Capoeira Wheel

by EDWARD L. BROUGH [email protected] 

LUNA 

CAPOEIRA RCLING IN THE WHEE L OF LIFE CAPOEIRA  (

a -PWEH EH-- a ) is an A ro-B -Brrazi ia ian n art orm t at com in ines es aspe peccts o ri rittua , dance, street fighting, acrobatics, music, cunning, and playfulness. The practice has been eep ee p y in uenc uencee y t e A ri rica can n ex expe peri rien ence ce in Bra razi zi , at atin ingg ac at east east to t e 18 18tt -c -cen entu tury  ry  colonial era, and perhaps far earlier. However, because it has largely been passed down from one pract pra ctiti ition oner er to ano anott er er,, ew ou outsi tsi ers av avee a ac acces cesss to t e sec secre rets ts o ca capoe poeira ira un unti ti re ati ative ve y  recently. As a result, its history is riddled with complexities and contradictions that are only just egin eg inn nin ingg to e un unrrav avee e . T is art rtic ic e s ou t er eree or oree e rea as a pr pree imi mina nary ry,, an ev evoo vi vin ng  effort to bring together the “hard” facts of historical research with the oral—and bodily—history  o capo poei eirra, as ea earrne t roug t e au autt or’s own res esea earrc an trai ain nin ingg in t e orm.  A F RI CA N OR I GI NS

The n’golo  or dance of the zebras (Nevess e Souza, (Neve Souza, c. c. 19 0s)

 An important precedent for capoeira may be found in a little-known tradition of African “danc “danceefighting.” Dance-fighting is still practiced by some isolated Bantu-language communities in Wes estt Ce Cent ntrra A ric icaa, ra rang ngin ingg rom t e so sout ut er ern n ig an s o An Ango go a, no nort rt to t e riv iver er Congo. In traditional African societies throughout this region (and indeed, much of Africa), it is com common mon or rit rites es o pas passag sage, e, ce e rat ration ions, s, re igi igious ous rit ritua ua s, an eve even n mi ita itary ry tra traini ining ng to e  weaved into community life through music, storytelling, and movement. In extreme southwestern Angola, one group of people (ethnographically categorized as Nya yane ne aa-H Hum e, or in or orma ma y as “B “Ban anga ga a”) pe perr or orm m a in o tw twoo-pe pers rson on “c a en enge ge an ance ce”” 2 called the ngolo . Often cited by capoeira practitioners as a likely antecedent of capoeira, the engo o  is sti per orm ormee as par partt o orm ormaa ini initia tiatio tion n or mar marria riage ge cer ceremo emonie nies. s. It may ave a so been used in the training of warriors, or as an informal, playful way to keep the reflexes sharp. Inspire y t e g ting sty e o ze ze ras, t e engo o  (an simi ar orms t roug out t e area) consists mostly of kicks, sweeps, and headbutts meant to humiliate, but generally not disable, an opponent. The lack of hand strikes may partially be explained by a proverb in Kikongo (a  near ne ar y Co Cong ngoo es esee angua anguage ge)) t at say ayss t at “ an s ar aree to ui , ee eett ar aree to es esttroy.” T is in of foot-fighting tradition, transplanted to the Americas along with many other African cultural practi pra ctices ces,, may ave eve eventu ntuaa y eca ecame me now nown n in Br Brazi azi as t e jogo e capoeira  To un un er erst stan an how it came to be that so many Africans were taken to Brazil, however, we must investigate the earr y ye ea year arss o Br Braz azii ’s co on onia ia is isto tory ry..

BAN U REGION

v 1.1, 13 March 2005

THE BRAZILIAN CONTEXT

Upon the rather uneventful landing of a Portuguese fleet on the Northeast coast of Brazil in 1500 15 00,, t e vas vastt cou count ntry ry (e (equ quaa in si size ze to t e ow ower er 48 Uni nite te St Stat ates es)) i no nott see seem m to to o er t e seafarers any obvious riches or civilizations to spoil. The local Tupi peoples, hunter-gatherers  w o engage e ngage in constant war are against t eir neig ors (inc u ing ritua canni a ism), i not possess gold or build impressive cities, such as those the Spanish would soon topple in Mex exic icoo an Per eru. u. T e Tup upii i , ow owev ever er,, po poss sses esss an en ency cycc op opee ic no now w e ge o t ei eirr ow own n land (which they called Pindorama , or “Land of the Palm Trees”), enabling them to help the Portuguese harvest a tree that produced a valuable red textile dye. This wood, called pau brazil,  wou eventua y give t e country its name. Nevert e ess, even wit suc a ucrative tra e in dyewood, the Portuguese lacked the resources and desire to colonize the country, so they  ocus oc usee t ei eirr e or orts ts on co cont ntin inui uing ng t ei eirr gro growi wing ng mo mono nopo po y ove overr t e A ri rica can n s av avee tra tra e, an trading routes to the Far East.  With ambitious Portuguese navigators leading the way hroughout the late 1400s, trade routes rom Europe to Asia an t e New Wor ope pen ne a new in o g o a economy. T e introduction of exotic new concoctions such as tea, coffee, and cocoa in Europe also created an un or ores esee een n ne neee or su suga garr to sw swee eete ten n t es esee us usua ua y it itte terr ri rin n s. Su Suga garc rcan anee i no nott gr grow  ow   well in the European climate, however, however, so the the Portuguese established established plantations (or ngenhos ) on t e A rican is an s o ão Tomé an Príncipe. W en t ese prove wi y success u , t e Portuguese turned their attention to the new Brazilian captaincies of Pernambuco and Bahia  e To os os Sa Sant ntos os (B (Bay ay o A Sa Sain ints ts)) in t e mi mi 15 1500 00s, s, qu quic ic y tra trans ns or ormi ming ng t em in into to massive sugar producing areas whose rich massapé soil became the lifeblood of the world’ world’ss sugar growing trade.

