Capoeira or capoeiragem is an Afro-Brazilian cultural expression and sport mixing martial art, dance and music, developed in Brazil by descendants of African slaves possibly at the end of the 16th century in the Quilombo dos Palmares. It is characterised by agile and complex blows and movements, using primarily kicks and kicks, as well as headbutts, knees, elbows, ground or air acrobatics. It distinguishes itself from other martial arts through musicality, where practitioners called capoeiristas learn, in addition to fighting and playing, to play the typical instruments and sing. The one who ignores musicality is considered an incomplete fighter and without sportive spirit.
The Roda de Capoeira was registered as a cultural asset by IPHAN in the year 2008, based on an inventory carried out in the states of Bahia, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro. And in November 2014, it received the title of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The capoeira practiced today has two major strands: angola, which features more low-pitched movements and had as its main exponent master Pastinha; and regional,[15] which features more aerial movements and had as its main exponent master Bimba. The latter was created in Salvador, the city where the first capoeira academy in Brazil was founded, in 1937
Talking about styles in capoeira is a difficult argument, since there never was a unity in the original capoeira, or a teaching method before the 1920s. In any case, the division between two styles and one sub-style is widely accepted.
Angola
Capoeira Angola refers to all capoeira that keeps the traditions of the time before the Regional style was created. In other words, it is the most traditional capoeira. Existing in various areas of the country since ancient times, notably in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Recife, it is impossible to specify where and when capoeira Angola began to take its present form.
The name “Angola” began to appear with the blacks who came to Brazil from Africa, embarked at the port of Luanda, who, regardless of their origin, were referred to on arrival in Brazil as “blacks from Angola”. In some places, the population referred to the game of capoeira as “playing Angola” and, according to Mestre Noronha, the “Centro de Capoeira Angola Conceição da Praia”, created by the cream of Bahia’s capoeiragem, was already illegally using the name “capoeira Angola” in the early 1920s.
The name “Angola” was finally immortalized by Mestre Pastinha, when he inaugurated the “Centro Esportivo de capoeira Angola” (CECA) on February 23, 1941. Pastinha was known as a great defender of “traditional capoeira”, highly regarded by renowned capoeiristas such as Mestre João Grande and Mestre Moraes. In time, several other “traditional capoeira” groups started to adopt the name Angola for their styles.
Angola is the style closest to how slaves fought or played capoeira. Characterised by being strategic, with stealthy movements executed close to the ground or standing up depending on the situation to be faced, it emphasises the traditions of malícia, rascality and unpredictability of the original capoeira. Some angoleiros claim that its mastery is very complicated, involving not only the mechanical part of the game but also features such as subtlety, subterfuge, dissimulation, theatricality, mandinga or even playfulness to overcome the opponent. The typical bateria in a Capoeira Angola roda is composed of three berimbaus, two pandeiros, one atabaque, one agogô and one ganzuá.
Regional
Capoeira Regional was born in the 1920s, during the meeting of master Bimba with his future pupil, José Cisnando Lima. Both believed that capoeira was losing its martial value and came to the conclusion that a restructuring was necessary. Bimba then created teaching sequences and methodologies for teaching capoeira. Advised by Cisnando, Bimba called his capoeira Bahian Regional Fighting, since capoeira was still illegal at the time.
The basis of “capoeira regional” is the leaner traditional capoeira, with less subterfuge and more objectivity. The training was more focused on attack and counter-attack, with a lot of importance given to precision and discipline. Bimba also incorporated some blows from other martial arts, notably batuque, an old street fight practised by his father. The use of acrobatics and jumping was minimal: one of the fundamentals was always to keep at least one base of support. As Mestre Bimba used to say, “the ground is the capoeirista’s friend”. Capoeira regional also introduced, in capoeira, the concept of graduations. In mestre Bimba’s academy, there were three hierarchical levels: freshman, graduate and specialized graduate. Graduations were determined by a scarf tied around the waist.
The traditions of the capoeira circle and game were maintained, serving to apply the techniques learned in class. The bateria, however, was modified, being composed of a single berimbau and two pandeiros. One of the greatest honours for a disciple was the permission to play iúna. The game of iúna had the symbolic function of promoting the demarcation of the group of graduates to that of the fledglings. The only technical peculiarity of the iúna game in relation to the games played at other times in the capoeira circle was that a pre-established strike must be applied as the game unfolds. The game was also notable for the greater skill of the capoeiristas who played it. The iúna game was played only to the sound of the berimbau, without clapping or other instruments, which reinforced its solemn character. At the end of each game, all the participants applauded the capoeiristas who left the roda.
