The first time I heard and saw the Berimbau, I was amazed. Some other people were not used to its sound and did not understand it. And while learning more about Capoeira, a student does understand that having a Berimbau and learning how to play it and that listening to the sounds and the orders of [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘African Roots’
September 4, 2008
African Roots IV – Fight
The slaves who were transported to the Americas were not weak. At least the probability was high that weak people were not bought on the coast of Africa. Young men were interesting, especially the strong ones. Of course they were in chains and of course they did not have much to resist against European firearms, [...]
August 27, 2008
African Roots III – Rhythm
“Africa is at once the most romantic and the most tragic of continents. Its very names reveal its mystery and wide-reaching influence. It is the ‘Ethiopia’ of the Greek, the ‘Kush’ and ‘Punt’ of the Egyptian, and the Arabian ‘Land of the Blacks.’ To modern Europe it is the ‘Dark Continent’ and ‘land of Contrasts’; [...]
August 19, 2008
African Roots II – Faith
(photo by Emilio Navarinho)
Oxalá que me guie Oxalá who guides me
Por todo caminho the whole way
Nâo deixe na rodaa fé me faltar Don’t let my faith fail in the roda
Sou vento que sopra eu sou capoeira I am the wind that blows I am Capoeira
A luta de um povo prá se libertar The fight of a [...]
August 4, 2008
African Roots I – Ancestors
(Jean Baptiste Debret, 1835)
More than 3 million Africans were enslaved in Brazil before the abolition in 1888. The Portuguese did, for economical and political reasons, have only access to certain African people, which is the reason why most of the ancestral nations of today’s Afrobrazilians are known.
In this first post of the African Roots series [...]
July 26, 2008
African Roots – series on Angoleiro’s Blog
Ié! Ié!
Capoeira é uma arte, Capoeira is an art,
Capoeira é uma arte, Capoeira is an art,
Que o negrou inventou. which the negro invented.
Foi na briga de duas zebras In the brawl between two zebras
que N’Golo se criou. the N’Golo did evolve.
Chegando aqui no Brasil As it arrived here in Brazil
Capoeira se chamou. it was [...]
July 23, 2008
A small lesson in History: Mandinga
The other day I read a comment of a person called Kimbandeira on the Mandingueira blog. One question she asked in there was: “Do you actually know what Mandinga means?” When I saw this I thought “well, I do have an idea about it” and then I remembered that I actually had gathered some information [...]