 Working on the sugar mill (Hercules Florence, Brazil, c. 1830s)

 At rst, t e native Tupis were roun e up to wor t ese p antations, ut t ey eit er resiste fiercely, fled to the interior, or succumbed to European diseases for which they had no resistance.  Jesuit missionaries a so came into “protect” t e natives, w o t ey e ieve were in esperate need of salvation. As a result, the Portuguese began to depend more on African slaves. Despite eing “ eat ens,” many A ricans were ami iar wit various agricu tura practices, an a  already proven their endurance under the difficult conditions of sugarcane production. Africans a so engage in a comp ex orm o on e servitu e t at was eep y em e e into t e a ric of African life. Under this diverse system, slaves were usually guaranteed certain rights and privi eges as uman eings. However, y t e ate 1500s, as t e eman or sugar egan to grow exponentially, the Portuguese, along with other opportunistic Europeans and Africans, began to transform this institution into a gruesome, wholesale traffic of human beings. Over t e course o our centuries, as many as 5 mi ion A ricans were transporte to Brazi —some 40% of all the Africans taken to the Americas (in contrast, North America received only about 5%).4  A F RI CA NS I N BR A Z IL

Slave quarters (detail from Rugendas, Brazil, c. 1830s)

Under the harsh conditions of capture in Africa (where slaves were usually branded with t e mar o t e s ave rai er w o capture t em), on t e orri y overcrow e s ave s ips (nicknamed tumbeiros , or “tomb ships”), or under the subsequent “seasoning” process in Brazil, u to a o t ese peop e ost t eir ives. On t e putri s ave s ips, many A ricans e ieve they had been captured for use as food by the Europeans, so they often attempted to throw  t emse ves over oar . Unto num ers a so ie rom ma nutrition, an iseases suc as smallpox and dysentery. Those who survived the middle passage usually found themselves at the dismal slave trading centers along the Brazilian coastline: from Maranão in the north, own to Pernam uco, Sa va or (Ba ia), an Rio e Janeiro in t e sout . Here, s aves were cleaned up, processed, displayed, and sold like cattle. What little comfort newly arrived  A ricans may ave oun in t e simi arity etween t e c imate an terrain o Brazi an t eir  African homelands 5 was quickly tempered by the inescapable and hostile reality of slave life. In Brazi , a s ave’s use u wor i e average just seven years, so t ere was itt e reason or s ave owners to provide much in the way of shelter, clothing, proper food, or health care. Unlike t e Unite States, w ere s aves were consi ere va ua e property, s aves were a rep acea e commodity in Brazil.  Yet these “Africans” were not just an undifferentiated mass of people. Each peça  (or “piece,” as t e Portuguese ca e t eir uman cargo) was torn rom an et nic/tri a group t at a its own history, language, customs, religious beliefs, games, and methods for making war. The  A rican presence in Brazi as t us een great y in uence y t e istorica cyc es o t e s ave trade, which spanned over 300 years (c. 1520–1850). Portuguese traders often took advantage of a certain tribe’s affinity for agriculture, or another group’s sophistication in metallurgy, for examp e. S aves were t us emp oye in a wi e variety o occupations in Brazi , as agricu tura  laborers (on sugar, coffee, cotton, and manioc plantations), domestic servants, artisans, barbers, miners, an even ounty unters (capitães e mato , or “ us captains”) c arge wit unting  down runaway slaves. In the hunt for slaves in Africa, early slave traders concentrated on the peoples of the extreme  West A rican coast (Upper Guinea), w o a proven t emse ves to e civi ize an a apta e to various work situations. In the 1 00s, he need for sheer numbers of slaves to work the sugarcane engen o  e t e Portuguese to t e popu ous region o West Centra A rica, nown as Kongo and Angola, where the Portuguese took advantage of instability in the legendary  ing om o t e Kongo to capture t ousan s. T roug out t e 17t an 18t centuries (an even into the 19th), the Angolan ports of uanda and Benguela were the primary ports of exit or s aves ta en rom t is vast region. T ese Bantu-spea ing peop es (primari y pastora ists, semi-nomadic cattle herders, and farmers ranging from as far north as the Congo, to as far east as Mozambique) became the most important African influence in Brazil.  As slave raiding routes began to encroach upon more isolated territories of the Angolan ig an s, inc u ing t ose w ere ance- g ting was practice , ey pro a y encountere  warriors of the engolo  and other fighting forms. The Portuguese must have also recognized t e prowess o suc warrior groups suc as t e Jaga, w o a a iate wit t e extraor inary  Queen Nzinga (1582–1663) to resist Portuguese advances into Angola in a 40 year guerrilla   war. S ave rai ers a so a to conten wit a new po itica entity in Ango a, t e im anga a ,

