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Sabrina (right) playing
berimbau at UCLA in the early 80s
Sabrina playing berimbau alongside
João Grande in NYC in February 2007
THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW CAPOEIRA, THE AFRICAN-BRAZILIAN MARTIAL ART/DANCE, BECAME PART OF LIFE FOR A BRITISH WOMAN WHO NOW LIVES IN BRAZIL
It will be told in instalments - with a few interruptions to mention present-day events - so be sure to come back and read the next exciting chapter ;-)
Note: comments are fully moderated to exclude spammers, so they might not show up right away.
It will be told in instalments - with a few interruptions to mention present-day events - so be sure to come back and read the next exciting chapter ;-)
Note: comments are fully moderated to exclude spammers, so they might not show up right away.
Sabrina (right) playing
berimbau at UCLA in the early 80s
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.
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.
The Mestre and "Gringa Mansa"
Sabrina playing berimbau alongside
João Grande in NYC in February 2007
1 comment:
Hi Sabrina,
I found your blog searching for Capoeira blogs over the internet.
My name is Eurico Vianna. I am a PhD student at the Centre for Public Culture and Ideas at Griffith University (AU). My research topic is Capoeira and social inclusion, and I am currently writing the 4 Capoeira Thoughts Blog, a not-for-profit initiative, as part of my field research.
I have a solid background as a practitioner and for the last 10 years I have been working as a Capoeira teacher holding regular classes, workshops, lectures and promoting events in several countries. In 2002 I started a non-profit organisation in Brazil through which I have been running Capoeira programmes fostering the social inclusion of youth in ‘at risk’ situation living in shelters. More details about my professional background as a practitioner can be found here (add link).
My goal in setting the 4 Capoeira Thoughts Blog is to build an online network of social active capoeiras collaborating on issues of Capoeira philosophy, intercultural learning, social inclusion and education. I also aim to gather collaborators to co-edit and co-author the an online Journal open to submissions on the above mentioned matters.
The 4 Capoeira Thoughts is open to guest-authors approaching the social role of Capoeira. I hope to publish their posts; interview people with similar initiatives; and promote community based endeavours related to Capoeira.
There are two main advantages in partly basing my research on matters raised over the Internet. First, there will be no geographical barriers preventing multinational participation. Second, practitioners' posts and comments will be directly influencing the research matters.
The overall aim is to discuss the worldwide spreading of Capoeira; the global forces acting upon it; how practitioners locally respond to these forces; and the art's local purpose as a potential educative and inclusive cultural practice.
Please, check the blog out and feel free to drop me a few lines sharing your thoughts. I would also appreciate if you could spread the word out about my research. Here is the URL for my blog 4capoeirathoughts .
I am looking forward in setting a network of practitioners interested in learning and sharing more about Capoeira as a social inclusive and educative tool.
Axé!
Eurico
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