Capoiera Essay, Research Paper

Capoeira is the common name for the group of African martial arts that came out

of west Africa and were modified and mixed in Brazil. These original styles

included weapons, grappling and striking as well as animal forms that became

incorporated into different components and sub styles of the art. In 1500’s the

Portuguese, led by explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral, arrived in Brazil. One of the

first measures taken by the new arrivals was the conquering of the local

population, the Brazilian Indians, in order to allow the Portuguese slave labor

(for sugarcane and cotton). The experience with the Indians was a failure. The

Indians quickly died in captivity or fled to their nearby homes. The Portuguese

then began to import slave labor from Africa. On the other side of the Atlantic,

free men and women were captured, loaded onto slave ships and sent on nightmare

voyages that would end in bondage. The Africans first arrived by the hundreds

and later by the thousands (approximately four million in total).Three major

African groups contributed in large numbers to the slave population in Brazil,

the Sudanese group, composed largely of Yoruba and Dahomean peoples, the

Mohammedanized Guinea-Sudanese groups of Malesian and Hausa peoples, and the

"Bantu" groups (among them Kongos, Kimbundas, and Kasanjes) from

Angola, Congo and Mozambique. The Bantu groups are believed to have been the

foundation for the birth of capoeira. They brought with them their culture; a

culture that was not stored in books and museums but in the body, mind, heart

and soul. A culture that was transmitted from father to son, throughout

generations. There was candomble’, a religion; the berimbau, a musical

instrument; vatapa, a food; and many other things. The Dutch controlled parts of

the northeast between 1624 and 1654. Slaves took steps towards reconquest of

their freedom when the Dutch fought against the Portuguese colony, invading

towns and plantations along the northeastern coast, concentrating on Recife and

Salvador. With each Dutch invasion, the security of the plantations and towns

were weakened. The slaves, taking advantage of the opportunities, fled into the

forests in search of places in which to hide and survive. Many, after escaping,

founded independent villages called quilombos. The quilombos were very important

to evolution of capoeira. There were at least ten major quilombos with economic

and commercial relationships with neighboring cities. The quilombo dos Palmraes

lasted sixty-seven years in the interior of the state of Alagoas, fighting off

almost all expeditions sent to extinguish it. Because of the consistency and

type of threat present, capoeira developed as a fight in the quilombos. The

birth of capoeira as a fighting style was created in the slaves’ quarters and

might not have developed further if left only to that environment. Starting

around 1814, capoeira and other forms of African cultural expression suffered

were prohibited in some places by the slave masters and overseers. Up until that

date, forms of African cultural expression were permitted and sometimes even

encouraged, not only as safety against internal pressures created by slavery but

also to bring out the differences between various African groups, in a spirit of

"divide and conquer". But with the arrival in Brazil in 1808 of the

Portuguese king Dom Joao VI and his court, who were fleeing Napoleon Bonaparte’s

invasion of Portugal, things changed. The newcomers understood the necessity of

destroying a people’s culture in order to dominate them, and capoeira began to

be persecuted in a process, which would end with its being outlawed in 1892. Why

was capoeira suppressed? There were many motives. First of all it gave Africans

a sense of nationality. It also developed self-confidence in individual capoeira

practitioners. Capoeira created small, cohesive groups. It also created

dangerous and agile fighters. Sometimes the slaves would injure themselves

during the capoeira, which was not desirable from an economical point of view.

The masters and overseers were probably not as conscious as the king and his

intellectuals of his court of all of these motives, but even still, they knew

something didn’t seem right. There are many other theories to explain the

origins of capoeira. According to one well known theory, capoeira was a fight

that was disguised as a dance so that it could be practiced without knowledge of

the white slave owners. This seems unlikely because when African culture began

to be repressed, other forms of African dancing suffered prohibition along with

capoeira, so there would be no sense in disguising capoeira as a dance. Another

theory says that the Mucupes in the South of Angola had an initiation ritual (efundula)

for when girls became woman, on which occasion the young warriors engaged in the

N’golo, or "dance of the zebras," a warrior’s fight-dance. According

to this theory, the N’golo was capoeira itself. This theory was presented by

Camara Cascudo , but one year later Waldeloir Rego warned that this

"strange theory" should be looked upon with reserve until it was

properly proven (something that never happened). If the N’Golo did exist, it

would seem that it was one of several dances that contributed to the creation of

early capoeira. Other theories mix Zumbi, the legendary leader of the Quilombo

dos Palmares with the origins of capoeira, without any reliable information on

it. All of these theories are important when trying to understand the myth that

surrounds capoeira, but they cannot be accepted as historical fact according to

the data and information that we presently have. Maybe with further research,

the theory that capoeira as a mix of various African dances and fights occurred

in Brazil, mostly in the 19th century, will also be outdated in future years.

