Capoeira is a defence in moments of danger, it is a vehicle for education, an educational didactic, a way of maintaining health, and a kind of therapy.
All these elements exist in capoeira. To try to define capoeira in one element you diminish capoeira. Capoeira is “o cultura” because it is hard to define capoeira. Otherwise you fall into the trap of minimising the values that she’s got. Capoeira is something that can't be defined, she exists in the moment.
Although it is sports practice, capoeira is not just a sport, it is mysterious, there is no clear winner or loser, but there is objective. It is a fountain of life. It has a physical side, but there is no podium for capoeira. Because of its mysterious personality. You always play with, not against. It is always the game itself rather than the individual player.
(Mestre Russo)
A history of capoeira
Capoeira is the totality of a reaction based movement game between two people played to music in a circle of people (called a roda). Capoeira was originally a mobilisation of the cultural heritage of enslaved Africans in a Brazilian context. The foundation myth of capoeira is that it was a method of resistanceto slavery. for slaves to prepare themselves for an escape from plantation slavery. A set of martial arts practises disguised as a dance, which then developed in the quilombos, the maroon communities of escaped slaves. The capoeira practised today is close to cultural forms called capoeira or vadiacao (loafing around) that existed in the reconcavo (bay) of Bahia and Salvador in the North East of Brazil, which is the heartland of capoeira.
During the mid twentieth century (in 1932) capoeira became legalised after a long period of persecution. In Bahia two styles of capoeira developed, Capoeira Regional and Capoeira Angola. Capoeira Regional was originally called Regional da Bahia because it was the capoeira that originated in the region of Bahia. Capoeira Angola is called Angola because the Master who developed the art felt that capoeira had its origins in Angola’s indigenous combative dances.
Capoeira Regional developed in the context of inter regional and international martial arts contests that were the precursors of vale tudo (no holds barred fighting) in Brazil in the 1930’s. Previously illegal, populist politcians saw a legalised capoeira as having the potential to be a politically useful device if harnessed to the nationalist ideal. Mestre Bimba, the creator of capoeira Regional, adapted the existing capoeira. By emphasising the martial aspect of capoeira and utilising techniques from other martial arts, he changed capoeira into a more effective form for fighting in the ring against other styles of martial arts such as jiu jitsu, judo and wrestling. It is interesting that Capoeira was acceptable as long as it was an obvious fighting competition, rather than a playful, ambiguous activity tied up with African cultural practices.
Capoeira Angola developed alongside Regional, but with a traditionalist and contrary dogma. It’s primary representative, Mestre Pastinha, “found in the old tradition (of capoeira) some concepts which he made fundamental.” Unlike Bimba, he was against using physical movements foreign to capoeira. The ludic aspects of the game rather than the martial are emphasised along with the use of traditional movements, songs, philosophy and conduct of the ritual of capoeira, all done with respect to the fundamental concepts emphasised by Mestre Pastinha.
Tourism also influenced capoeira’s development. As the city of Salvador became a tourist destination, capoeira players realised that they could earn money doing presentations for tourists, this affected capoeira by increasing emphasis on it’s acrobatic movement to provide a spectacular show.
In Rio de Janeiro capoeira was associated with maltas, territorial criminal gangs operating in the city centre that at the turn of the century were involved with political thuggery and violent intra rivalry, not unlike the criminal factions involved in Rio's drug trafficking today. Capoeira in Rio was persecuted violently by the state, with thousands of capoeiristas deported to the prison on the island of Noronha off the Brazilian coast.
