Portuguese Folk Art Brinquinho Percussive Instrument. A cane in the middle like an umbrella supports a collection of handmade cloth dolls and castanets made from soda bottle caps at the top, which dance and make noise when manipulated. A unique fusion of ritual, craft, and music. 

Size: 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 18 1/2 in. 

The brinquinho is a percussion instrument originating from Madeira, Portugal some time in the 19th Century, used in folklore dances, including the Bailinho da Madeira. The brinquinho consists of a pole made from the Arundo donax cane that holds circular sets of small dolls, each dressed in traditional clothes and holding a castanet. Traditionally, the instrument includes six dolls on the bottom and four on the top, with many variations including one or two additional dolls at the top of the pole. The dolls are tied to a wire that passes through the pole, making the dolls move and click the castanets when the wire is pulled from the bottom, and the instrument may also include pairs of crown corks held with nails, making sounds when the brinquinho is moved vertically. Although it is uncertain exactly when and where the device was first created, it is likely related to a similar instrument from Minho called zuca-truca, and the first recorded depiction of it was in paintings from the 1920s, although anecdotal records indicate its use during the Holy Ghost Festival in Martha’s Vineyard in the 1880s by Portuguese immigrants, who translated the name of instrument as “dancing dolls.”

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