 w ic were ra ica mi itarize communities in a constant state o rea iness ( ater inspiring t e runaway slave communities of Brazil, known as mocambos or quilombos ). By 1770, even as the  Ango an tra e continue una ate , a ast cyc e o s aves were rawn rom t e Big t o Benin (or present-day Nigeria and Benin). he well educated Yoruba (known in Brazil as the Nâgo) roug t t eir own anguage, martia arts (suc as stic - g ting an wrest ing), an a comp ex  religion of orixá worship to Brazil, widely known by the 1800s as umbanda or candomblé 7  A F RI CA N CO NT I NU I TI E S

T e constant nee or new a orers t roug out rom t e 1 t to t e 19t centuries ensure a steady stream of Africans headed to Brazil. As new arrivals (called boçais ) brought their own customs and beliefs with them, these often mingled with those already present in (or adapted to) t e Brazi ian context. arge num ers o isp ace A ricans t us manage to maintain certain aspects of their own traditions in spite of he sad conditions of slavery, and the dominance of  Portuguese anguage, po itica institutions, an Roman Cat o icism A rican customs were a so influenced by Amerindian culture, especially in the use of local medicinal plants.  While this resulted in the creolization and evolution of many African traditions, many of  t ese expresse in oo , ress, re igious practices, movement, wor s, an attitu es— ave not lost their African character, even to the present day. A few (including, arguably, dance-fighting) ave even een passe on wit itt e a teration.6 is was ma e possi e y t e vi rancy o  African oral culture, and by the tendency of Africans to organize or identify themselves by  et nic groups. In Brazi , prominent nations (or ações ) suc as Ango a (Bantu), Nâgo (Yoru a), Gege, Ijexá, and Malê (Islamicized Africans), as well as other organizations such as work groups (cantos ), lay fraternities (irmanidades ), and a number of secret African societies worked to preserve A rican tra itions (possi y inc u ing t e engo o ), an to e p t eir e ow A ricans in matters of spirituality, health, and the assertion of legal rights (such as holding slaveowners accounta e or poor treatment, an t e rig t o s aves to uy ac t eir own ree om) Portrait of Salvador  (detail from Rugendas, c. 1820s)

PROBLEMS AND PARALLELS

Unfortunately, it is still not known exactly when or how the practice of African dance-fighting  arrive in Brazi , or ow it may ave eve ope un er t e con itions o s avery. Researc into this important question is complicated by the fact that, throughout the 400-year span of the  A rican s ave tra e, etai s a out A rican cu ture (an its games/ ances/ g ting orms) were often poorly documented, and when they were, they were almost always from a Eurocentric viewpoint. It is a so wort remem ering t at t roug out t ose many years, A rican cu tures continued to change dynamically, either for their own internal reasons, or in response to the s ave tra e. So we cannot simp y spea o a “static” A rica t at remaine unc ange or over three centuries. Because of this complex picture, and the scarcity of cultural accounts on Brazilian slavery, it may be impossible to determine how a practice like the engolo  became nown as capoeira, or i a sing e moment mar s t e “ eginning” o capoeira in Brazi . T e existence o ot er ance- g ting orms t roug out t e Americas o er an intriguing para e area of research that has just begun to be examined. The ladja  or danmyé  of Martinique, the roma o Venezue a, t e maní o Cu a, an t e secretive “ noc ing an ic ing” o t e Sout ern United States (all areas of heavy Bantu concentration) seem to share capoeira’s emphasis on eg tec niques an t e use o ea utts. Per aps A rican ance- g ting was sprea rom place to place by freed blacks who traveled widely as merchants and mariners throughout the 18t an 19t centuries. Or, per aps it arose in i erent p aces out o simi ar con itions or  where various Bantu forms were “creolized.” It has even been suggested that dance-fighting   was eve ope in Brazi an intro uce ac to A rica itse , urt er comp icating any attempt to differentiate older traditions from newer practices. In either case, it is clear that what is left o t e tra ition in A rica itse sa y appears to e ying out, as Ango a an t e Democratic Republic of Congo have been ravaged by years of warfare and mass migration. RESISTANCE