With the signing of the Golden Law in 1888, which abolished slavery, the newly

freed slaves did not find a place for themselves within the existing society.

The capoeirista (practitioner of capoeira), with his fighting skills,

self-confidence and individuality, quickly descended into criminality and

capoeira along with him. In Rio de Janiero, where capoeira had developed

exclusively as a form of fighting, criminal gangs were created that terrorized

the population. Soon thereafter, during the transition from the Brazilian Empire

to the Brazilian republic in 1890, these gangs were used by both monarchists and

republicans to exert pressure on and break up the rallies of their adversaries.

The club, the dagger and the switchblade were used to complement the damage done

by various capoeira moves. In Bahia on the other hand, capoeira continued to

develop into a ritual-dance-fight-game, and the berimbau began to be an

indispensable instrument used to command the rodas ( sessions of capoeira

games), which always took place in hidden places since the practice of capoeira

had been outlawed by the first constitution of the Brazilian Republic (1892). At

the beginning of the twentieth century, in Rio the capoeirista was a rouge and a

criminal. Whether the capoeirista was white, black or mulatto, he was an expert

in the use of kicks (golpes), sweeps (rasteiras) and head-butts (cabecadas), as

well as in the use of blade weapons. In Recife, capoeira became associated with

the city’s principal musicbands. During carnival time, tough capoeira fighters

would lead the bands through the streets of that city, and wherever two bands

would meet, fighting and bloodshed would usually occur. In Bahia, the

capoeirista was also often seen as a criminal. The persecution and the

confrontations with the police continued. The art form was slowly extinguished

in Rio and Recife, leaving capoeira only in Bahia. It was during this period

that legendary figures, feared players such as Besouro Cordao-de-Ouro in Bahia,

Nascimento Grande in Recife and Manduca da Praia in Rio, who are celebrated to

this day in capoeira, made their appearances It is said that Besouro lived in

Santo Amaro da Purificacao in the state of Bahia, and was the teacher of another

famous capoeirista by the name of Cobrinha Verde. Besouro did not like the

police and was feared not only as a capoeirista but also for having his corpo

fechado (a person who through specific magic rituals, supposedly has almost

complete invulnerability in the face of various weapons). According to legend,

an ambush was set up for him. It is said that he himself carried the written

message identifying him as the person to be killed, thinking that it was a

message that would bring him work. Legend says he was killed with a special

wooden dagger prepared during magic rituals in order to overcome his corpo

fechado. Of all the rouges that led the carnival bands through the streets of

Recife, Nascimiento Grande was one of the most feared. Some say he was killed

during police persecution in the early 1900s, but others say he moved from

Recife to Rio de Janiero and died of old age there. Manduca da Praia was of an

earlier generation and always dressed in an extremely elegant style. It is said

that he owned a fish store and lived comfortably. He was also one of those who

controlled elections in the area he lived in. It is said that he had

twenty-seven criminal cases against himself (for assault, knifing etc.) but was

always overlooked due to his influence of the politicians he worked for. The two

central figures in capoeira in the twentieth century were undoubtedly Mestre

Bimba and Mestre Pastinha. These two figures are so important in the history of

capoeira that they (and the mystery that surrounds them) are the mythical

ancestors of all capoeira players. Much of what a modern capoeira player tries

to be is due to what these men were or represented. In 1932 in Salvador, Mestre

Bimba (Manuel dos Reis Machado) opened the first capoeira academy. He started

teaching what he called "the regional fight from Bahia," eventually

known as Capoeira Regional (faster more aggressive than traditional Capoeira

Angola style). This was made possible by nationalistic policies of Getulio

Vargas, who wanted to promote capoeira as a Brazilian sport. Although Bimba

opened his school in 1932, the official recognition only came about in 1937. The

Getulio Vargas government permitted the practice of capoeira, but only in

enclosed areas that were registered with the police. With the opening of Bimba’s

Academy, a new era in the history of capoeira began, as the game was taught to

the children of the upper classes of Salvador. Bimba was active in capoeira his