The Bahian regional fight quickly became popular, bringing capoeira to the general public and finally changing the image of the capoeirista, until then considered in Brazil as a marginal. Of the many presentations that mestre Bimba made with his group, perhaps the best known was the one in 1953 to the then president of the republic Getúlio Vargas, when he said to the president: “Capoeira is the only truly national sport”.
Contemporary Capoeira
From the 1970s onwards a mixed style began to gain notoriety, with some groups combining the factors they considered most important from Regional and Angola. Notably more acrobatic, this mixed style is seen by some as the natural evolution of capoeira, by others as a mischaracterisation or even a misinterpretation of capoeira traditions. Over time, any capoeira which did not follow the Regional or Angola lines, even those mixed with other martial arts, came to be called “Contemporânea”.
Capoeira Paulista (capoeira from São Paulo – Brazil)
São Paulo is the first Brazilian state where Capoeira was recognized as a BRAZILIAN MARTIAL ART State law: 10,344 of 7/16/1999.
Capoeira gained notoriety in the city of São Paulo with the creation of the Roda da República in 1953, idealized by Ananias Ferreira (Mestre Ananias) (REIS, 2000), who came from Bahia along with other mestres. In moments of leisure, they sought leisure in the playful game of capoeira, entertaining tourists and visitors who enjoyed that spontaneous cultural event. At the same time, the present masters tried to see their friends and remember the traditions of old Bahia.
The game of outdoor capoeira, or, as the mestres prefer to call it, street capoeira, we understand it as capoeira in its essence. In it, the capoeirista can express
São Paulo is the first Brazilian state where Capoeira was recognized as a BRAZILIAN MARTIAL ART State law: 10,344 of 7/16/1999.
Capoeira gained notoriety in the city of São Paulo with the creation of the Roda da República in 1953, idealized by Ananias Ferreira (Mestre Ananias) (REIS, 2000), who came from Bahia along with other mestres. In moments of leisure, they sought leisure in the playful game of capoeira, entertaining tourists and visitors who enjoyed that spontaneous cultural event. At the same time, the present masters tried to see their friends and remember the traditions of old Bahia.
The game of outdoor capoeira, or, as the mestres prefer to call it, street capoeira, we understand it as capoeira in its essence. In it, the capoeirista can express
himself far from the rules imposed by the practice in closed spaces (academies), where the code of ethics is understood by those who practice it as the only form of control. Thus, the master lets his personality come to the fore, through the game or the song, as in the following example ”I say the prayer and open the game as tradition dictates, what I do, because I do it, it’s for your deduction Camará, go around the world ” (SANTOS, 1996). It is the master who conducts the game, except for moments when some players cannot contain their euphoria and in an attempt at self-assertion with the public, they overflow and use violence as their calling card. In such a situation, capoeira distances itself from the initial purposes of street circles, which would be integration, exchange of experiences and expansion of culture around the world.
By expressing this violence, capoeiristas fail to show through culture their dissatisfaction with their state of segregation, a situation in which part of the Brazilian population lives, culturally and socially. In this context, the practice of capoeira is much more than a simple act of throwing one’s legs in the air, as described earlier by Reis (2000). It is at such a time that the cunning of the capoeirista appears, not in the corporal game, which can at this moment shift attention to the visible focus, to the eyes so attentive to the tiny expressions of the practitioners in moments so distinct and particular to the capoeirista. But, behind or in front of such a ballet, there are one or several masters who, to the sound of the music, make the true meaning of street capoeira roda escape to the eyes of many scholars, who in the euphoria of the movements cannot hear what it is said, messages are blown to the wind, codes are described all the time,
waiting for the right moment to make the necessary outcome. And while some little astute capoeiristas slap each other in the game’s link, the missions are contemplated and transmitted by the voice of the berimbau player, the prayer is sung, the symbology is established, and the sacred merges in moments with the profane.
In the past, the rite took place under the strict eye of priests, pastors and lay people in general, as apparently only the game was passed, which, in sport, is fundamental for improving the quality of life of men and women in the modern world. In capoeira, there is a foundation, a structure of symbols and signs that we will discuss in greater depth, at an opportune moment in the next chapter.