If current research sees the emergence of capoeira as a kind of “reframing” of African danceg ting tra itions un er t e repressive con itions o s avery in Brazi , t ere is amp e evi ence of other forms that evolved in a similar manner. The batuque , a generic name for a variety  o competitive Kongo ese/Ango an circ e ances transp ante to Brazi , was per orme in the plantation slave barracks (or senzalas ) during rest days or celebration, with long sessions o a -nig t rumming, c anting, an ancing. T ese types o ances ater gave rise to

t e amous sam a . Many s ave owners, eager to ensure t e oya ty o t eir su jects, o ten permitted these mysterious and “pagan” expressions of African culture to take place. Danceg ting practitioners may ave ta en a vantage o t is, i ing t eir oot- g ting arts as mere amusements embedded in the competitive atmosphere of the batuque . In this context, danceg ting was i e y use as a moc sty e o com at t at cou a ow s aves to reso ve inter-tri a  conflicts through a seemingly innocent “game.” This “game” also commented ironically on t e master/s ave re ations ip y temporari y inverting t e esta is e or er (t roug t e use of upside down movements that mocked the upright Europeans, and possibly symbolized a  connection to t e un erwor ), w i e a owing A ricans to reassert t eir umanity in ways t at capoeira continues to serve Afro-Brazilians (and indeed, all capoeira students) today. The batuque  (Debret, Brazil, c. 1830s)

umbi dos Palmares, as depicted in uilombo  (Diegues, 19 4)

Re ecting t is image o s aves per orming t eir ances on t e senza as  capoeira is o ten escri e in the oral history as a “fight hidden as a dance.” Unable to practice their “martial art” openly, t ey i t e vio ent movements o capoeira as a ance, per orme rig t un er t e noses o the slave owners. This kind of “passive resistance” was common among slaves, who might react to a s aveowner’s poor treatment y organizing wor s ow owns or e i erate y rea ing  equipment. Individual slaves could also resist by taking orders too literally, manipulating  cu tura or inguistic i erences, or even rin ing eavi y to impair t e qua ity o t eir wor . In addition to the usual forms of punishment (whippings, beatings, confinement in chains, oss o privi eges) re e ious s aves were sometimes put against eac ot er in pu ic prize g ts, in which it seems likely that capoeira may have been used. Slaves also reacted to the misery of plantation life by running away and forming their own temporary communities. Enclaves known as mocambos or quilombos (which were modeled after t e Ango an mi itary communities, a so ca e i om os ) were usua y parasitic “s antytowns” or dugouts on the fringes of populated areas. On one famous occasion, however, a cluster o t ese grew to contain as muc as one sixt o t e popu ation o Brazi . From a out 1 20 until its destruction in 1695, the Quilombo dos Palmares (located south of Recife) plagued t e Portuguese an Dutc , surviving a num er o rai s an growing to an enormous size, populated by Africans, natives, creoles, and even some Europeans. Its last leader, Zumbi, was etraye an i e , ut even to ay Zum i an Pa mares are ce e rate or t eir important ro e as symbols of African resistance to Portuguese domination. Zumbi is also portrayed as having  een a capoeira practitioner, ut it is not nown i or ow ance- g ting was use or mi itary  training, or whether it was merely one of many strategies available to rebel communities. Nor is it nown w et er capoeira was use in t e ozens o s ave re e ions t at occurre t roug out the slavery period in Brazil, including a number of famous revolts in early 1800s Bahia. ETYMOLOGY OF “CAPOEIRA”

The origins of the very word apoeira  are likewise difficult to determine. The most popular suggestion erives it rom a -puera , a native Amerin ian Tupi wor t at re ers to a urnt scrubland where escaped slaves often took refuge. Another possibility is the Portuguese capoe ra , meaning c ic en cage or coop, connecting ance- g ting wit coc g ting. A more recent suggestion is the African Kikongo word kipura  (among other Bantu derivatives) which is i ewise associate wit t e uttering movements o roosters. O t e t ree main inguistic influences on Brazilian Portuguese (native, Portuguese, and African), however, the African contri ution as— i e capoeira an its origins in practices i e t e engo o — een a most completely neglected until recently. Further research is therefore likely to enrich this etymology   wit urt er A rican possi i ities. THE URBAN CONTEXT

 Jogo de capoeira, ou dance de la guerre  (Rugendas, Rio de Janeiro, c. 1820s)

 Whatever the nature of the arrival and development of Angolan/Kongolese foot-fighting  tra itions, e rst written citations o capoeira occur in t e po ice recor s an tourist accounts of Brazil’s main coastal cities of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Recife in the early 1800s. On the narrow streets of these heavily urbanized areas, where newly arrived Africans, acculturated AfroBrazi ian mu attoes, an poor European immigrants ming e , aut orities recor e t e arrests of hundreds of  capoeiras  capoeira players—who engaged in the bloody “war dance” known as capoe ragem , or t e practice o capoeira. Later, especia y in Rio, t ese streetwise rogues (or malandros ) organized themselves into vicious gangs (or maltas ) that alternately terrorized and protecte communities an po iticians. n a ition to is vio ent an “spontaneous” street fighting form, a more secretive tradition of Af rican dance-fighting may have also preserved (as imp ie y t e secrecy surroun ing its 19t an 20t century escen ant, apoeira ango a ).

