HISTORY

CAPOEIRA

Capoeira is one of the most expressing forms of popular Brazilin culture. The essential characteristics are a synthesis of dance, fight, rhythm and rituals which are inherited from different African tribes. Capoeira is part of the rich cultural exchange among the slaves, representing and expressing the principals of the resistance of the Afro-Brazilian population, during the years of suffering from oppression.
Ever since, Capoeira has grown rapidly in the Brazilian society. Today it is admired and practiced by various people throughout Brazil and the world. With the mixture of history, music, sport and culture, it is not only an activity but an art that is tending to spread out.

THE RUTES

Capoiera finds its origins in the process of the colonisation of Brazil which was based on a system of slavery. The colonists were exploiting the indigenous population, but soon they started trading Africans from the colonies of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea. The arriving slaves brought along a range of movements that reminded of animal gestures in a special dance performance. The most important elements of this dance were moving feet and swinging bodies.

Suffering from the intense oppression and the brutality with which the sugar cane farmers punished them, their desire for liberty rose. This was the start for the fight for human rights and equality. In the first place trying to escape slavery, they were fleeing from their huts to the Quilombos.

These were places, hidden in the Brazilian rainforest, where they were able to live in freedom. The biggest among them was the Quilombo dos Palmares in the mountains of Barriga in the north-east of Brazil located in the state of Alaguas. They didn’t posses enough weapons to be able to defend themselves against the farmers. It was this need of protection that made them develop new forms of self-defence. Struggling to survive in economical terms and at the mean time being able to resist the colonist’s forces, the simple gestures of dance were transformed to a fight, symbolising defence and pride.

The art of Capoeira is today considered as a demonstration of cultural heritage. For a long time its history was marginalized and because of the absence of written documents, it was politically not accepted. Capoeira is a culture value and a form of identification within society. Like other public manifestations as there are Samba, Candomblé or Brazilian handcrafts, Capoeira plays an important role in the people’s ideology. Today Capoeira is establishing as a new cultural value and is taught and understood in an historical contex.