What's Capoeira Angola?
Capoeira Angola is one of the many cultural weapons used by the Africans to break the chains of enslavement
in Brazil. Music was played during Capoeira sessions to teach the rhythmic heart of the art and to mask its power.
In front of the enslavers it looked like playfulness, acrobatic dancing, and joking around.
Eventually the enslavers realized its power and outlawed Capoeira Angola.
Death was the penalty paid if you were caught during the slavery years.
For almost 400 years Capoeira Angola was taught and practiced in secret.
Only in the 1930's did this African martial art become legal to teach and practice.
Capoeira Angola could be called a challenge dance. A challenge dance is an event where the participants are competing against each other to see who's got the baddest moves and the most creative choreography. Capoeira Angola adds another element to this type of competition by combining dance with martial arts. A capoeira game is characterized by dynamic movements such as cartwheels, handstands, spinning kicks and sweeps.
It is interesting to note that there is little use of offensive hand techniques in Capoeira Angola. Some have attributed this to the belief that slaves had to fight with their hands immobilized by chains and therefore emphasized foot and leg techniques. It is more likely however that the absence of hand techniques is based on an ancient Kongo tradition in which the hands should be used for good work, i.e, creative activities, while the feet should be used for bad work, i.e, punishment and destruction. Dr. Fu-Kiau Phd. (a Kongo cultutre scholar) relates relevant proverb in kiKongo "Mooko mu tunga, malu mu diatikisa" (Hands are to build, feet are to destroy).
The History of our LineageOur club is proud to be part of a very distinguished lineage. Our teacher Mestre Joao Grande is a highly respected master with more than 50 years experience plaing capoeira angola. During this time he has travelled to many parts of the world, received many accolades, including being a recipient of the United State's most prestigious honor in the folk and traditional arts - The National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in Sept of 2001 and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Upsala College, East Orange, NJ in March of 1996. He also appeared in a major motion picture, The Interpreter with a group of his students in 2004. Joao Grande's teacher Mestre Pastinha, Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, is a legendary figure from capoeira's past. He openned the first Capoeira Angola academy in Salvador, Bahia in 1941, he also wrote the first book about capoeira in 1964 and travelled to Dakar, Senegal in 1966 to perform capoeira angola at the 1st Festival of Black Arts. Mestre Pastinha not only was was a talented capoeirista, but also was very charismatic and love to wax philosophical about nature of capoeira. His journals and recordings are filled with many treasures shedding light on the great circle of life and the small ring of capoeira. Vincent Ferrerira Pastinha learned capoeira from Mestre Benedito,who was an african from Angola. Mestre Benedito saw Pastinha recieve a beating from an older boy and took him aside and and taught him the n'golo or capoeira angola to defend himself. The n'golo or zebra dance was a challenge dance from angola performed by men of marrying age when girls went through their rite of passage to become women. The winner of the n'golo was able to choose a bride without having to pay a dowry. The dowry is a sum of money or possesions given to the family of the bride by the groom upon marriage.
|
The jogo-de-capoeira (game of capoeira) takes place in a circular area called a roda (wheel, circle) pronounced ho-da.
It's important to keep in mind that when we talk about the roda, we're referring to the gathering of people to play as
well as the physical space where the game is played. At the top of the roda is the bateria, which is the ensemble of instrument players.
The game of capoeira angola begins when two players enter the circular area called a roda (wheel, circle) and squat at the foot of
the berimbaus, the principal instruments of the bateria, which is the ensemble of instrument players.
One player will sing a ladainha, a ritual song of commencement, after which he will begin a corrido,
a type of song that's sung while playing. The song is then passed on to one of the musicians as the jogo-de-capoeira begins.