In moments of repression, human beings turn their own culture into a vehicle for denunciations and protests, and it is in this scenario that capoeira faced the policy of the military dictatorship in São Paulo. As in colonial Brazil and during the military dictatorship, especially in São Paulo, messages were said, messages traveled through the yards of large houses, backyards, streets and bars, clutching at the palaces, using secret codes in dialects Africans in the songs of capoeiristas. Today they are Portuguese due to their miscegenation and “the whitening of capoeira itself”, but, no less efficient, such knowledge still travels between some privileged heads, fundamental for the perpetuation of the essence of capoeira well played, sung, spoken and interpreted…
Capoeira was recognized by the National Sports Council as a national sport, with this, some practitioners who were more politicized and enlightened about the benefits of the new change in Brazilian sport, created the State Federations.
In 1974, the São Paulo Federation of Capoeira is founded – the first in Brazil; that was not oblivious to this new scenario of sports policy in the country. Reis (2000) comments that the founders of the São Paulo Federation understood that for the development and expansion of the sport in the State and throughout the country to occur, it would be necessary to remove religious elements contained in capoeira, as its essence is originally black and came to be called folklore.
The presence of religious elements in capoeiragem is more easily perceived in capoeira angola, labeled capoeira folklore. Among the measures established by the Paulista Federation to contain the presence of such fates was to prohibit the game of capoeira outside the competition venue, before, during and after them, but the most striking measure in this regard was to associate the graduation of capoeiristas with the colors of Brazilian flag (REIS, 2000).
With the growth of immigration from Bahia to the metropolis of São Paulo in the 1960s, this contingent also included capoeiristas from Angola and from the region, who soon established themselves in the ABC Paulista. Among them, João Ferreira in São Caetano, Jose de Andrade in Santo André and Alípio in São Bernardo, who started to promote the practice in the region. The figure of these mestres in the region structures capoeira in such a way that it soon becomes an important capoeira pole in São Paulo and Brazil. Coincidentally, capoeira sport has greater acceptance in the ABC axis. Perhaps, the structure imposed by the federation of São Paulo at the time (such as prohibiting angola exhibitions in the competition venues) contributed to the expansion of regional capoeira in relation to angola in the ABC Paulista. However, we can observe that this capoeira in São Paulo is as different as the regional Bahian idealized by Bimba, it is a mixture of the two dynamics of capoeira, at the same time Angola and regional are played. And what was once separated by the necessity of the time seems to be recreated in other lands. Sometimes losing some symbolic elements, but retaining its backbone.
Musicality
Music is a fundamental component of capoeira. It was introduced as a way to deceive slavers into believing that slaves were dancing and singing, when in fact they were developing and training a martial art to defend themselves. A fundamental component of a capoeira roda, it determines the rhythm and style of the game that is played. The music is created by drums and singing (soloist or choir), usually accompanied by a clapping of hands.
The drums are traditionally composed of three berimbaus, two tambourines and an atabaque, but the most complete format includes agogô and reco-reco, we adopt the full format whenever possible as it provides the best sound and acoustics general in terms of musicality. One of the berimbaus defines the rhythm and the capoeira game to be developed in the roda. In this way, it is the music that commands the capoeira roda, not only in its rhythm but also in its content.
Music is a fundamental component of capoeira. It was introduced as a way to deceive slavers into believing that slaves were dancing and singing, when in fact they were developing and training a martial art to defend themselves. A fundamental component of a capoeira roda, it determines the rhythm and style of the game that is played. The music is created by drums and singing (soloist or choir), usually accompanied by a clapping of hands.
The drums are traditionally composed of three berimbaus, two tambourines and an atabaque, but the most complete format includes agogô and reco-reco, we adopt the full format whenever possible as it provides the best sound and acoustics general in terms of musicality. One of the berimbaus defines the rhythm and the capoeira game to be developed in the roda. In this way, it is the music that commands the capoeira roda, not only in its rhythm but also in its content.
Songs
The capoeira songs are divided into solo parts and responses by the choir, formed by all the other capoeiristas present in the roda. Depending on their content, they can be classified as litanies, fouls, corridos or quadras. The litany or lamentation is used only at the beginning of the capoeira roda. It is part of the long cry “iê”, followed by a solo narrative sung in a solemn tone. It is usually sung by the most respected or graduated capoeirista in the roda. At the moment, there is no game, no clapping and some instruments are not played. The narrative is followed by the traditional tributes made by the soloist (to God, to his master, to those who taught him and any other important character or factor relevant to capoeira, such as malandragem), which are interspersed with the praise of the choir and the beginning of clapping and complementary instruments. The capoeira game can only start after the litany ends.
