Synopsis

Sepultura's "Ratamahatta" unfolds as a dark stop-motion fever dream set in a miniature Brazilian favela. Masked figures emerge from the jungle and invade the neighborhood, stealing objects, performing strange rituals, and spreading chaos among its inhabitants. The action builds toward a pagan ceremony featuring larger-than-life symbols from Brazilian popular culture and history, including Ze do Caixao, Zumbi, and Lampiao. Clay-like characters, grotesque masks, and frantic edits mirror the song's tribal percussion, shouted Portuguese phrases, and relentless metal attack.

Factoids & Trivia

• Released in 1996, "Ratamahatta" was the third and final single from Sepultura's album "Roots." It was also the last Sepultura single to feature founding vocalist and guitarist Max Cavalera.

• The video is built around stop-motion animation with miniature, plasticine-like figures rather than conventional band performance footage. Its handmade texture gives the clip a deliberately rough and unsettling look.

• The song's references to Ze do Caixao, Zumbi, and Lampiao are visualized in the video. The three figures connect the clip to Brazilian horror cinema, Afro-Brazilian history, and the country's folklore surrounding outlaw heroes.

• Carlinhos Brown, who contributes vocals to the song, is also credited among the voices associated with the video. Brown helped Sepultura push the track beyond a standard metal arrangement through its Brazilian percussion and chant-driven character.

• The video was included on Sepultura's home-video release "We Are What We Are" and later became available as part of the "Chaos DVD" collection.

• "Ratamahatta" reached No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart, an unusually strong showing for such an abrasive and unconventional metal track.

• In Brazil, the clip later received significant retrospective recognition. It won the Rock Video category at the 1997 MTV Video Music Brasil awards and was placed fifth in a 2012 Folha de S.Paulo ranking of the best Brazilian music videos.