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 Brief History of
Capoeira
Some time after the discovery of Brazil
(1500), but still in the
sixteenth
century, the Portuguese
had
many colonies throughout the world. These
included
many in Africa, including Angola,
Congo, Mozambique and Guinea, as well
as Brazil in South America.
The Portuguese, like most colonists, wanted slave labour, but
since the local natives found it easy to escape, they
decided to enslave people from Western and Central Africa and transport
them to Brazil. These poor people were rounded up like animals and
taken
on slave ships to work in sugar and coffee plantations under their new
Portuguese "masters." Many people are familiar with slavery in
the US, where about 500,000
slaves were transported. In Brazil the figure was around 4 million.
It was in these conditions that it is believed Capoeira was born.
Actually,
noone really knows how, when or where Capoeira was created, and it is
the
subject of much controversy, but many have their own ideas to explain
this.
- The most common theory is that
Capoeira started as a
fighting art, but
to disguise its deadliness from the slave owners, music and dance was
added.
However, it is argued that this doesn't make sense, since other forms
of
African dance suffered persecution under the Portuguese in Brasil.
- Another common theory is that
Capoeira is a blend of
different African
art forms: dances, martial arts, music, and acrobatics becoming one art
through the sharing of cultures.
- Yet
another says that the Mucupes in the South of
Angola had an initiation
ritual (efundula) for when girls became women, on which occasion the
young
warriors engaged in the N'golo
(Capoeira), or "dance of the zebras," a
warrior's fight-dance where the winner would choose a "new woman" as a
wife without having to pay the dowry. I read that it is still practised
in Africa as “ñ-golo” in Benguela (south of Angola) and
“Bassula”
in Luanda (the capital in the North). There are also related
dance/martial
arts in Martinique called Danmye or Ladja (which is said to be also
decended from n'golo), Mani from Cuba and Knocking and Kicking
from the Southern States of the US, although the latter has probably
died out.
- Another theory says that Capoeira
started in the
Quilombo dos Palmares
(legendary kingdom formed by runaway slaves), as a self-defence system
for the inhabitants. Opponents of this theory say that if this is true,
it would be more useful to develop a weapon fighting system, since the
Portuguese
were well armed.
- Yet another links Capoeira to the
markets of Rio de
Janeiro. A Portuguese
meaning of the word Capoeira is a place where chickens
(carpão=rooster)
are raised, stick cage for chickens, and a kind of small Brasilian
partridge
(odontophorus capueira spix). The theory is that Capoeira was played
while
slaves selling chickens waited for market to open, imitating the fierce
fighting of the male capoeira bird.
 Capoeira
soon
became recognized as dangerous
to the Portuguese
overlords,
so it was outlawed. This didn't stop Capoeira, though, and it continued
to evolve as a violent style in Rio de Janeiro and Recife, and as a
ritualized
game in Bahia.
With the Golden Law in 1888 when the slaves were freed, Capoeira fell
into even more disrepute as many Capoeiristas used their skills to aid
them in criminal activity. This caused the men in power to try to
eliminate
Capoeira. In Rio de Janeiro and Recife, this plan worked quite
effectively,
but in Bahia, Salvador, it continued to be practised. It received a
resurgance
in the 20th Century thanks to the work of the famous Mestres Pastinha
and
Bimba, and some lesser known masters.
A lot of this information comes from two excellent books in English on
Capoeira by Capoeira mestres:
"The Little Capoeira
Book"
by Nestor Capoeira,
translated
into English by Alex Ladd
"Capoeira: A Brazilian
Martial Art" by Bira
Almeida
(Mestre Acordeon)
If you do not speak Portuguese, I recommend you try to find one or
both of these books, which some libraries stock.
Links:
www.uaia.org/uaia/brazil/capoeira.htm
UAIA article about Capoeira History
www.european-schoolprojects.net/festivals/Martinique/danmye/danmye_e.htm:
Site about one of Capoeira's sister arts from Martinique
www.capoeirasj.com/history/index.html:
Detailed Capoeira History
ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_rodrigues_0800.htm:
Journal of Combative Sport article about Capoeira, particularly
"Capoeira Carioca" a style originating in Rio de Janeiro
www.capoeira-infos.org/ressources/textes/t_marks_capoeira_angola.html:
History of Capoeira with focus on Capoeira Angola from
capoeira-infos.org
Last updated 14/11/05
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