Conclusion
The ladainha ‘Brazil said yes, Japan said no’, still sung in contemporary rodas, invokes the participation of
a capoeira in World War II, when Brazil sent an expeditionary corps to Italy to fight under US command
against Nazi Germany. After the 1940s capoeira in Salvador underwent major changes. Not much is known
before the 1860s, when the art started to be mentioned and described in written sources. Therefore we can
consider the two international wars Brazil actively participated in, and which are remembered in
‘traditional’ capoeira songs—the War of Paraguay (1865–1870) and World War II (1941–1945 for
Brazil),—to roughly delimit the period where the vadiação developed and was consolidated in Bahia.
The vadiação, or capoeira in its ‘classic’ form, emerged through amalgamation and reinvention of
African combat games and the integration of elements from the broader colonial and Afro-Bahian popular
culture. Unfortunately we still do not know any details of that process prior to the 1860s, or its prehistory—
the period for which no written sources seem to exist in Bahia. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century
capoeira was still practised by the descendants of the former slaves, now toiling as stevedores, artisans,
sailors or fishermen. It remained an almost exclusively male pastime in the city of Bahia and the adjacent
Recôncavo during subsequent decades.
The life of these men was shaped by the labour relations of post-emancipation, their integration into their
poor neighbourhoods, and their participation in the Bahian festive culture. That popular culture was
extremely dynamic. Developments resulted not only from socio-economic transformations, but also came
through the confrontations with the elite culture and policies. During post-emancipation the elites waged
‘culture wars’ against the aspects of subaltern culture considered a hindrance to progress. In particular
manifestations identified as ‘African’ easily became subject of state repression. Yet the subjugation of what
elites considered ‘barbaric customs’ was seldom straightforward and consistent, depending rather on the
case and the moment. Thus elite repression of capoeira was occasionally intense and methodical, but at other
times rather low profile and unsystematic. The art adapted and survived.
As a result of socioeconomic transformations, demographic change and elite pressures, many African
traditions and colonial customs disappeared, or were de-emphasized. African languages, for instance, were
no longer heard in the streets of Salvador and no Creole survived. Yet due to the tenacious resistance of
many women and men, some traditions of their African and Creole forebears could be preserved and
adapted to new environments, such as the cult of the saints, the cuisine or many recreational activities.
Given its exposure to elite repression, capoeira crystallized, alongside candomblé, as a core marker of black
or Afro-Bahian identity, whilst at the same time continuing its expansion among the broader mestiço
population.
The abolition of slavery resulted in the growth of an urban proletariat, subjected to working conditions
influenced by and treatment inherited from the times of bondage. As candomblé, capoeira offered a refuge
from the constraints enforced by post-emancipation society. The ideology of idleness provided alternative
principles for survival, diametrically opposed to the new work ethics advocated by the elites. As such
vadiação expressed values and behaviour of subaltern classes, its ‘hidden transcript’ that was usually not
known or understood by the whitened middle class and the elites of Bahia.^123 Yet at the same time the
ideology of idleness reproduced, albeit inverted, some features of dominant discourse and values. As we
have seen in the case of the Cariocan capoeira, the malandro was not a revolutionary, but tried to
accommodate within the system. Just as in Rio de Janeiro, the malandros and tough guys from capoeira
eventually exchanged their services against protection from the powerful.
If capoeira per se therefore did not really endanger elite domination, its practice provided subaltern men
with an important source of physical health and spiritual energy. The practice of capoeira helped them to
relax and chill out from heavy work and harsh treatment by superiors. Capoeira offered healing powers and
122 THE CAPOEIRA SCENE IN BAHIA