Capoeira: From Criminalization to a National Symbol
The Brazilian martial art Capoeira developed from an illegal practice in the 18th and 19th century to a sport recognized worldwide
Às vezes me chamam de negro,
pensando que vão me humilhar
mas o que eles não sabem é que só me fazem lembrar,
que eu venho daquela raça, que lutou pra se libertar, […]
que fez surgir de uma dança,
luta aqui, pode matar
Capoeira arma poderosa,
luta de libertação […]
Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that involves fight, acrobatics, and dance-like elements. Not only the body movements play an important role, but also the historical background, the musical accompaniment, and the balance of body, mind, and soul.
Both the origin as well as the formation of Capoeira are unsolved to this day; answers differ from group to group as well as from mestre to mestre: “No one can answer these questions with certainty, because the beginnings of Capoeira are deeply buried in the poorly-documented first 200 years of the slavery epoch in Brazil” (Mestre Acordeon 4). The destruction of countless valuable documents from the time of enslavement by the then founded Brazilian republic in 1890 has contributed to this gap. This is why there is still much research to be done and historians today have to rely on the mestres, the capoeiristas, as well as the stories told in the songs that are sung during the roda. In all likelihood, Capoeira evolved “from an amusement among men of the lower socio-economic classes of Brazil, predominantly Africans and their descendants who lived in the cities” (M. Acordeon 20).
The development of Capoeira is unique. In the 18th century, the first sources in written form thematizing Capoeira appear, namely in newspapers that reported on people violating the public order. Generally know, however, the martial art became only known to the public when it was officially banned as of 1889–one year after the official abolition of the enslavement system and only lifted in 1937. The ban on Capoeira did not cause its disappearance though, instead it emerged to a fight, sport, and symbol of resistance, practiced in more than 166 countries in the world today.
Criminalization of Capoeira (1890–1937)
The enslavers’ fear of revolts and uprisings of enslaved women and men led to the fact that not only capoeira, but also any gatherings of African and African-Brazilian enslaved people represented a threat to the authorities and were banned. The fear of their own “slaves” was due to the fact that the enslaved community was constantly growing: “When the Portuguese Court arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1808, the estimated number of slaves in the city was around 12,000, which constituted only 20% of the total population.” (Chavier, 529). Fourteen years later, this number tripled, so that in 1821, 36,000 enslaved people made up 45% of the total population of Rio de Janeiro. The proportion of the enslaved population continued to increase until, in 1834, more than 56% of the people living in Rio de Janeiro were enslaved. (Chavier, 529) An excerpt from the police book gives a good overview of the reasons for which enslaved people were arrested:
According to the police book, of the 4,853 arrests made in Rio de Janeiro between 1810 and 1821, 751 were fugitive slaves, 975 committed robbery, 483 participated in capoeira, 453 caused public disorder, and 63 played ‘prohibited games’. (Chavier, 529–30)
From the middle of the 19th century, capoeira became a “serious and major problem for public officials who did not consider capoeiras to be sportsmen or entertainers; in fact, capoeiras were accused of committing severe crimes, injuring and murdering peaceful citizens.” (Chavier, 530) The public described capoeiristas as criminals and troublemakers:
Travelers Kidder and Fletcher, who visited Rio de Janeiro in the mid-1850s, reiterated the views of public authorities by reporting that capoeiras attacked innocent citizens for no reason: “Night before last, after eight o’clock, an in- dividual named Mauricio was attacked by a band of capoeiras, who fell upon him with clubs, striking him upon the forehead, and gashing his thigh. (Chavier, 531)
On October 11, 1890, capoeira was legally banned by the Código Penal da República dos Estados Unidos do Brasil, decree 847, chapter eight: “Dos Vadios e Capoeiras.” Already in the title, the Capoeiristas are equated with “prowlers” or “vagrants” (vadios). Failure to earn a living, “[d]eixar de execitar profissão, officio, ou qualquer mister em que ganhe a vida […],” (Camera dos Deputados, Art. 399) was punishable by imprisonment from 15 to 30 days. If the arrested person was already known as a “vadio” or “vagabundo” (Código Penal da República, decree 847, chapter 8, Art. 399, §1°), he was obliged to pursue an occupation during the prison sentence: “Os maiores de 15 annos serão recolhidos a estabelecimentos disciplinares indus- triaes, onde poderão ser conservados até á idade de 21 annos” (§2°). If this punishment was violated, the most severe punishment of one to three years in a penal camp followed: “a colonias penaes que se fundarem em ilhas maritimas, ou nas fronteiras do territorio nacional, podendo para esse fim ser aproveitados os presidios militares existentes.” (Art. 400) This is followed by the prohibition to practice capoeira:
Fazer nas ruas e praças publicas exercícios de agilidade e destreza corporal conhecidos pela denominação capoeiragem; andar em correrias, com armas ou instrumentos capazes de produzir uma lesão corporal, provocando tumultos ou desordens, ameaçando pessoa certa ou incerta, ou incutindo temor de algum mal. (Art. 402)
Capoeira is described in this paragraph as a physical skill (destreza) to be prohibited as it disturbed public peace and order. Not only capoeira was prohibited, but also racing or running (correrias) as well as weapons or other objects that could cause injury, and any behavior associated with it that could cause tumult or fear or pose a threat to innocent people. Capoeira was thus characterized as a cause of mayhem, disorder, and riot. Similarly, Article 404 states that the punishment for practicing capoeira and disturbing the public peace was two to six months. Leaders of a capoeira group were subject to double that. If the culprit was arrested a second time, the penalty of Article 400 (banishment to a prison camp) applied. “The identification of the outlaw with Capoeira was so widespread that the simple word capoeira became a synonym for bum, band, and thief. Because of the confusion between the people and the art they practiced, Capoeira was stigmatized as an abominable social sickness.” (M. Acordeon, 25.)
Brazilian Nation-Building
On November 15, 1889 the military organized a coup against the unstable imperial government led by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, who proclaimed the Republic. Afro-Brazilian society, the majority of the population, was actively excluded from the nation-building process. This was also due to the fact that the African and Afro-Brazilian population did not receive any compensation after the official abolition of slavery in 1888, nor were they supported in integrating into society.
The national self-image in Brazil was not created by the majority of society, but by a politically powerful elite that carried a constructed and, among other things, racist image of the country both externally and internally. The Brazilian elite of the 19th century was strongly oriented toward Europe, and the future nation was to be as “white” as possible:
Under the rising influence of racial theories originating in Europe, part of the national and regional elites were concerned with “whitening” at least the southeast and the south of Brazil in the long term by means of European immigration. With the help of the immigrants, the elites tried to bring their country, which was perceived as underdeveloped and regressive, into line with the European-North American ideal of “order, progress and civilization” by “improving the race. (Schuster 53)
Afro-Brazilian culture was seen as backward and this image did not fit a country that was now focused on growth, modernization and re-Europeanization. “These ‘inner peripheries’ imagined by the elites in the course of nation-building were seen as ‘remnants of earlier stages of development and culturally distant marginal zones. (Schuster, 33) Additionally consolidated the Penal Code of 1890 the elite hierarchy, the power of the smaller elite over the majority of the population, and increased injustice and discrimination within the population.
Capoeira as a sport (1937–1984)
Capoeira spent almost half a century in illegality. But instead of disappearing, it remained an integral part of Afro-Brazilian culture. Mestre Bimba played a significant role in the recognition of martial arts by the government and society. Mestre Bimba, whose real name is Manoel dos Reis Machado, was born in Salvador de Bahia on November 23, 1899 and is the founder of the fighting style Luta Regional Baiana, which is known today as Capoeira Regional. Bimba founded the first Capoeira school in 1932. His school was officially recognized by the government through the Office of Education and Public Assistance on July 9, 1937. In the same year the ban was lifted by the nationalist dictator Getúlia Vargas, who wanted to establish with it a national sport.
Mestre Bimba developed a new ideology for capoeira: for example, children had to have good grades in school to participate in his training. He also established rules for the practitioners of Capoeira Regional. For example, drinking and smoking was not allowed. The fundamentals had to be practiced every day and children had to have good grades in school to participate in his classes. In this way, the recognition of this practice improved.
