Write listening journal about Capoeira(The Afro-Brazilian Dance-Fight-Game)

Capoeira: The Afro-Brazilian Dance-Fight-Game

Ashley Humphrey Fall 2016

Have you seen capoeira before?

• Tekken 3 • Oceans Twelve • Americas Next

Top Model • American Dad • Bob’s Burgers • Black Eyed Peas

(Mas Que Nada) • Christina Aguilera

(Dirrty)

Only the Strong (1993)

An Abridged History of Brazil

• Brazil was colonized in the 1500s (16th c) by Portugal • By 1550s, Portuguese colonizers imported African

slaves to grow crops. • Sugar was Brazil’s largest crop and was exported globally.

• Brazil gained independence from Portugal in 1822 • Slavery was abolished in 1888

• Brazil was the last nation in the West to abolish slavery. • Colonialism left Brazil with a large population of African and

Portuguese descendants, in addition to the surviving native indigenous people.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Conditions of Slavery in Brazil

• Because Brazil received the largest population of Africans, slavery looked a little different than American slavery • Because of larger slave populations, life was cheap. As a result

punishments were brutal. Slaves died much more often at the hands of owners because they could be easily replaced.

• Because of the proportion of slaves to slave owners/colonizers- music was used as a method to pacify the slaves.

• Music was allowed (certain times of the day/week) as a method to keep morale up

• Playing music and exchanging music traditions in colonial Brazil allowed Afro derived music traditions to become integral to the development of Brazil as early as the 19th c • By contrast Afro derived music forms in the United States emerged in

the early 20th century ( Work Song, Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Funk, Rap)

Capoeira History

• Capoeira in Rio de Janeiro (1800-1820s) • A slave practice and a tool of cultural retention

• Suppression Period (1830- 1890s) • Capoeira: A Secret Society

• Capoeira was officially outlawed in 1890

• Academy Period in Bahia (1900s- present) • Changing Public Reception: Race and Class

Zumbi dos Palmares

• Leader of the Palmares Quilombo- Slave Colony • Zumbi was born free but was captured

and sold in his early childhood. Upon escape he returned to Alagoas and dedicated his life to resisting Portuguese/colonial rule

• One of the earliest recorded capoeira practitioners • Many people in Palmares were capoeira

practitioners

• Zumbi is recognized nationally in Brazil on November 20th • Afro-Brazilian Consciousness Day

(1655-1695)

Jogar Capoeira ou Danse de la Guerre c. 1820

Johann Moritz Rugendas

• German artist who traveled around Latin America in the 19th century, documenting landscapes and people through his art. • Rugendas is significant

because he introduced capoeira to Europeans

(1802-1858)

Capoeira Suppression

• By the mid 19th century capoeira was practiced by a diverse group of people • Free blacks, slaves, and poor people of mixed race

• Socially, capoeira was frowned upon because of its association with Black populations and lower classes • Participating in capoeira was an act punishable by

law. • As a result, concealing one’s identity then became

a part of capoeira culture. Today, this is maintained formally by giving capoeiristas apelidos (nicknames)

Academy Period/Contemporary Capoeira

• Capoeira and the Nation-State (1840s- 1870s) • Political leaders saw the effective defense techniques of

capoeira. • Also, men in the National Guard and other branches of

the military trained capoeira.( Thalmon-Chvaicer 2008)

• Mestre Bimba’s Intervention • Credited with systematizing capoeira and bringing the

sport to elite Brazilian society. • Although capoeira schools existed prior to Bimba’s

intervention, he is noted as the father of modern capoeira because of his focus on de-stigmatizing capoeira practices. (Lewis 1992)

• After capoeira became “legitimized” by Bimba in the early 20th century, Brazil began to recognize and celebrate capoeira

Mestre Bimba (1899-1974)

Sistema de Cordoes (System of Belts)

Capoeira Regional

Capoeira Angola

Roda: The Capoeira Arena

(Lewis 1992:87)

Angola and Regional: Geography and Capoeira Traditions

• The “legitimization” of capoeira created a social distinction between a high-class sport and a low- class ethnic ritual.

• This distinction is further characterized by the change in location over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. • Rio de Janeiro- 1800s à Bahia- late 1900s

Batería: The Instrumental Ensemble of Capoeira

• Berimbau • Gunga, Medio, and Viola

(these refer to the sizes and relative pitches of the gourd resonators) • Caxixi (shaker)

• Atabaque (drum) • Pandeiro (tambourine) • Agogô (double bell) • Reco-reco (scraper)

Chula

• Iê, viva meu Deus, camará • Live my God

• Iê, viva meu Mestre, camará • Live my teacher

• Iê, quem me ensinou, camará • Who taught me

• Iê, a capoeira, camará • Capoeira

• Ee-ay, Viva mee-oo Dey-us, kah-mara

• Ee-ay, Viva mee-oo May-stray, kah- mara

• Ee-ay, Kay-me-seen-oh, kah-mara

Types of Songs in the Roda

• Ladainha • Praise song to God, Master/Teachers in capoeira

• The lead berimbau player sings while the batería accompanies.

• Chula • Initiates the call and response between leader and the group. The group

repeats the phrase, adding the exclamatory phrase, “Iê” (Pronounced: Ee—ay) • This marks the first instance of call and response.

• Corrido • Call and response songs that are often short. Corridos cover many

topics… • Capoeira games start with signal from lead berimbau/singer.

(Murphy 2007:57)

Lyrical Content

• Afro-Brazilian Religion and Deities • History of Capoeira

• Slavery, Myths, Origins, and Notable Figures

• Capoeira Movements • How bodies can or should interact in the roda

• Musical Instruments

Carolina Soares “Puxada de Rede”