How Did Capoeira The Fight For Freedom

Capoeira: The Fight for Freedom
Brazilian slaves trained capoeira to physically prepare themselves against the colonizers. West African slaves brought in by Portuguese colonizers created capoeira in Brazil’s rural areas during the 16th century. Capoeira became a mix of candomblé’s ijexá rhythm and movements, Yoruban’s cultural rhyme, Bantu’s berimbau, Portuguese’s viola, and Brazilian native’s literary composition of songs (Decânio, 2005). These slaves were extremely prohibited from practicing martial arts; therefore, capoeira emerged as a secrecy fighting style through dance. Slaves would be executed if caught as masters were afraid from the skills they could use to revolt. Similarly, the oral tradition of Anansi folktales were prohibited

Capoeira also applies a philosophical way of resistance that can be performed in a game, named jogo de capoeira (Almeida, 1996). The participators are called capoeiristas who perform together in a ritualized combat as they physically challenge each other’s weaknesses to prepare themselves for the real fight against slave masters.There is also a scintilla of trickery in the art form, to truly test the aspects of the competitors with deceitful offensive attacks while trying to demonstrate their superiority over each other. Furthermore, capoeira begins with the ginga with a purpose to have your capoeirista partner succumb as

They lived in absolute liberty, dancing, wearing extravagant dress, phoney amulets, uttering fanatical prayers and blessings. They lay around eating and indulging themselves, violating all privilege, law, order, public demeanor. (1993)

These described characteristics mirror the deceitful behavior of Anansi in his trickery mindset to fool the slave masters. Therefore, the freedom these quilombos gained gave them their freedom to dance free and prepare for revolts with the capoeira.
This form of martial arts was disguised through a dancing rhythm. Musically, the art form is practiced with ensemble drums. If singing is accompanied, then it is referred to as roda de capoeira, the “capoeira wheel” where the ring of participants defines the physical space for he who capoeiristas. Also, slaves performed capoeira in the rural areas, and one who played the berimbau would change the beat to alert the capoeiristas that there were people approaching their secrecy