quiring knowledge of capoeira and the vicious quality of its use as a street-
fighting system. The customary label for this art, Capoeira Angola, pays
homage to its legendary African origins.
In the late 1920s to early 1930s, however, a new way to study capoeira
became available. During that period, Manoel dos Reis Machado—Mestre
(Master) Bimba—opened his school and began attempts both to legitimize
the art and to systematize its transmission. The difficulties he faced are sug-
gested by the fact that it was not until 1937 that his school, Centro de Cul-
tura Física e Capoeira Regional, was granted official state recognition.
Mestre Bimba’s system came to be known as Capoeira Regional (after his
school’s name) in order to distinguish it from the traditional style still
played on the streets and taught by conservative mestres—Capoeira An-
gola. In contrast to the earlier trial-and-error learning acquired by entering
the roda, Machado developed a structured curriculum in a training hall set-
ting. He has been accused of appropriating elements of Asian arts, particu-
larly karate and jûjutsu, into his style of capoeira. The best evidence sug-
gests, however, that his system grew from traditional street capoeira with
some influences from batuque(a rough game of kicking and tripping with
obvious martial qualities) via his father. Nevertheless, the structure
Machado set up is imbued with elements familiar to students of many Asian
martial arts, such as formalized exercises containing series of basic move-
ments (sequencias), uniforms consisting of white trousers and T-shirts, and
colored belts indicating rank (cordãos). The cordão system is not uniform—
different local clubs (grupos) use different colors to indicate rank or level of
experience—nor has it been universally adopted—those organizations fol-
lowing the Angola tradition do not use belts, or white uniforms, at all.
Capoeira is said to be “played”; therefore, a match is labeled a jôgo
(a game). The jôgo takes place in a ring called a roda (wheel) formed by
participants waiting their turns to play. Roda is also the label used for an
occasion for capoeira play, for example, “next Sunday’s roda.” The jôgo
is played to the musical accompaniment of percussion instruments derived
in the New World from African archetypes: the berimbau (a large musical
bow utilizing a gourd resonator that is played by striking its metal bow-
string with a stick), the pandeiro(tambourine), the agogô(a pair of clap-
perless bells struck with a metal stick), the reco-reco(a notched scraper),
and the atabaque(conga drum). The berimbau is the primary instrument
and is venerated by players. For example, its placement provides spatial
orientation for play, in that its location is called pé do berimbau(foot of
the berimbau), and players enter the roda after kneeling facing one an-
other and performing a private ritual (e.g., making the sign of the cross)
in front of the berimbau. Thus, the instrument creates a “sacred space” in
the roda.
Capoeira 63