any  capoe ras  a so wor e seasona y as s ermen, steve ores, an sai ors—occupations  with many hours of downtime, during which capoeira also came to be known by the ironic eup emism o va iação (or “ oing not ing in particu ar”). Given t is iverse picture, an t e increase interna tra ing o s aves to ot er parts o Brazi in the second half of the 19th century, it would appear that a practice once performed in Africa by  a re ative y sma num er o peop e ecame wi e y isperse t roug out Brazi un er a wi e range of circumstances (urban and rural) by Africans, freed blacks (negros de ganho ), mulattoes, creo es, an a sma er num er o European immigrants. REPRESSION

Taking lashes on the pelourinho  or whipping post (Debret, Brazil, c. 1820s)

Salvador, Bahia - the former Brazilian capital (c. 1850s)

In t e ear ier ays o Brazi ian s avery, as as a rea y een note , ac peop e were o ten allowed to practice many of their own traditions, as long as they appeared to work hard and pai t eir super cia evotions to Cat o icism. However, y t e ear y 1800s, t e num er o slave rebellions, as well as a growing—and very racist—perception of African culture as being  “primitive” or “ egra e ,” e to a ars persecution o a t ings A rican. Capoeira, a ong wit the secretive religion of candomblé ( o which capoeira is intricately linked), was singled out as a particu ar t reat to t e peace, an was punis a e y pu ic w ipping. W en a num er o local statutes failed to wipe out the form, the new Republic of Brazil outlawed capoeiragem  nationwi e in 1890, on y two years a ter t e a o ition o s avery (t e ast country in t e  Western Hemisphere to do so). Despite its harsh repression, capoeira maintained an uneasy relationship with the state throughout period or repression and national prohibition (c.1820–c.1930). Sometimes, to avoi punis ment, practitioners were ra te to serve in t e mi itary as so iers or a orers. During the war with Paraguay in the 1860s, for example, a number of  capoeiras (many from Ba ia) istinguis e t emse ves y t eir e ectiveness as ront- ine warriors. At ot er times, t e capoeiras were informally enlisted to help put down domestic disturbances. In popular culture, a w o e iterature romanticizing t e angerous i esty e o t e we - resse ma an ro  gure a so arose, even as the real-life counterparts of these fictional “scoundrels” were being punished and imprisone or practicing t eir art. By t e ear y 1900s, t e aut orities near y succee e in e iminating capoeira a toget er. In Rio,  where capoeira had been heavily influenced by the new underclass of poor Europeans (including  t e notorious Portuguese ni e-wie ing  a istas ) , capoeira a a so egenerate into a -out gang warfare (armed with machetes, razors, and clubs). Such violence gave the authorities an excuse to wipe out t e ma tas wit out mercy, an as a resu t, Rio’s capoe ra car oca  was a ut lost. It only survived as a cutthroat fighting form in a few seedy  favelas  (“slums”), and as a  combative form taught in a few military academies with no ritual or music. Meanwhile, in t e ar nort ern city o Reci e, toug  apoe ras were nown as mo eques e an a (“ an rats”)  who performed, sometimes with colorful umbrellas, as part of battling street processions. After t e po ice egan to repress t ese isp ays, some capoeira- i e movements were recon gure into a dance known as the  frevo . It was only in the old colonial capital of Salvador, Bahia (and t e surroun ing recôncavo  o t e Bay o A Saints), t at capoeira manage to survive as a  streetwise game-dance-fight symbolizing the subterfuge and resistance necessary for everyday  surviva . Ta ing on t e more e i erate appearance o a ance t roug t e use o rums, tambourines, and an ancient Bantu bow instrument called the berimbau , Bahian capoeira was a so per aps t e c osest iving representation o t e A rican ance- g t tra ition TWO MASTERS

Throughout the nationwide period of prohibition, many informal, streetwise mestres (masters) o capoeira remaine active in Ba ia. Among t ese were two remar a e men w o oug t or the recognition of the form. Both were said to have been taught the tradition by Africans, and it is largely because of their efforts that the secret movements and mythologies of capoeira were na y revea e to t e wor .

Mestre Bimba - showing his meia lua de frente  (c. 1950s)

Mestre Bim a (c. 1899–1974), origina y a muc - eare mestre  o tra itiona capoeira, decided to “clean up” what he saw as a “folkloric” and ineffective fighting form. By the early  30s, e a create is own, strippe - own version o capoeira, initia y ca e uta regiona  baiana  (or “regional fight of Bahia”) to avoid the illegal word, capoeira . Under the guidance an in uence o severa o is stu ents (inc u ing t e octor an u tsu ent usiast Cisnan o

Mestre Pastinha - waiting for the next move (c. 1950s)

Traíra and Najé, playing the money game (Barracão do Mestre Waldemar Bahia, 1954)

