This article discusses the differences between maracatu nations (maracatus-nação) and percussion groups, using as a reference the meanings of the word "nation," and how it has been resignified over time. The article addresses different issues in order to understand maracatu-nação, its boundaries with percussion groups, as well as the meanings of nation in the first maracatus that constitute the boundaries between them. It is in this aspect that the article seeks to define maracatu-nação by what it is not, demonstrating its borders with the new contemporary groups, defined as "percussion groups." In addition to understanding the differences between maracatus-nação and the percussion groups, the article also succeeds in understanding the tensions and negotiations between these cultural practices.
nation; maracatu-nação; percussion groups; black culture