The chula is a chant in which the solo part is much longer than the choir’s response. While the soloist sings ten, twelve, or even more lines, the choir responds with just two or four lines. The foul can be sung at any time in the roda. The corrido, the most common musical form of the capoeira roda, is a song where the solo part and the chorus response are equivalent, in some cases the number of chorus verses surpassing the solo verses. It can be sung at any time during the roda and its verses can be modified and improvised during the game to reflect what is happening during the roda, or to pass on a warning to one of the other capoeiristas.
The quatrain is composed of the same verse repeated four times, either three solo verses and a chorus response, or the solo part and the response interspersed. It can be sung at any time on the wheel. Capoeira songs have the most varied subjects. Some songs are about stories of famous capoeiristas, others can talk about the daily life of the community. Some songs comment on what is happening during the capoeira roda, others digress about life or a lost love. Still others are cheerful and talk about silly things, sung just for fun. Basically there are no rules and students are encouraged to create their own songs.
Capoeiristas change songs frequently according to what happens in the roda or outside it. A good example is when a novice capoeirista demonstrates remarkable skill during the game and the soloist sings the verse “and the boy is good”, followed by the chorus with the verse “clap his hands for him”. The song’s lyrics are constantly used to pass messages to one of the capoeiristas, most of the time in a veiled and subtle way.
Capoeira Rhythm
The capoeira touch is the rhythm played by the berimbaus, followed by the other instruments. They can be performed from very slowly (as in Angola’s play), inducing a slower and strategic game, to very accelerated (as in São Bento Grande), inducing a fast, agile and acrobatic game. They can also have other meanings that go beyond the game or command a restricted wheel, such as Iúna’s touch.
The capoeira songs are divided into solo parts and responses by the choir, formed by all the other capoeiristas present in the roda. Depending on their content, they can be classified as litanies, fouls, corridos or quadras. The litany or lamentation is used only at the beginning of the capoeira roda. It is part of the long cry “iê”, followed by a solo narrative sung in a solemn tone. It is usually sung by the most respected or graduated capoeirista in the roda. At the moment, there is no game, no clapping and some instruments are not played. The narrative is followed by the traditional tributes made by the soloist (to God, to his master, to those who taught him and any other important character or factor relevant to capoeira, such as malandragem), which are interspersed with the praise of the choir and the beginning of clapping and complementary instruments. The capoeira game can only start after the litany ends.
The chula is a chant in which the solo part is much longer than the choir’s response. While the soloist sings ten, twelve, or even more lines, the choir responds with just two or four lines. The foul can be sung at any time in the roda. The corrido, the most common musical form of the capoeira roda, is a song where the solo part and the chorus response are equivalent, in some cases the number of chorus verses surpassing the solo verses. It can be sung at any time during the roda and its verses can be modified and improvised during the game to reflect what is happening during the roda, or to pass on a warning to one of the other capoeiristas.
The quatrain is composed of the same verse repeated four times, either three solo verses and a chorus response, or the solo part and the response interspersed. It can be sung at any time on the wheel. Capoeira songs have the most varied subjects. Some songs are about stories of famous capoeiristas, others can talk about the daily life of the community. Some songs comment on what is happening during the capoeira roda, others digress about life or a lost love. Still others are cheerful and talk about silly things, sung just for fun. Basically there are no rules and students are encouraged to create their own songs.
Capoeiristas change songs frequently according to what happens in the roda or outside it. A good example is when a novice capoeirista demonstrates remarkable skill during the game and the soloist sings the verse “and the boy is good”, followed by the chorus with the verse “clap his hands for him”. The song’s lyrics are constantly used to pass messages to one of the capoeiristas, most of the time in a veiled and subtle way.
Capoeira Rhythm
The capoeira touch is the rhythm played by the berimbaus, followed by the other instruments. They can be performed from very slowly (as in Angola’s play), inducing a slower and strategic game, to very accelerated (as in São Bento Grande), inducing a fast, agile and acrobatic game. They can also have other meanings that go beyond the game or command a restricted wheel, such as Iúna’s touch.