When Capoeira was a crime
A journey from criminalization to cultural heritage
Existe em português
Between 1890, after the proclamation of the Republic of Brazil, and the final years of the 1920s, capoeira references could be found, not in cultural literature of the time but in the Penal Code of the Republic. The name capoeira itself became a pejorative term applied to vagrants, thieves and undesirables, but let’s return to this theme later while we take a look at the possible etymologies of the word.
Etymology
The word ‘capoeira’ was registered for the first time in 1712 by Rafael Bluteau in a dictionary he made called “Portuguese and Latin Vocabulary”, though its exact etymology is unknown. Several theories exist, the first of which was proposed by Brazilian author José de Alencar in his novel Iracema when he suggested that capoeira is Tupi for caa-apuam-era (a small, virgin forest). Another Brazilian lexicographer’s theory said the word was connected to the name of a small partridge bird and the distinct way the male would defend his territory.
Yet another theory comes from author Brasil Gerson who believed capoeira referred to large baskets for saving wood and carrying chickens which slaves would transport to the marketplace. During their breaks, they would enjoy themselves by jogando capoeira1. In much the way that the –eiro in brasileiro is associated with a profession (those who transported brazil wood), the name of the big baskets may have been passed onto those who transported them.
While all these possible explanations are good and interesting, the most likely scenario for the origin of the word is that it’s simply a mixture of these theories. In the same way we use familiar, yet opposing phrases for just about any situation that requires a solution (“two heads are better than one”, but also, “there are too many cooks in the kitchen”), each possible explanation for the etymology of capoeira could very well have been popularly believed notions among different social groups. We have to remember, though, that these were tumultuous times for slaves in Brazil and just like the “-eiro in brasileiro” example, perhaps the slaves sought freedom upon escape in the small forested areas the Amerindians called capoeiras, and thus the slaves took the name of the areas they typically hid in.
Road to Criminalization
The resistance of the maroon communities2 along the northeastern coast of Brazil in the 18th century showed just how important capoeira was. As the Dutch invaded, thousands of slaves took advantage of the confusion and escaped their masters. They formed groups called maltas in order to defend themselves and their territory with capoeira.
Rio de Janeiro also played an important role in capoeira’s history as most slaves in Brazil resided either there (or in Bahia). A story about capoeira and Rio wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Major Vidigal, said to be fortiter in re, suaviter in modo3.
In the 1820s, during what was Brazil’s First Empire, the top enforcer in the colonial Carioca police force, and one of the most influential and powerful men in Rio de Janeiro was Major Miguel Nunes Vidigal. Being as important as he was, he often received gifts, some of them lavish, such as the land on which a favela now exists.
Benedictine monks gave Major Vidigal an extensive piece of land where they had a monestary, ranging from Dois Irmãos to the sea, where he built the Chácara do Vidigal.
The city of Rio, back then, much like now, was said to be chaotic, where robbery and murder went unpunished. The royal response was the tall but sweet-voiced terror, Major Vidigal, a cold-blooded, vicious destroyer of quilombos and a hunter of escaped slaves who not only hated criminals, but practicioners of candomblé, samba and capoeira. This often translated to the poor and those of darker skin, who were routinely tortured on his orders and by his hand, with a whip he carried on his person. The Major’s reputation would eventually give rise to the phrase lá vem o Vidigal, which came to mean something terrible was coming, as he was also known for his “Ceia de Camarões”, a particularly nasty torture session reserved mostly for capoeiristas, those without work and, by relation, serenata singers.
Two stories of note come to mind regarding the type of people he usually targeted. Despite his distaste for these types, it is said that he once successfully called upon capoeiristas to fight off a revolt by German & Irish mercenary troops [1]. As for serenata singers, he once told a judge that the only thing necessary to convict the person presently accused was to have a look at his fingers, as they were obviously those of a guitarist!
Epigram by famous playwright Arthur Azevedo:
“In that time, Vidigal was famous,
More resentful than an evil beast,
He had sworn to his gods to imprison me
To give me in the police station, the stick.”
The Calabouço prison, located in a military installation at the bottom of the Castelo hill in front of Guanabara bay, was the landing place for any slave that misbehaved or was thought to have misbehaved. As per an agreement between the State and the slave owners, any slave could be brought there to receive a “corrective whipping” of 100 lashes for the price of 160 réis. Prison records from 1857, for example, show that 80 slaves were jailed that year for capoeira while only 30 were jailed for running away. A few years later, in 1862, the capoeira-related arrests totaled 404. Eventually, what may have been considered a suspicious reason for arrest became a nationwide law signed by Brazilian president Deodoro da Fonseca.
The 18th chapter of the Brazilian Penal Code of 1890 deals with the subject of “Vagabonds and Capoeiras”. Under the 487th Decree, one can find the following:
Decrees of the Provisional Government
Art. 402. Performing, on the streets and in public plazas, exercises of agility and bodily skill known by the denomination capoeiragem: to attack quickly, with weapons or instruments capable of producing bodily lesions, provoking commotions or disorder, threatening a specific or unspecific person, or instilling fear of harm: Penalty — sentencing to a jail cell for two to six months.
Art. 403. If you are a foreigner, you will be deported after serving your sentence [2].
Something that may have contributed to the criminalization of capoeira is malandragem, which refers to trickery, malice or deceit. As a martial art, being able to trick one’s opponent can be a matter of life and death, so if a slave could make a fight seem like a dance, that could have been quite advantageous when viewed by, or enacted against, their masters. In a way, it was the darker sense of malandragem, as seen by those in power, that led to capoeira being criminalized. The lighter form of malandragem that existed within the game, among players, was just one of the intrinsic values that eventually helped in giving capoeira a better name.
Bimba
In the late 1920’s, times were changing and one man took notice. His name was Manuel dos Reis Machado - better known as Mestre Bimba - and by making capoeira a sport that offered all of the training and discipline that any other athletic endeavor required, he uplifted the game and gave those who played it something to be proud of.
Mestre Bimba went on to open the first capoeira school in 1932 in Salvador da Bahia where he taught Capoeira Regional. In making students wear white and earn their skill level, in the form of a belt, Mestre Bima gave capoeira a wider appeal with the public and thereby demarginalized its practice. Capoeira remained illegal until 1937, when Brazil’s president at the time, Getúlio Vargas, attended a demonstration in Bahia and approved of it, leading to the ban being lifted.
Even decades after his passing, Mestre Bimba remained a revered figure, spoken about with deep respect and emotion by the many students he trained. His influence is undeniable - today, capoeira is practiced in over 150 countries across five continents, a testament to his legacy.
Recognizing its cultural significance, Brazil’s National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) registered Roda de Capoeira as a cultural heritage asset in 2008. In 2014, UNESCO further cemented its status by designating it an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity [3]. What was once a crime in Brazil is now one of its most recognizable cultural traditions.
Additional Information
1 - A note on the Calabouço
Sources
1 - The 'ecravos brancos' of Rio de Janeiro, 1826-28
2 - Anti-capoeira decree (Capítulo XIII)
3 - Brazil's capoeira gains UN cultural heritage status
jogar means both play and throw
free societies (aka quilombos) for runaway slaves
Latin for "strong in action, gentle in manner”