A doctor describes the diamba circles of Maranhão

Francisco de Assis Iglésias published "Sobre o vício da diamba", describing smokers in rural Maranhão who met, usually on Saturdays, at the house of an elder to smoke and sing verses with African words. He called the habit a vice of the north and asked the authorities for energetic measures. His account was repeated in condemnations of cannabis for decades.^[1]

Traditional use

In the cultural atlas

TraditionsThe diamba circlesIn rural Maranhão in northern Brazil, smokers met on Saturdays at an elder's house, passed a pipe of diamba round a circle and sang call-and-response verses between puffs. Doctors who wrote about these "clubs" used them to argue for a ban.

Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Brazil here.

References

História da maconha no BrasilJean Marcel Carvalho França · Editora Jandaíra · 2022 · chapter 2, “O vício dos pretos?”; chapter 3, “Diambismo: um flagelo social” · ISBN 9786550940133

Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.

References

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