Capoeira

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines acrobatic fighting and dancing and occurs inside a circle of musicians, leaders, and performers. Originating in Brazil, the physical activity is a reflection of multiple cultures within the South American country. Capoeira went from private sessions among African populations in Brazil to being outlawed following Brazil's independence from Portugal to becoming a national sport. In the twenty-first century, it is taught in various academies across Brazil and is practiced around the world as a form of exercise.

Brief History

Although accounts about how capoeira developed into the art form it is today conflict, most trace its roots to the contributions of African slaves in Brazil. Slavery began in the Portuguese colony in the fifteenth century, and for four hundred years African slaves and their descendants developed and influenced aspects of Brazil's identity and culture. Early forms of slave labor were engaged in agricultural industries, such as sugarcane, tobacco, and coffee, and in gold mines. In some cases, the intermixing of different African tribes among the slave population created rivalries. Before the 1800s, some slaves were allowed to continue their African traditions, but their practices were often concealed. By the early 1800s, people of African descent in Brazil included newly arrived African slaves and those who had been born in the colony. Despite their differences, both groups had a desire to preserve their African heritage in South America.

In the 1820s and 1830s, shortly after Brazil's independence from Portugal in 1822, Europeans from France, Germany, and other nations began moving to Brazil. These newcomers observed the capoeira style of fighting, or "games" as they called them. German artist Johann Moritz Rugendas, for example, painted a scene of a group playing instruments and dancing in a semicircle around two fighters titled Jogar caupera ou danse de la guerre ("To play capoeira or dance of war") in 1825. Around the same time, practices influenced by African traditions began to be repressed. The slave trade in Brazil ended in 1850, and slavery was abolished in 1888, but oppression against Afro-Brazilians continued, and capoeira was outlawed in 1892. The practice continued underground as the form was criminalized and marred by armed gangs in large cities such as Rio de Janeiro.

By the 1920s and 1930s, Manuel dos Reis Machado, better known as Mestre Bimba, had begun rebuilding capoeira in the northwestern state of Bahia. Mestre Bimba moved capoeira away from unorganized fighting and dance moves toward a more disciplined form. In 1934, Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas lifted the ban on capoeira but restricted it from being practiced outside. It was permitted to be done inside academies under police presence. Mestre Bimba traveled across Brazil in an effort to bring his form of capoeira, known as capoeira regional, to a wider audience. His efforts renewed interest in capoeira, and in 1937, Vargas recognized it as a national sport.

Overview

Capoeira is traditionally performed or played in a circle called a roda. The roda consists of musicians, singers, students, and teachers, who surround two fighters, or capoeiristas. Musicians play percussion instruments in an orchestra called a bateria according to the capoeira style. Three of them play berimbaus, single-stringed musical bows anchored by a hollow gourd. The berimbau is the lead instrument and sets the pace of the game, called jogo. Two musicians play the pandeiro, a tambourine-like instrument, and one is responsible for the atabaque, a large, freestanding drum that keeps the roda's rhythm. Other instruments used in the roda are the reco-reco, a grooved, wooden instrument with a rod that is rubbed against it to make a sound, and the agogȏ, a cow bell or other hollow object struck with a stick. The roda's chorus sings in Portuguese according to the style and direction of the master, known as mestre. Songs are sometimes reflective of their African roots, religion, capoeira folk heroes, and machismo. Location may also influence the songs' subject.

The mestre leads the direction of the jogo and roda, teaching the rhythm and fighting styles for the group. Students, called alunos, discuss their practice, whether it is the moves or the music. Like in other martial arts, capoeira expresses achievement levels with a belt called a cordão. Men and women participate in the roda as fighters/dancers and as musicians.

Capoeira is characterized by its fusion of martial arts, dance, and acrobatics. Two capoeiristas playing the jogo exchange combat moves as they challenge each other inside the roda. A basic step, called ginga, is a swaying motion in which the feet move back and forth. This step keeps the capoeirista moving to the music and ready to attack. The capoeirista stays low to protect his or her upper body before moving from ginga to his or her next move. Sweeping kicks are key fighting elements and visual effects. Half-moon kicks called meia-lua de frente (a front kick) and the popular meia-lua de compasso (a round kick) are high kicks that form an arc in the air. The rabo de arraia ("the stingray's tail kick") brings the capoeirista close to the ground, swings the body around, and finishes with a high, circular kick. Another front kick, martelo ("the hammer"), is a quick kick that is less theatrical. Acrobatic moves include aú, a low cartwheel that allows for a return to ginga, and macaquinho ("little monkey"), a backflip escape move.

Capoeira styles vary across Brazil and the world, but three styles are the most well-known. Besides Bimba's capoeira regional, Vincent Ferreira Pastinha, known as Mestre Pastinha, developed capoeira angola, which links the movement to its African roots. Both styles dominate capoeira academies across Brazil. A third style, capoeira contemporânea, is a hybrid of the two.

Outside Brazil, capoeira is used for cardio exercise and strength training. Workout videos include moves such as ginga and kicks to tone muscles and lose weight. An hour session can burn between three hundred and five hundred calories. Capoeiristas are featured characters in films and video games, too. For example, the 2017 Bandai Namco martial arts video game Tekken 7 features Eddy Gordo, a capoeirista who first debuted in 1997's Tekken 3 to the delight of fans, who enjoyed his acrobatic fighting action.

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