The advent of Mestre Bimba in the earlier thirties and the diffusion of his work marks the beginning of modern-day Capoeira. In addition to becoming accepted as a social activity, a challenging game, and a national sport, Capoeira also developed as a means of self-development and an expression of freedom for anyone dealing with his or her own self and social constraints, especially for those who struggle to survive in the present economic situation of Brazil. (M. Acordeon 5)
Capoeira was recognized as a national sport in 1972 under the auspices of the Confederação Brasileira de Pugilismo (CBP). “This historical fact was very striking, as around the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s there was a great increase in the number of capoeira teaching institutions, a fact that contributed greatly to the spreading of capoeira into schools, universities and day care centers.” (Moreira) While the first competition was held in São Paulo in 1975, a wide variety of conflicts of interest and regional differences between the respective capoeira groups prevented the sport from being standardized and thus also from being recognized as an Olympic discipline.
A Part of Popular Culture
From the mid-1980s, interest in capoeira began to grow abroad as well. In 1993, the film “Only the Strong” by Sheldon Lettich helped the martial art to grow in recognition and enthusiasm. Despite bad reviews, the film brought attention to the martial art that it had not received before. With the spread of Capoeira abroad, the martial art gained retroactively increasing recognition in its own country until it was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture and the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN) on November 20, 2008. Currently on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for Brazil are the verbal and graphic expressions of the Wajapi, the Samba de Roda of Recôncavo, Bahia, the music and dance performances of the Frevo at the Carnival in Recife, the festivities “Círio de Nazaré” in Belém and the Roda de Capoeira:
A capoeira é uma manifestação cultural presente hoje em todo o território brasileiro e em mais de 150 países, com variações regionais e locais criadas a partir de suas ‘modalidades’ mais conhecidas: as chamadas ‘capoeira angola’ e ‘capoeira regional’. […] A Roda de Capoeira é um elemento estruturante desta manifestação, espaço e tempo onde se expressam simultaneamente o canto, o toque dos instrumentos, a dança, os gol- pes, o jogo, a brincadeira, os símbolos e rituais de herança africana – notadamento banto – recriados no Brasil.
The development of Capoeira might not be a classical success story, but in fact part of the evolution of a country that is characterized by political contradictions and social injustice and economic and political progress: “Another decisive matter for the coming years will be the preservation of democracy in the face of Brazil’s deficiencies and social inequalities. […] [However,] throughout the recent decades, Brazil has built a significant material foundation, and different sectors of the society have begun to express themselves with greater autonomy.” (Fausto 335)
“The authenticity of Capoeira [within and] outside Brazil must be upheld by the knowledge of its history, respect for its traditions and rituals, understanding of its philosophy, and the appropriate use of its movements.” (M. Acordeon 4) Capoeira is gaining autonomy; today, both teachers and mestres carry the responsibility to pass on the tradition and the history of the martial art and to not led it fall into oblivion.
Sources
Câmara dos Deputados: Código Penal da República dos Estados Unidos do Brasil, decree 847, chapter 8, Art. 399, 400, 402, 403.
Chavier, Maya Talmon: “The Criminalization of Capoeira in Nineteenth-Century Brazil”, in: Hispanic American Historical Review 82:3, Duke University Press: Durham 2002, 529.
Fausto, Boris: A Concise History of Brazil. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 1999.
Mestre Acordeon: Capoeira, A Brazilian Art Form, History, Philosophy, and Practice. North Atlantic Books: California 1986.
Moreira, Ramon: “Sua origem e sua inserção no contexto escolar”, in: Marcelo Anginho Cardoso: “A prática da capoeira no período da ditadura militar brasileira: uma breve revisão histórica”, 2010. (Last access September 2, 2015)
Pelegrini, Prof. Dr. Sandra C. A.: “A gestão do patrimônio imaterial brasileiro na contemporaneidade”, in: História. São Paulo, 27 (2), 2008.
Serviço Público Federal, Ministério da Cultura, Instituto do Patrímônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN). Certidão. Brasília, Distrito Federal, November 20, 2008, 1.
