Maculelê Dance from Santo Amaro (Bahia) which performs a mock stick fight; it has been adopted by
capoeira groups as a form of exercise and is also often used in capoeira performances.
Macumba 1 Afro-Brazilian religion in Rio de Janeiro, 2 Derrogative term for African-derived ‘witchcraft’.
Malandragem Deception, cunning.
Malandro Rogue, spiv.
Malícia Cunning, shrewdness, one key quality of capoeira players.
Malta A gang, and, in nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro, a common term for a capoeira gang.
Mandinga 1 A people in West Africa (also Mandinka or Mandingo), 2 Witchcraft, sorcery; 3 Spiritual power
and cunning in capoeira.
Mandingueiro Someone who has mandinga, e.g. who knows how to use witchcraft or who knows how to
use cunning and malice when playing capoeira.
Maneiro pau Stick fighting technique from Ceará, Brazil.
Maní Combat game with fists in Cuba, now extinct.
Martelo ‘Hammer’, a capoeira kick.
Meia lua ‘Half-moon’, a capoeira attack.
Meia lua virada ‘Turned half moon’, a kick similar to the queixada used in the capoeira Regional style.
Mestre Master, teacher of capoeira.
Mestre de bateria The person in charge of the capoeira orchestra.
Mgba Wrestling practised among the Igbo, Nigeria.
Modinha Nineteenth-century musical genre in Brazil, consisting of a song accompanied by a guitar.
Moleque Kimbundo word used in Brazil for a young, usually black, boy.
Morengy Term used for a variety of combat games in Madagascar; most forms rely on bare-knuckle boxing
as a basic fighting technique, but some styles also allow feet kicking techniques, and in some case only
fighting with feet is permitted. See the descriptions by Powe (Combat Games, 2001).
Moringue Combat game practised on the island of Réunion until the 1950s, revitalized after 1989, attributed
to the slaves brought to the island to work on French plantations; contrary to most of its cognates on
Comoros and Madagascar, moringue only uses kicks, but not punches and many of its movements strongly
resemble those of capoeira.
Mrengé A combat game using fists, kicks, grabbing and head butts practised on the Comoros Islands in the
Indian Ocean.
N’golo The mythical ancestor of capoeira in Angola. See Chapter 2.
Negativa ‘negation’, a basic, defensive movement in capoeira to avoid a kick.
Oba A sacred ruler in Yoruba territories, Nigeria.
Ogã A honorific title given to important supporters of a candomblé shrine.
Ómudinhu Acrobatic exercise among the Quilengues of Angola, which consisted in throwing the legs into
the air and the head downwards; first mentioned in an early twentieth-century report.
Orixá (or orisha) Yoruba/Nago deity in Afro-Brazilian religion.
Pajelança Ritual practice of Brazilian indian origins; the pajé uses his powers to heal, predict the future or
ask for protection.
Pandeiro Tambourine used in the capoeira orchestra.
Pardo 1 A mulatto, and by extension, 2 Any person of mixed ancestry.
Patuá Amulet, fetish.
Peneirar A capoeira technique that consists of confusing the opponent through constant movement.
Pernada 1 Local variant of the Bahian combat game batuque, 2 In Rio de Janeiro, also known as pernada
carioca.
Povo de santo ‘People of the saints’, practitioners of candomblé.
Quadra A type of capoeira song, consisting of a short solo followed by call and response; unlike the
ladainha, it can be performed without stopping the game.
Queixada Attack used in capoeira Regional and other contemporary styles.
GLOSSARY 213