Latineos - Latin America, Caribbean, arts, culture

The Need for Capoeira

The impetus for the creation of Capoeira was the treatment slaves had to endure at the hands of the Portuguese who had colonised Brazil.  The main cash crop in the region was sugar cane, a product which required extensive hand cultivation at that time.  Sugar plantations were extensive and relied almost exclusively on slave labour.  Conditions in the fields were harsh and living conditions were inhumane.  

These circumstances, combined with the use of vicious physical punishments for even the smallest infraction, meant that slaves became desperate for a way to escape.  Factors arguing against a successful escape included the slaves' lack of tools, their unfamiliarity with the geography and native habitats of Brazil, and their inability to communicate with one another since slaves taken from the same African region were usually sold to different plantations to prevent the likelihood of an organized rebellion.

In this atmosphere, the need arose for a way to fight without weapons and in such a way that an escaped slave could survive in the wilds of Brazil even as he evaded capture by the colonial officials who would be equipped with weapons and horses.  Thus was born the martial arts form of Capoeira.

Capoeira as a Tool in War

The quick reflexes and heightened agility required in Capoeira enabled some escaped slaves to manage to remain free. These slaves tended to settle in areas that were far from plantations and difficult to reach.  Over time, settlements of escaped slaves grew up in these areas.  Called quilombos, these settlements eventually became havens for a mix of peoples including indigenous people who wanted to live free of Portuguese officials or who objected to the Catholic extremist policies that dominated some parts of the nation.  

Even some Europeans came to live in the quilombos, but the very success of the settlements meant that they came to the attention of colonial officials, who would periodically launch attacks.  Capoeira thus gradually came to be used in warfare; the Portuguese soldiers had difficulty defending themselves against a fighting technique that involved strange moves they did not know how to counter.

Quilombo Capoeira was instrumental in the military victories experienced by Quilombo dos Palmeras dos Palmeras was the largest of these settlements.  Over the course of more than a century, it successfully fought off more than 20 small attacks and almost that number of large invasions by colonial forces.  Capoeira was instrumental in the military victories experienced by Quilombo dos Palmeras.

Movement Against Capoeira

As knowledge of Capoeira spread, its use in Brazil became more widespread.  The local government in Rio de Janeiro went so far as to outlaw this form of martial art entirely in an effort to keep urban slaves from using it.  The prohibition, however, did little to stem the will to practice it.  

According to Matthias Röhrig Assunção, who has done an extensive study of crime records in mid-1800s Brazil, 288 slaves were jailed in Calbouço between 1857 and 1858.  Of these, nearly a third had been arrested for practicing Capoeira, a figure which is 300% higher than the number of slaves jailed for attempted escapes.  

Paradoxically, the end of slavery in 1888 served to marginalize Capoeira Paradoxically, the end of slavery in 1888 served to marginalize Capoeira.  Freed slaves found themselves without a way to make a living as businesses preferred paid labour to consist of European immigrants or indigenous people.  With few options, many who had Capoeira skills began using them to obtain employment in a variety of professions that might call for the use of intimidation and force.  Thus, Capoeira came to be associated with mercenaries and henchmen.

This led to a nationwide prohibition against Capoeira in 1890.  For decades, the laws against Capoeira were so strict that even the word was forbidden.  

Mestre Bimba and the End of the Prohibition

Capoeira became legal again as of 1940. This was due in no small part to the contributions of Mestre Bimba, who taught Capoeira skills, terming them Luta Regional Baiana, which indicates a regional fighting style from the area around Bahia. Bimba developed a systematic method of training fighters in Capoeira and altered it by incorporating additional combat skills as well as movements from a variety of other fighting disciplines such as wrestling.  

By 1937 Bimba had opened a school to teach Luta Regional Baiana; he had government permission to do so even though Capoeira was destined to remain illegal for three more years.

Today, Capoeira is one of Brazil's major cultural exports. Experts in this martial art have emigrated from Brazil to every populated continent, sharing their expertise in one of the world's most creative and unusual forms of martial arts.