The Hidden History of Capoeira: A Collision of Cultures in the Brazilian Battle Dance

One: A Rio de Janeiro Slave Game

 one A Rio de Janeiro Slave Game Part 1. Capoeira as Viewed by Strangers The Game of Capoeira and Disturbances of the Peace In the early nineteenth century, travelers and foreign diplomats noted in their memoirs that on arriving in Rio de Janeiro for the first time, people might think they had landed by mistake in an African town as there were more blacks than whites in the streets at all hours, day and night. This became evident in 1808, when the Portuguese court, fleeing from Napoleon’s troops, arrived in Rio. The enslaved population, numbering 12,000 at that time—about 20 percent of the urban population—grew rapidly, and by 1821 it was estimated at over 36,000, about 45 percent of the city’s inhabitants.1 The Africans living in the city were mostly slaves engaged in heavy manual labor as servants, porters, sailors, peddlers , and so on. In their free time, mainly on Sundays and holidays, they would gather in public squares to participate in their traditional dances. John Robertson , who traveled in Brazil in 1808, gives a detailed description of groups of slaves congregating in the squares, each according to their nation, and dancing in separate circles of 300 to 400 people each: “There were natives of Mozam-  Chapter 1 bique and Quilumana, Cabinda and Luanda, Benguela and Angola.”2 At least six nations took part in these events; with each of the six circles comprising 300 dancers, there were 1,800 dancers altogether. The German painter Johann Moritz Rugendas (João Maurício Rugendas), who traveled in Brazil between 1822 and 1824, described the blacks’ celebrations, which began as soon as the working day was done, as well as on holidays and feast days.3 He described the tradition of electing a “King of Kongo” during the festival of Nossa Senhora do Rosário and the dances: the batuque, which was the most popular, and the lundu, fandango, and capoeira. He described the capoeira as a “warlike, much more aggressive dance”: Two contestants face each other, each trying to butt his adversary in the chest with his head and knock the opponent down. They turn cartwheels and pause as they launch into an attack. Sometimes they stand like he-goats, butting at each other. The game often turns into a wild brawl when knives are drawn and blood is shed.4 This violent game annoyed the authorities so much that they were determined to root it out with all the means at their disposal. Writs were signed stating that Capoeiras must be arrested and severely punished.5 Urgent letters were addressed to police inspectors and army officers, demanding that they tighten up patrols and vigilance in trouble spots. Anybody suspected of violating these orders was arrested.6 On September 30, 1812, Pedro Benguela, slave of José Joaquim , was arrested “for being in Carioca Square and playing capoeira with a sharp razor.”7 He was sentenced to 100 lashes. On January 2, 1813, three consecutive charges were brought against detainees “caught playing capoeira.” The first was a slave captured in the Botafogo neighborhood who was sentenced to 200 lashes; the second, a slave named Tomas, received 50 lashes; and the sentence of the third, João, was 200 lashes.8 On January 15, 1819, a slave named Alexander Mozambique was arrested and accused of practicing capoeira. He was sentenced to three months in jail and 300 lashes.9 In January 1821, Ignácio Mossange, Ant ônio da Cunha’s slave, was arrested and punished for “playing capoeira with a razor—300 lashes and three months in the penitentiary.”10 Leila Mezan Algranti ’s study established that between 1810 and 1821, of a total of 4,853 arrests 438 were Capoeiras. Participating in capoeira was the second most common cause for arrest after attempted escape, which accounted for 751 entries in the records.11 Numerous sources indicate that as early as 1815 delinquent slaves were exploited as laborers in public works projects. Many were sent to work on the Estrada da Tijuca—a large-scale road construction project that started during the reign of King João VI. It was designed to connect Rio de Janeiro to the immense arid re- A Rio de Janeiro Slave Game  gions to the east (Sertão Carioca) and the new road to Minas Gerais. The historian Carlos Eugênio Líbano Soares thinks that these punishments were...