These communities, mainly consisting of Portuguese traders, and the slaves that they had brought with them from the western coast of Africa, gradually combined with communities of native Sri Lankans.

Historically, Baila was a popular folk tradition along the coastal districts, where the Portuguese cultural influence was the strongest. The Kaffirs and Portuguese Burghers mixed freely, and chicote and ' kafrinha' gradually came to be known as baila, from Portuguese verb 'bailar' meaning 'to dance'. The word ' kafrinha' itself comes from ' kaf' (Kaffirs) and ' rinha' which means 'local lady'. In 1894, Advocate Charles Matthew Fernando wrote that chicote as a 'slow and stately' music, while ' kafrinha' is 'faster and more boisterous' and 'with a peculiar jerky movement'. The Kaffirs' carefree spirit inspired two music forms known as chicote and ' kafrinha' infusing them with humour and satire. The Kaffirs were once described as a people 'steeped in opium and witless with drink'. As early as 1630, African Kaffirs were brought to Sri Lanka to work as slaves or soldiers. It is primarily considered dance music.Īfter their arrival in 1505, the Portuguese began to convert the Sinhalese to Roman Catholicism, building their wealth and power through the spice and slave trade.

By the 1970s musicians, including MS Fernando and Maxwell Mendis, had helped Baila grow into a well known and respected style of Sri Lankan popular music. He began adapting the 6/8 ' kaffirhina' rhythms to accommodate Sinhala lyrics. During the early 1960s, it entered into Sri Lanka's mainstream culture, primarily through the work of police officer turned singer Wally Bastiansz. Baila songs are played during parties and weddings in Sri Lanka, Goa, Mangalore and Portugal accompanied by dancing.īaila music, as a form of folk art, has been popular for centuries in Sri Lanka. The genre originated centuries ago among the Portuguese Burghers and Sri Lankan Kaffirs.

JSTOR ( August 2014) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)īaila (also known as bayila from the Portuguese verb bailar, meaning to dance ) is a form of music, popular in Sri Lanka and among Goan Catholics.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.

Konkani baila dance songs