Capoeira: The History of an Afro-Brazilian Martial Art

Therefore, when enemy capoeiras meet in a fortress (tavern) the Guaiamú asks for wine and rum,

spills the latter on the ground and steps on it in swaying motion (‘saracoteia em cima’) and finally

drops the wine over the rum. This is enough to start the fight, because a capoeira will not allow his colour

to be stepped on and even less it being covered by the colour of his opponents. For that reason many

honest workers that used coloured ribbons have been cut with razors.^93

Although African traditions contributed significantly to the development of these rituals of conflict, it would
still be inadequate to view them at this stage as primarily ‘African-derived’. The colours used by the two
main capoeira ‘nations’ are a case in point. Whilst the use of yellow and red in the early slave capoeira can,
as we have seen, be linked to West Central African traditions, the red and the white of Nagoas and
Guaiamus coincide with the colours of the Holy Spirit. This was the most popular Catholic cult in
nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro, and its celebration precisely constituted a prime locus for intense cultural
circulation between different ethnic and social groups and the emergence of creolized expressions of popular
culture.^94
Before and even during street fights, gangs challenged each other with verses to increase tension and
provoke their adversaries. According to Abreu, the Guaiamus sang:

Little Theresa de Jesus

Open the door and turn off the light,

I want to see Nagoa dying

At the door of [the church of] Good Jesus

To this the Nagoas answered:

The castle holds aloft the banner,

Saint Francis rang the bell,

Guaiamu are complaining

[Because] Manoel Black has arrived

All sources agree that street fights between maltas were extremely violent. Gang members made use of all
weapons at their disposal (clubs and knives) and confrontations often ended with numerous casualties. The
rituals of gang culture framed even the slaughter of adversaries:

There was a festival at the Saint Rita church. The nagoas turned up around one o’clock in the

afternoon in that Guaiamu spot; the latter received them with drawn knifes and most distinguishable

among them was Jorge, the Navy chief, who grabbed a Nagoa by his hair and thrusted a knife three

times in his heart, letting him fall, bloodstained, face downwards on the pavement.

It is believed among these villains, that when a victim falls in this position, his murderer is almost

certain to be caught by the Justice. Jorge, however, having been notified of this occurrence by a

companion, went back, grabbed again the cadaver, and for a last time buried the murderous blade in

the body of his victim, disappearing subsequently.^95

Unfortunately, not many biographical details are known about the famous capoeiras of that period, unless
they belonged to the elites. The case of Manduca da Praia illustrates how capoeiras inserted themselves into
local economy and politics. The second part of his nickname (‘from the beach’) derived from his

CAPOEIRAGEM IN RIO DE JANEIRO 87