Lima), e e iminate many o t e ritua unctions o capoeira, roug t t e practice in oors, and introduced a number of pedagogical innovations. These included formalized sequences o movements, uni orms, an speci c “rites o passage” or is stu ents (suc as aptisms an graduations). In short, Bimba “modernized” capoeira. Thanks to his efforts, which included per ormances or government o cia s o t e Getú io Vargas ictators ip, Bim a’s capoeira  (later known only as egiona  came to be seen as a legitimate, and uniquely Brazilian cultural orm wort y o preservation. Regiona  was a so we suite or t e nationa istic propagan a o Vargas’ New State (Estado Novo ), which proposed the rosy but fictitious notion of a raceless, ega itarian Brazi ma e up o equa parts European, In ian, an A rican cu tures. Un er Bim a, capoeira regiona  also became Brazil’s second “national sport” (after football soccer), appealing  to lighter-skinned and middle class Brazilians, and proving itself to be a devastating fighting  orm t at cou equa (an o ten e eat) ot er martia arts in c a enge matc es. It was a so Bimba’s egional that was eventually seen and spread all throughout Brazil. In the meantime, the traditional capoeira of all other mestres continued as an informal, streetsmart, an p ay u orm eep y connecte to A ro-Brazi ian cu ture. To istinguis it rom t e growing style of  egional  as well as to acknowledge its Bantu origins in practices such as the engo o , it ecame etter nown as apoeira ango a . Among its many  mestre  suc as Danie Noronha, Maré, Waldemar, Cobrinha Verde, João de Bodeiro, and Canjiquinha—the gentle an p i osop ica Mestre Pastin a (1889–1981) was t e est nown. His aca emy, esta is e in the 1940s as he Centro Esportiva de Capoeira Angola (CECA), was an important focal point or capoeira ango a , an Ba ian cu ture in genera (wor -renowne aut or Jorge Ama o  was a frequent visitor). It is largely thanks to the elder Pastinha, and the angoleiro  who passed through his doors, that many of the traditions of  capoeira angola  were preserved and passed on. Anot er ango eiro wort noting ere was Mestre Wa emar (191 –1990), w ose out oor pavilion in the neighborhood of Liberdade hosted many legendary capoeira  odas  (“circles”), an w o provi e t e wor wit its rst painte erim aus  THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE

In Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s, a group of young capoeira enthusiasts (many of them originally  rom Ba ia) orme t e Grupo Senza a, creating a ig y sty ize version o Mestre Bim a’s luta regional that was inspired by Rio’s own underground tradition of capoeira, as well as other martia arts an gymnastic practices. Apart rom t e in uence o some o Mestre Bim a’s most respected graduates in Bahia, such as Mestres Acordeon, Itapoan, and Dr. Angelo Decânio, the so-ca e “Senza a sty e” (an its o s oots, suc as A a á-Capoeira an Omu u), as remaine the primary force in the modernization, globalization, and homogenization of capoeira.10

P stcard showing capoeira r egional  (Salvador, Bahia 

Mestre Moraes’ Grupo Capoeira Angola Pelourinho (Forte do Santo Antônio, Bahia, Brazil)

This “contemporary” style, which introduced belt ranking systems and military-style training  methods (echoing the move of Rio’s capoeira from the streets to military academies), is also the most pu ic “ ace” o capoeira: as seen in Ho ywoo ms (suc as On y t e Strong an Ocean’s  Twelve ), commercials, dance performances (such as Jelon Vieira’s famous DanceBrazil), and vi eo game c aracters (suc as Te en’s “E y Gor o”). Some argue t at its extreme popu arity  and stylization—emphasizing fast games, fighting techniques, standardized movements, and power u , air orne acro atics— as a so sacri ce t e eeper A ro-Ba ian roots o capoeira,  where, by contrast, capoeira is still understood as a playful, ritualistic, and somewhat secretive pastime t at is ig y persona an i iosyncratic. In ee , t an s to t e rise o t e Grupo Senza a’s competitive sty e o “ emonstration” capoeira, the older and more “folkloric” style of  apoeira angola was nearly lost. Pastinha’s academy was c ose in t e ear y 1970s ue to some governmenta ou e- ea ing, ut t e in orma teac ing  methods of many of the old mestres  themselves—who taught only a handful of students at a time, wit out structure essons—were a so partia y to ame. By t e ear y 1980s, ango a   was slowly revived by Pastinha’s students; first, by Mestre João Pequeno, and later, Mestres  João Grande, Boca Rica, Bola Sete, and Curió. Mestre Moraes, a follower of the two Joãos, esta is e t e Grupo Capoeira Ango a Pe ourin o (GCAP) in 1980, teac ing a more sty ize and politicized form of capoeira angola that has become a meeting point for black consciousness an activism. At t e same time, ot er mestres (inc u ing Ba ia’s Mestre Neco, Mestre Lua e Bobó, and the author’s own Mestre Caboquinho) have followed or revived other lineages of  capoeira ango a  t at can trace t eir eritage ac to Ba ia’s o street o as , an ar eyon . Ironically, even Mestre Bimba’s “modern” luta regional baiana has also been resuscitated by his son Nené , w o is among t e very ew to strict y a ere to its origina teac ings