whole life. In 1941, Mestre Pastinha (Vincente Ferreira Pastinha) opened his

capoeira angola school. For the first time, capoeira began to be taught and

practiced openly in a formal setting. He became known as the "philosopher

of capoeira". Unfortunately, government authorities, under the reforming of

the Largo do Pelourinho, had his academy confiscated. Although he was promised a

new one, the government never came through. The final years of his life were

sad. Blind and almost abandoned, he lived in a small room until his death in

1981 at the age of ninety-two. Capoeira has grown tremendously over the last

fifty years. It has finally been excepted by the masses in Brazil. Capoeira

competitions and academies are surfacing everywhere. In 1974 it was recognized

as the national sport of Brazil. This forced the creation of a national

federation of capoeira. In 1974 it was recognized as the national sport of

Brazil. It was formed to govern, promote and coordinate capoeira since no effort

was made previously to unite the various emurgances of capoeira throughout

Brazil. Capoeira has expanded beyond the borders of Brazil and is growing

rapidly in other countries (including the United States). Capoeira appeals to

many for many different reasons. First of all the pure beauty of the art is

hypnotic. Capoeira is a dance and a fight. It’s not only a combination of

gymnastics, dance and martial arts but also music, culture, history and

knowledge. The capoeirista must learn to balance the physical with the mental.

The capoeirista must play many instruments and sing. The capoeirista may at

times be your enemy but is usually a friend. The capoeirista is a historian. The

capoeirista is all of these. Description: Capoeira consists of a form of dance,

practiced in a circle called the "roda", with sound background

provided by percussion instruments, like the "agogo" and the "atabaqui".

The "Berimbau" is a non-percussion instrument that is always used on

rodas. Capoeira relies heavily on kicks and leg sweeps for attacks and dodges

for defenses. Is not uncommon to not be taught any kind of hand strike, though

arm positioning for blocks is taught.The "ginga" (the footwork of

Capoeira), consists in changing the basic stance (body facing the adversary,

front leg flexed with body weight over it, the other leg stretched back) from

the right leg to the left leg again and again. Capoeira also puts a heavy

emphasis on ground fighting, but not grappling and locks. Instead, it uses a

ground stance (from the basic stance, you just fall over your leg stretched

back, flexing it, and leaving the front leg stretched ahead), from which you

make dodges, kicks, leg sweeps, acrobatics, etc. Hand positioning is important

but it is used only to block attacks and ensure balance, though street fighting

"capoeiristas" use the hands for punches. When fighting, it is rare to

stop in one stance, and in this case, you just "follow" your opponent

with your legs, preventing him from getting close, or preparing a fast acrobatic

move to take advantage when he attacks. The rest of the time, you just keep

changing stances and do the equivalent of boxing "jabs". Players enter

the game from the pe’da roda (foot of the circle), usually with a cartwheel

(au). Once in the circle, two players interact with a series of jumps, kicks,

flips, head and handstands and other ritualistic moves. Games can be friendly or

dangerous. The music plays an important role in the feel of the game. The type

of game being played, whether fast or slow, friendly or tough, depends on the

rhythm being played and the lyrics being said. Training: After a thorough

warm-up, standing exercises are done, with emphasis on the "ginga",

and on the basic kicks: "bencao", a front-stomping kick, "martelo",

a roundhouse kick, "chapa", a side-kick, "meia-lua", a low

turning kick, "armada", a high turning kick, "queixada", an

outside-inside crescent kick. Then walking sequences are done, with the

introduction of somersaults, back flips and headstands, in couples and

individual. Some more technical training follows, with couples beginning basic

and slow, and then the whole class forms and goes for "roda" game for

at least 30 minutes. Capoeira conditions and develops the muscles, especially

the abdominal muscles. Sub-Styles: Regional style is capoeira in a more

artistic, open form, giving more way to athletic prowess and training. Angola

style is a more closed, harder style that is closest to the original African

systems that came to Brazil. Iuna is a totally athletic and artistic form of the

art, where the couple inside the "roda" play together, as opposed to

one against the other.