The story of capoeira

It is estimated that some 5 million African slaves were brought to Brazil by the Portuguese, starting in the early 1500's, with most coming from West Africa, particularly Angola and the former nation of Yoruba. They were distributed in three different ports: Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. The slaves were desperately mistreated. They were subjected to beatings, rape, torture and even murder.

Over the years, a small number of slaves managed to gain freedom. They escaped from the plantions and headed to the deeply forested interior, where it was hard to be found. Capture would mean severe punishment, perhaps death but the slaves were determined and often received help from the native Amerindians, many of whom had been exploited or enslaved by the Portuguese colonialists. The slaves headed to the mountains and began to establish small settlements called quilombos. The largest of these was called Palmares and at one stage was believed to have over 20, 000 inhabitants including some Indians and whites. Here tribes that were strangers or enemies in Africa united to fight for a common goal. In this environment they shared and learned from each other their dance, rituals, religions and games. One result of this rich cultural fusion was capoeira in its earliest form.

Palmares grew rapidly and became extremely well organised by its leaders, the most famous of which was King Zumbi, lionised in countless capoeira songs. However, the Portuguese had started to suffer financially as a result of the slaves escaping and began to organise expeditions to conquer Palmares. They were however, repeatedly resisted by the organised inhabitants. The Africans had developed a system of fighting called "jungle war". Capoeira was the key element in the unexpected attacks. It became their weapon, their symbol of freedom.

Ex-slaves from Palmares would infiltrate plantations and teach this deadly art so that others could liberate themselves. On Sundays, their one day of rest the slaves would practise capoeira, but there in the plantations, the practise was soon altered. Music, singing and ritual were all added and capoeira was disguised as a dance, in order to hide the fact that the slaves were practising a deadly art. Their struggle for freedom was to continue for over 200 years before Brazil formally abolished slavery in 1888, the last country to do so. During this time, capoeira continued to develop and spread until legislation was passed completely banning its practise.

Between the years when slavery was abolished and capoeira was openly accepted by all Brazilians as a part of their national heritage, capoeira had developed a very bad reputation. No longer having the noble goal of resisting slavery, the image of capoeira began to change. The practice of capoeira which owes much of its roots to African folkloric rituals was one of the many ways that the ex-slaves could maintain their culture and identity and many capoeiristas were now using the art for political protests. However, there were a large number of capoeiristas, who disillusioned with freedom and living in poverty used capoeira as a means to rob, steal, loot and terrorise the towns and cities they had by now moved to. In the face of police repression, capoeira degenerated and was most superficially practised by those who did not care about it. It became synonymous with the word malandragem, which roughly translates as trouble-making or lawlessness. Capoeira was starting to lose its dignity, efficiency and historical perspective.

Mestre Bimba is acclaimed as the man who resurrected the art of capoeira from its degenerate state. He made a strong stand to restore its discipline and dignity, developing his own style capoeira regional as distinct from capoeira angola, the sloppy street form. He improved the technical quality of movements taught and added moves from other dances and fighting styles. His school was the first to recieve official sanction from the Brazilian government in 1937 and he is credited as the father of modern day capoeira.

One of Mestre Bimba's tactics was to also teach students from a middle class background, thereby ensuring a greater level of social acceptance. He also forbade his students to practice capoeira in the streets. By the 1960s, a new breed of capoeira masters was spawned. At first this new generation of masters were opposed to any organisation of capoeira. Any formal revision was viewed as an attempt to take the art from its historic context. However, after seeing how the sport was spreading to Rio and Sao Paolo and being exposed to epidemic commercialism, transforming its rituals and traditions, they realised the need to develop its old wisdom in terms of conventional culture and formally preserving its creative motifs.

Camisa Roxa, one of Mestre Bimba's top students was instrumental in promoting harmony and a common goal between capoeiristas and he strove to reconnect the capoeira regional with the traditional capoeira angola. This attitude helped to frame the development of today's capoeira: the modern capoeirista should be a good fighter in the mode of capoeira regional but without losing the spirit, rituals and playful characteristics of the capoeira angola.

Nowadays the sport has become infinitely more organised with schools and organisations all over the world. Capoeira has now become a truly global phenomenon, with aspects of capoeira being absorbed into modern dance, fashion, music and film. The struggle goes on however to maintain the true essence of capoeira hundreds of years and in some cases, thousands of miles from its birth. No matter how capoeira may change with the times, it will always be synonymous with one word -freedom!