Capoeira

Capoeira
Johann Moritz Rugendas · Public domain · source
Name	Capoeira
Focus	Acrobatics, dance, fighting
Hardness	Medium
Country	Brazil
Creator	Afro-Brazilian communities
Parenthood	African diasporic traditions

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines dance, martial techniques, music, and ritual. Originating among enslaved Africans and their descendants in colonial Brazil, it developed in urban and rural contexts across Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and other regions, interacting with figures such as Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, Zumbi dos Palmares, and institutions like the Museu Nacional and the Universidade Federal da Bahia. Its practice spread internationally through practitioners, masters, and cultural exchanges involving cities like Salvador, São Paulo, Lisbon, Paris, New York, and organizations such as the Centro Cultural, Fundação Nacional, and various grupos.

History

Capoeira emerged from a confluence of African traditions brought by peoples from kingdoms and regions including the Kongo, Angola, Yoruba, Mina, and Dahomey, and from colonial structures like the Portuguese Empire, sugar plantations in Pernambuco, and mining in Minas Gerais. Early resistances associated with quilombos such as Quilombo dos Palmares and leaders like Zumbi intersected with practices maintained by communities in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro and recorded in documents of the Senado and provincial police. Nineteenth-century reforms, the Abolition of Slavery, and figures such as Machado de Assis and Joaquim Nabuco influenced public perceptions while laws and decrees from the Empire of Brazil, the Republic, and police forces shaped criminalization and clandestine practice. The transition to the twentieth century saw mestres such as Besouro Mangangá, Cobrinha Verde, and Pastinha systematize styles amidst venues like rodas in Pelourinho, and the rise of cultural institutions, capoeira academies, samba schools, and recording artists like Heitor dos Prazeres. State recognition followed cultural policy debates involving the Ministério da Cultura, universities like Universidade de São Paulo, and international promotion by UNESCO and cultural festivals in cities including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Lisbon, and Buenos Aires.

Styles and Techniques

Practitioners developed divergent traditions embodied by lineages and mestres: Regional, Angola, Contemporânea, and hybrid forms associated with mestres such as Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, Bimba, João Pequeno, and Mestre Suassuna. Techniques integrate low ginga footwork, rasteira sweeps, meia-lua kicks, martelo, au cartwheel variations, negativa, cocorinha, and acrobatic movements like macaco and aú batido. Training references classical combat arts and performers including capoeiristas who collaborated with circus troupes, samba dancers, and athletes from football clubs like Flamengo and Vasco da Gama. Competitive formats, rodas, demonstration sequences, and staged performances in theaters and arenas involve choreography inspired by choreographers and directors associated with Teatro Municipal, Ballet Nacional do Teatro, and cultural festivals such as Carnaval and Bienal events. Lineages trace teaching methods via mestres, academies, associations, federations, and organizations such as the Federação, Associação Brasileira, and international groups in New York, Paris, London, Tokyo, and Berlin.

Music and Instruments

Music is central: songs, call-and-response, and rhythmic structures direct game tempo and style using instruments including berimbau, atabaque, pandeiro, agogô, reco-reco, and zabumba. Repertoire incorporates cantos, ladainhas, corridos, and quebrados with influences from Candomblé, Samba de Roda, Bantu chants, and religious practices connected to terreiro communities and casas de santo. Iconic musicians, composers, and cultural figures—such as Mestre Canjiquinha, Mestre Bimba, Mestre Pastinha, Dorival Caymmi, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Vinicius de Moraes—have contributed recordings, scores, and collaborations with labels, radio stations, and festivals. Sound production and instrument craftsmanship intersect with artisan traditions in regions like Recôncavo Baiano, workshops linked to ethnomusicologists at institutions such as Museu Afro-Brasil and departments at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

Training and Practice

Training combines partner drills, solo sequences, acrobatic conditioning, and music literacy taught by mestres, instrutores, contramestres, and students across academies, cultural centers, universities, and community projects. Pedagogical models reference pedagogues, physical education programs at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, rehabilitation initiatives in hospitais, and outreach projects by NGOs and cultural foundations. Safety, pedagogy, and sportification have led to integration with sporting bodies, competitions, and events overseen by municipal culture secretariats, national federations, Olympic committees, and international workshops in centers such as Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil. Manuals, didactic materials, and audiovisual archives are held in libraries, archives, and museums like Biblioteca Nacional, Museu da Imagem e do Som, and ethnographic collections.

Cultural Significance and Legal History

Capoeira functions as cultural expression, identity marker, and political symbol within struggles linked to Afro-Brazilian rights, quilombo recognition, and cultural policies debated in forums including the Supremo Tribunal Federal, Câmara dos Deputados, Ministério Público, and UNESCO. Legal trajectories include criminalization under nineteenth-century penal codes, policing measures, later decriminalization, and contemporary heritage recognition processes involving IPHAN and cultural departments. Prominent public figures, writers, activists, and scholars—such as Abdias do Nascimento, Oliveira Silveira, Lélia Gonzalez, Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, and Gilberto Freyre—engaged capoeira in wider debates on race, citizenship, and cultural patrimony. International diffusion has provoked dialogues about authenticity, appropriation, pedagogy, and commercialization involving cultural institutes, consulates, festivals, and diaspora communities in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia, with legal and policy responses from ministries, municipal councils, and heritage agencies.

Category:Afro-Brazilian culture