How the jump rope got its rhythm | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series

Translator: Krystian Aparta Reviewer: Camille Martínez

Tradutor: André Santos Revisora: Margarida Ferreira

If you do it right, it should sound like:

Se fizerem correctamente, deve soar assim:

TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat.

TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat, TICK-tat.

If you do it wrong, it sounds like:

Se fizerem mal, vai soar assim:

Tick-TAT, tick-TAT, tick-TAT.

Tick-TAT, tick-TAT, tick-TAT.

[Small thing. Big idea.]

[Algo pequeno. Ideia grande]

[Kyra Gaunt on the Jump Rope]

[Kyra Gaunt sobre a corda de saltar]

The jump rope is such a simple object.

A corda de saltar é um objecto simples.

It can be made out of rope, a clothesline, twine.

Pode ser feita de corda, de estendal, de cordel.

It has, like, a twirl on it. (Laughs)

Parece que... é torcida. (Risos)

I'm not sure how to describe that.

Não sei como descrever.

What's important is that it has a certain weight,

O que é importante é que tenha um certo peso

and that they have that kind of whip sound.

e que faça aquele som de chicote.

It's not clear what the origin of the jump rope is.

Não se conhece ao certo a origem da corda de saltar.

There's some evidence that it began in ancient Egypt, Phoenicia,

Há provas de que começou no antigo Egipto, na Fenícia,

and then it most likely traveled to North America with Dutch settlers.

e, provavelmente, viajou até à América do Norte

com os colonos holandeses.

The rope became a big thing when women's clothes became more fitted

A corda tornou-se importante

quando as roupas das mulheres ficaram mais adequadas

and the pantaloon came into being.

e apareceram as culotes .

And so, girls were able to jump rope

Assim, as raparigas conseguiam saltar à corda

because their skirts wouldn't catch the ropes.

porque as saias não ficavam presas nas cordas.

Governesses used it to train their wards to jump rope.

As governantas treinavam as suas protegidas a saltar à corda.

Even formerly enslaved African children in the antebellum South

Até as crianças africanas escravizadas no Sul,

antes da guerra civil na América saltavam à corda.

jumped rope, too.

In the 1950s, in Harlem, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens,

Nos anos 50, em Harlem, no Bronx, em Brooklyn, em Queens,

you could see on the sidewalk, lots of girls playing with ropes.

via-se, nos passeios, muitas raparigas a saltar à corda.

Sometimes they would take two ropes and turn them as a single rope together,

Às vezes, juntavam duas cordas transformando-as numa só,

but you could separate them and turn them in like an eggbeater on each other.

mas podiam separá-las e transformá-las numa espécie de batedeira.

The skipping rope was like a steady timeline --

A corda de saltar era uma linha do tempo estável

tick, tick, tick, tick --

— tick, tick, tick, tick —

upon which you can add rhymes and rhythms and chants.

na qual se pode adicionar rimas, ritmos e cantigas.

Those ropes created a space

As cordas criaram um espaço

where we were able to contribute to something

onde nós podíamos contribuir para algo

that was far greater than the neighborhood.

que ia muito para além do bairro.

Double Dutch jump rope remains a powerful symbol of culture and identity

As cordas duplas permanecem como um símbolo poderoso

de cultura e identidade para as mulheres negras.

for black women.

Back from the 1950s to the 1970s,

Dos anos 50 aos anos 70,

girls weren't supposed to play sports.

as raparigas não deviam praticar desportos.

Boys played baseball, basketball and football,

Os rapazes jogavam basebol, basquetebol e futebol

and girls weren't allowed.

e as raparigas não podiam.

A lot has changed, but in that era,

Muito mudou desde então, mas naquela época

girls would rule the playground.

as raparigas dominavam os recreios.

They'd make sure that boys weren't a part of that.

Elas garantiam que os rapazes não participavam.

It's their space, it's a girl-power space.

É o espaço delas, o espaço do poder feminino.

It's where they get to shine.

É onde elas brilham.

But I also think it's for boys,

Mas eu acho que também é para rapazes

because boys overheard those,

porque eles ouviam as cantigas

which is why, I think, so many hip-hop artists

e é por isso, penso eu, que tantos artistas de hip-hop

sampled from things that they heard in black girls' game songs.

usaram ritmos que ouviram nas cantigas das raparigas negras.

(Chanting) ... cold, thick shake, act like you know how to flip,

♪ ... cold, thick shake, act like you know how to flip,

Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder, french fries, ice cold, thick shake,

♪ Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder, french fries, ice cold, thick shake

act like you know how to jump.

♪ act like you know how to jump.

Why "Country Grammar" by Nelly became a Grammy Award-winning single

A música "Country Grammar" da Nelly ganhou um Grammy

was because people already knew

porque as pessoas já a conheciam.

"We're going down down baby your street in a Range Rover ... "

♪ We're going down down baby your street in a Range Rover ...

That's the beginning of "Down down, baby, down down the roller coaster,

Isto é o inicio de "Down down, baby, down down the roller coaster,

sweet, sweet baby, I'll never let you go."

♪ Sweet, sweet baby, I'll never let you go."

All people who grew up in any black urban community

Todos os que cresceram numa comunidade negra urbana

would know that music.

conhecem esta música.

And so, it was a ready-made hit.

Então, tornou-se num êxito de imediato.

The Double Dutch rope playing helped maintain these songs

As cordas duplas ajudaram a preservar estas músicas

and helped maintain the chants and the gestures that go along with it,

e a preservar as cantigas e os gestos que as acompanham,

which is very natural to what I call "kinetic orality" --

algo que é muito natural ao que chamo de "oralidade cinética"

word of mouth and word of body.

— passa de boca em boca e da boca ao corpo.

It's the thing that gets passed down over generations.

É algo que é passado de geração em geração.

In some ways, the rope is the thing that helps carry it.

Em muitos casos, a corda é o que ajuda a transmiti-lo.

You need some object to carry memory through.

É preciso ter um objecto para transmitir a memória.

So, a jump rope, you can use it for all different kinds of things.

A corda de saltar pode ser usada para muitas coisas diferentes.

It crosses cultures.

A corda atravessa culturas.

And I think it lasted because people need to move.

Penso que aguentou até hoje porque as pessoas precisam de se mexer

And I think sometimes the simplest objects can make the most creative uses.

E às vezes os objectos mais simples podem ter os usos mais criativos.