CAPOEIRA: A CONTESTED ART

 As this article has already made clear, capoeira has been adapted to local conditions throughout its istory: rom its origins in A rican c a enge ances, to t e senza a  s ave quarters, t e transitory  quilombo  communities, the rough  favelas  of Rio, the colorful parades of Recife, t e co estone a eiras  o Sa va or, an now a wor wi e networ o capoeira aca emies. The main distinctions between today’s capoeira are between the more-or-less traditionalist angola , the historical luta regional  (practiced by very few) and the “contemporary” hybrid of  regiona  (w ic as o ten trie to reintegrate movements rom ango a ) . Ot er examp es—a  heavily influenced by “contemporary” capoeira—include choreographed “show” capoeira, tournament-sty e “sport” capoeira, an t e in orma capoeira p aye on t e eac es an streets (capoeira da rua ). A few individuals have even created their own “brand” of capoeira (such as Mestre Suassuna’s capoeira miu in a, or “sma capoeira”).

Eddy Gordo” from Tekken 3 fighting game (Namco, 1996)

DanceBrazil (Lois Greenfield, 199 )

Staging the ginga at Mestre Acordeon’s academy  (Berkeley, CA, c, 1999)

 A t ese sty es o Brazi ian capoeira (not to mention t e cognates oun e sew ere in t e  Americas) may indeed represent different manifestations, “reframings,” or “revivals” of   A rican ance- g ting tra itions. However, ecause o t is, capoeira is o ten rame to suit a  particular point of view: groups that emphasize the fighting aspect of capoeira may point to t e e ectiveness o Rio’s ma tas or Bim a’s prize- g ting ays; Brazi ian nationa ists may insist on the form’s origin in multicultural Brazil; Afro-centrists may emphasize its “pure” African roots; those who create their own style may seek justification in the example of Bimba’s luta  regiona  an so on. T e sure, many tra itions o capoeira ave een ost, re iscovere , an reinvented throughout the years, especially in the 20th century. Even since the 1960s, he Grupo Senza a’s aggressive sty ization o regiona  an ater, t e ringing o ango a  un er t e roof of the academy, have irrevocably changed the practice and appearance of capoeira. Given a t ese c anges, some ave won ere i it is possi e, or even re evant, to c aim an “aut entic” style or tradition of capoeira. Many of the practitioners of the “contemporary” style of capoeira therefore justify the “modern” an “innovative” aspects o capoeira, an promote capoeira as a power u “sport” wort y o Olympic contention. Traditional capoeira, meanwhile, is seen as a valuable, but rather “quaint” an “ o oric” orm t at as seen etter ays. O ten, in t e genuine e ie t at t e tra itiona  and the modern ought to be brought together into a single, unified practice of capoeira (“ a  capoe ra é uma só, ” or “capoeira is on y one”), contemporary practitioners train in ot sty es, one played “low and slow,” the other “fast and furious,” in order to master a “complete” art. However, t ese ten encies—w ic ominate t e wor wi e practice o capoeira—are ase on arrogant assumptions that are strongly refuted by traditionalists. Angoleiros  point to a  genuine continuity o tra ition t at can e trace irect y to ate 1800s Ba ia, an in irect y  hundreds of years earlier, to the experiences of Africans under slavery and the challenge dances o A rica itse . W i e ew wou argue t at some o its super cia aspects ave evo ve an /or changed (such as the standardization of its teaching methods), angoleiros  nonetheless believe t at t eir tra ition represents a core o p i osop ica an o i y practices t at avew survive for hundreds of years relatively intact. Meanwhile, the Senzala style is just a flashy 1960s reinterpretation o Bim a’s egiona  w ic itse ro e comp ete y rom t e capoeira o its ay.  As such, it has little connection to its own traditions, and even less connection to the precious, iving tra itions o capoeira ango a , o w ic it as on y a super cia un erstan ing  T e passage o secrets in can om é o ers anot er way to un erstan t is issue. In t e orixá  tradition—stronger in Bahia than in Africa itself—there are candomblé  houses that are  welcoming to tourists and journalists, but there are many houses that are closed off to outsiders. Li ewise, capoeira as its “visi e” aspects, as we as “secret” aspects w ic are on y accessi e to the holders of tradition. The awe-inspiring movements and exaggerated games so often seen in t e “contemporary” sty e may t ere ore e proper y un erstoo as mere y e mos “visi e” aspect of a practice that continues to maintain many secrets and contradictions. THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN CAPOEIRA 

andomblé pr estress uring ceremony calling the orixás 

 A t oug a ew women are mentione in ists o o capoeira mestres (inc u ing Pa meirona, Maria Cachoeira, and Maria Pé no Mato11), little is known about the historical role of women in t is tra itiona y ma e art. T e participation o women may ave simp y een constraine by the clearer distinction between gender roles in Brazilian society, or by issues of fashion (as it is i cu t to proper y execute capoeira movements in t e owing w ite resses o t e aianas ).

