Capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian practice combining martial arts, dance, acrobatics, music, and ritual in a game played between participants.
Roda: A circle of musicians and participants that frames capoeira games through music, singing, and clapping. The roda surrounds the game and sets its rhythm, rules, and social atmosphere.
African diaspora in Brazil: The dispersal and formation of African-descended communities and cultures in Brazil through migration, enslavement, and resistance. Capoeira emerged within the cultural world created by African-descended people in Brazil.
Afro-Brazilian culture: Cultural traditions formed in Brazil through African heritage, Indigenous and European influences, and local histories. Capoeira is one expression within this broader, diverse cultural field.
Capoeira Regional: A capoeira style developed by Mestre Bimba, known for structured sequences, training methods, and a faster game. It shows how capoeira became systematized for teaching and public presentation.
Brazilian nationalism: Political and cultural movements that construct and promote a shared Brazilian national identity. Capoeira’s acceptance and national symbolism grew alongside efforts to define Brazilian identity.
Ginga: The foundational swaying step of capoeira, from which attacks, escapes, and feints flow. Its continuous motion keeps participants mobile and makes their intentions difficult to read.
Slavery in Brazil: The system of enslavement that shaped Brazilian society from colonization until abolition in 1888. Capoeira’s development is inseparable from the conditions and resistance of enslaved people.
Candomblé: An Afro-Brazilian religion shaped by West African traditions, with ritual communities, deities, music, and ceremony. Its shared cultural setting helps situate capoeira’s ritual and musical dimensions without equating the practices.
Capoeira competitions: Organized events in which capoeira practitioners play games under specified formats or judging criteria. Competition adapts the roda’s exchange to formal sporting and performance settings.
Cultural appropriation: The adoption or use of elements from a culture by people or institutions outside it, often amid unequal power relations. Capoeira’s global spread raises questions about ownership, credit, and unequal cultural exchange.