After the first night in Brasilia, everyone found themselves lying on their bed like a barrel of dead fish. None of us are used to traveling with such long flight while being pinned down to the chair of the plane, forcing yourself to fall asleep over and over again, constantly fighting to find the best position where it does not break your back like snapping chopsticks.
All the trouble and exhaustion we went through was worth it. After some dreadful fight with the dream eater, we went on a journey to meet some of the most respectful leaders of their own traditional game field. They’ve taken their precious time to show us, the team, and the rest of the world, the most magnificent and fascinating side of traditional games. I know it might sound a little bit, weird, but the experience was almost like if someone has pumped rainbows and unicorns into your head. That just opened up a whole new world, or to be precise, opened a path for us to revisit the forgotten world.
For myself, as an enthusiastic gamer, with the gaming memory from season one of League of Legend, owner of Playstation one and two, Gameboy classic, color, advance and NDS, would never think that games that do not have an online version can be such a pleasant and memorable experience.
If you think I’m bluffing, then I suggest you read on.
Pipa
Pipa is “kite” in Portuguese, and it is a traditional game that shares the same origin as China. The kites are all made by professional kite masters, it takes from days to weeks to finish one kite. There is a kite festival once a year in which people showcase their handmade, special kites, to tell the rest of what they’ve been up to other than smoking like a chimney.
There is also a combat competition between kites in which the objective is to take down the other flying kites. The weapon is being concealed not inside the kite, but with the string. Kites that uses in combat uses special string are blended with fiber glass so that it makes it sharp enough to disconnect the other kites from their master, the strings are so sharp that it cuts fingers like tofu.
Other than being forceful and aggressive, kites also possess special meanings in Brazil. Pipa symbolized peace and fun in Brazil, where people sends their message and blessing through flying the Pipa, letting it glide through the sky of Brazil.
Jongo
Personally, I would say the slave masters were quite gullible because Jongo is also a make-believe dance for the slaves to articulate their escape plans through music, dance, and lyrics. The slave masters were also being told to believe that the dance is a ritual that shall bring more slaves to work for them. Nowadays Jongo is no longer a dance of escape but a dance of happiness, freedom and joy, where Jongo players enjoy each other’s accompany by dancing through rhythms and music.
How to start
There isn’t any restrictions on the number that joins the circle, the more the merrier. However, you do want to know your steps well, because you do not want to be left hanging cold on the side of the circle. And to be a good Jongo player, all you have to be is be happy and lively, the dance of Jongo isn’t a demonstration of skill and dominance, but a celebration of joy and appreciation.
The dance of Jongo starts by holding hands with each other and pray, asking for the permission from the old souls to start Jongo with their blessing. After that, the whole group will rotate in anticlockwise while the chosen pair of dancers will perform the Umbigada. Umbigada is a set movements where players move their belly buttons towards each other without touching.
Rotation
Most of the time, men will lead the dance by standing in front of his to-be partner while performing the Umbigada. There can only be one couple dancing in the center at a time. Don’t worry about being left out, where everyone gets their chance to dance with their partner. Each pair of dancers gets about 3 to 4 Umbigada in each rotation.
Instrument
The drum is the major instrument in Jongo, 3 to be specific. They are the Candongueiro, Tambu, Caxambu. The smallest one is called the Candongueiro, then we have the Caxambu. At last, we have the Tambu. The Caxambu is the largest one, and the Tambu is the middle one. They all look very similar to each other, the only differences between the drums are their sizes and the sound that they produce.
Wearing
Most of the tradition games in Brazil emphasize freedom and joy, not rules and restrictions. So there aren’t really many limits to what the wearing should be or where should the dancing be held. However, to my observation, whites are the most common color code for their dressing, where most of the most experienced dancers were dressed in white. White dress, shirts and long pants.
Capoeira
The origin of Capoeira is still unknown to all of us, but there are many versions that articulate the story of the beginning of Capoeira. The one that is most well-known by the people is that Capoeira has roots in African culture, but was developed by Brazilian slaves brought over by the Portuguese from West African countries. These slaves were forced to work in horrendous, inhumane conditions. Thus, Capoeira, a form of martial art, was developed by slaves looking for a means to protect themselves without access to tools or weapons. Slave masters were being told that it was only a dance but sure we now know that it’s a practice of martial art. It’s just like a white lie, but a more deadly one.
Main movements
The essential of Capoeira is Ginga (referring the swinging movement that every player starts with). Then you have the basic movements of attack and defense.
Capoeira technique primarily focuses on kicking and sweeping to take your opponent down. However, Capoeira as a game does not aim to knock down or hurt an opponent, but rather emphasizes demonstration of skill.
Elbow/upper body strikes are prohibited unless the game is getting aggressive. the game relies upon the Rasteira take-down, a leg sweep, which allows the opponent to quickly recover. Kicks are slowed down inches before actually hitting an opponent as to not cause any harm while also demonstrating great skills and control. most Capoeira games are for fun, and players can be replaced by another play with just a gesture of extending their limbs into the circle of Capoeira.
The circle of Capoeira stops by the music or more like rhythm, per se.
What does it take?
A good Capoeira player plays with happiness. Skill is not the most important aspect. There are players that are blessed with agility, speed, singing or even with musical talent. All you need is your undivided presents, and also being physically-well-being. That's pretty much it.
Just a comma
Our journey does not end here, as there are more traditional games coming along that are worth the world’s acknowledgment. We are here in Brazil to do our best to preserve and safeguard the traditional games from being buried in the shadow of modernization.
I sincerely hope that everyone who has the chance to come across this writing is able to, take a little time out of their lives, to appreciate the things that were once being taken for granted for. It could be traditional games that we once forgotten, or the love that we receive from people who cared for us since Adam and Eve, or just a friendly nice gesture of holding the door for you from a stranger on the subway.
Be thankful.
