Gringa Mansa: Mestre João Grande

Sunday, 20 May 2007

Mestre João Grande

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What is Capoeira?

A martial art, a dance? More like a form of self-defence and offense camouflaged as a dance in the round. Enslaved Africans - chiefly people from the Bantu area of southwestern Africa and what is now Angola - brought a martial art used to win brides without paying a bride price to Brazil and adapted it to the harsh realities of forced labour. We now know it was originally called N'golo. Naturally, it was banned and practiced in secret - possibly in forest clearings (capoeiras). After Abolition in 1888, it was still outlawed and associated with criminal gangs. When the police rode up on their horses, the berimbau - an African musical bow that was added to the mix in Brazil - sounded out a warning (the rhythm of galloping hooves).
The Angola style was preserved and taught in Bahia by Mestre Pastinha. Finally, a dictator decided to legalise (or co-opt) Capoeira by authorising Mestre Bimba to develop the Regional style in the 1930s. Now we have two main forms: Capoeira Angola - slow, sly, close to the ground - and Capoeira Regional - high kicking, flashy, popular with tourists. There are also other styles and different varieties in other countries, but Capoeira - given its melding of musical and martial arts traditions and even its indigenous name (a Tupi word that means both 'clearing' and 'chicken coop') - is as uniquely Brazilian as it is African, which helps explain why it is fast gaining popularity around the world.

Gringa Mansa

Sunday, 20 May 2007

Mestre João Grande

0 comments:

What is Capoeira?

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