On t e ot er an , women ave a ways ominate t e ig est positions as priestesses in t e religion of  candomblé  and most self-respecting Brazilians make offerings to the sea goddess Iemanjá, one o t e most power u or xás in t e an om é pant eon.

ontra-Mestre Rapidin ha of T.A.B.C.A.T. ne day before giving birth (2005)

 Yet even as t ere remains a stigma against capoeira in Brazi ian cu ture itse , women ave recently become more and more involved in the practice (especially outside of Brazil). everal remar a e women ave even gaine ig er tit es in ot ango a an t e newer sty es. Among  Bahian angoleiras , Mestra Jararaca (graduated by Curió) is the best known, along with her sister Pro essora Ritin a (o João Pequeno). In t e U.S., ango eiro Mestre Ca oquin o as gra uate  wo contra (or “half ”) mestres , named Biriba and Rapidinha. Among representatives of regional  contemporary capoeira, Mestre Acordeon has graduated the first non-Brazilian mestra, Suelly,  w i e A a á’s amous Mestre Camisa ( ormer y o Senza a) as gra uate t e Brazi ian- orn mestrandas Edna Lima (New York City) and Cigarra (San Francisco). ONCLUSION

Regar ess o its externa appearances (suc as gen er, race, or “sty e”), t e uture practice o capoeira—as a cunning game, a ritualized combat, a show for tourists, or a tournament-style martia art—is now in t e an s o Brazi ians an non-Brazi ians, tra itiona ists an mo ernists,  women and men alike. At its best, it is hoped that capoeira may remain a deeply ambivalent game t at a ows its practitioners to “p ay” t roug i e’s i emmas an contra ictions wit a smile on the face. And so, it is with this diversity of voices—contemporary, traditional, competitive, an streetwise—t at capoeira is poise to survive or centuries to come. NOTES . T e aut or as een a stu ent o Mestre Ca oquin o o Sa va or, Ba ia, Brazi since 2002. 2. Desc -O i (2001) is my primary source regar ing t e engo o an ance- g ting, ut spe e as  go o, it as een cite y Cascu o (1967), Mestre Pastin a, t e GCAP organization, an Mestre Ca oquin o. . This proverb is cited by Dawson (1993) as being relayed to him by noted Kongolese scholar K. Kia Bunseki u- au. 4. Statistics on the African slave trade are notoriously difficult to pin down, however Alistair Boddy-Evan ’ rtic e ( ttp://a rican istory.a out.com/ i rary/wee y/aa080601a. tm) provi es reasona e estimates. 5. Robert A. Voeks (1997, p. 8–32) has done a vivid analysis and comparison between the African and Brazi ian coast ines. . Pierre Verger has written extensively on the African presence in Brazil, as well as the cycles of the slave trade, an speci c A rican tra itions t at were roug t to Brazi . . Of these forms, only ladja has been well documented (Dunham, 1939). Desch-Obi (2001) has discussed noc ing an ic ing” somew at t oroug y, ut it remains very secretive. T e ot ers are eit er extinct, sketchy, or remain part of folk traditions yet to be researched. 8. On t e Portuguese contri utions to capoeira in t e ate 1800s, see Soares (1994). 9. A manua written anonymous y y an o cer at one o t ese aca emies was pu is e in Rio in 1906. 10. See Nestor Capoeira (2002, pp. 212–219) or an exce ent account o t e Grupo Senza a, most y rom  wit in. 11. These and a few other women are listed in Mestre Bola Sete (1989, p. 27). MORE SELECTED READING Browning, Bar ara. Hea spin. am a: Resistance in Motion. B oomington an In ianapo is: In iana UP, 1995. apoeira Ginga Nâgo. France: . apoeira, Nestor. Capoeira: Roots o t e Dance-Fig t-Game . Ber e ey: Nort At antic Boo s, 2002. Desch-Obi, Thomas J. Engolo: Combat Traditions in African and African Diaspora History. Ph. D. Thesis UCLA, 2000. Ann Ar or: UMI, 2001. Downey, Greg. “Incorporating Capoeira: Phenomenology of a Movement Discpline. Doctoral dissertation, U of  C icago, 1998. Karasch, Mary C. lave life in Rio de Janeiro, 1808-1850 . Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1987. Lewis, J. Lowe . Ring o Li eration: Deceptive Discourse in Brazi ian Capoeira . C icago: U o C icago P, 1992. Rego, Wa e oir. Capoeira A ngo a: Ensaio Sócio-etnográ co. Rio e Janeiro: E itora Itapuã, 1968. Sweet, James H. Recreating Africa: Culture, Kinship, and Religion in the African-Portuguese World, 1441-1770 . Chapel Hi , NC: U o Nort Caro ina P, 2003. Thompson, Robert Farris. “Black martial arts of the Caribbean.” Review of Latin Literature and Arts . n37. 1987.