Music of Cuba]]
*[[Music of Haiti]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Diccionario provincial de voces cubanas |author= Estéban Pichardo y Tapia |year=1836 |location=Matanzas |publisher= Imprenta de la Real Marina |language=es |via=[[Internet Archive]] |chapter=Tumba |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/diccionarioprovi00pich#page/254/mode/2up }}

==External links==
* [http://www.cubanfolkloricdance.com/cutumba.php 4 videos of Cutumba performing the ''tumba francesa'']

{{UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity|state=collapsed}}
{{UNESCO Oral and Intangible music}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tumba francesa}}
[[Category:Cuban styles of music]]
[[Category:Dance in Cuba]]
[[Category:Latin American folk dances]]
[[Category:Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]]