Wisdom of the Ages

 

Capoeira Africana was honored to have the opportunity to interview Mestre Bob Cooper, a long time martial artist and community member in New York City. We comprised 10 questions that related to capoeira, Mestre’s Cooper perspective of it, and how they relate to our mission. Below is some of what he had to say. You can request the entire interview by sending an email to capoeiraafricana@gmail.com.

Capoeira Africana: In your view, what are the origins of capoeira?

  

Mestre Bob Cooper: The word capoeira is not proven to be an African term. One researcher thinks it is the combination of two terms. Others have found different rationales, but none has offered proof that it is African in it entirety.

There is absolutely no evidence of anything resembling capoeira prior to the advent of the enslaved Africans into Brazil. All of the instruments - the berimbau, the agogo, the atabaque, the pandeiro,the reco-reco have been found and can be found in Africa as we speak. Mestre Cobra Mansa has done extensive research in this vein, and has made presentations documenting this. Mestre Moraes has also been to Africa, to investigate the evidence of the precursors to what we know as Capoeira. He, and others have discovered a version called the Zebra Dance..or Ngolo.

When I was first introduced to capoeira, and was told it was Brazilian, the claim did not clarify for me an apparent contradiction in survival and travel. My position has always been that a person leaves his home with information that he carries with him. It makes absolutely no sense to me that a person would leave Africa knowing nothing, and then, miraculously become a fully formed cultural fighting machine, complete with movements, dance and music as soon as his foot hit the Brazilian shore.

As the kidnappers of Africans deliberately separated men, women and children and put together, on purpose, different people from different tribes, various skills and purposes coalesced into unit, over time, to assist in the resistance to enslavement. As historian/lecturer C.Daniel Dawson has said, the enslaved Africans came to the new circumstances with several important skills in several areas - not the least of which was the ability to defend one's self.

So, in my view, the origins of Capoeira are totally African, and they alone - when in Brazil - created what we now know as capoeira. And, after a turbulent period of confrontation with the slavers, repression, punishment by imprisonment and death, the art is now claimed to be Brazilian and is a popular and loved activity worldwide. Those who first persecuted the practitioners now proudly claim it as a Brazilian cultural entity. In its present form, it is yet another gift Africa has given to the world, and the current Brazilians (and others) are doing an excellent job of preserving it.

Even now, in Brazil and out of it, the preponderance of images representing Brazil are white personnel, not black - even though Brazil is reputed to have the largest population of Africans and their descendants outside of Africa. What that means is that, when someone says an activity is Brazilian, you automatically think white. This, by omission gives no authorship or agency to the African origin of same. This is why some people, to correct this perception, hark back to the Africanity of capoeira.

So, I think it can be truthfully said that it is Brazilian in the sense that as it is presently practiced, it cannot be found originating in that form in Africa. And it is Brazilian because the Africans created it in Brazil, adapting what they knew form different 'tribes' into this amazingly effective art. So, to say it is Brazilian, to me does not mean it is not African. It means they have preserved it for us. And  some, including Mestre Jurandir of FICA, have brought it back to Mozambique and other areas, to return it in its present form, to the land from which it obtained all its components, save the Portuguese language. 

Capoeira Africana: When did you start doing capoeira? Why did you start doing capoeira?

Mestre Bob Cooper: When? In the mid seventies. Prior to that, I had been practicing and teaching two arts since the 1960s:  Chung do kwan taekwondo (black belt in 1970) and Veejitsu Jiu Jitsu (black belt in 1970),..the same year I started teaching for the NYC Board of Ed in the Junior High School division. To retain my license, I took several courses at NYU, which included a course in Black Music taught by lecturer Bill Moore. There I saw movies he had taken while in Brazil that included people that looked like they were doing the martial arts movements I was teaching - but to music, and dance-like. I was sure I was mistaken when I drew the 'erroneous' conclusion that these movements by the magnificently built, smiling young black men looked suspiciously like the deadly strikes and evasions taught in the arts I was familiar with. My education up to that point did not include the seminal, primary and current contributions of Africa to the martial art world. My knowledge base only included Asian contributions.

Why did I start doing capoeira? Since grade school days, and as a bookworm child who was bullied and chased from school, I have always had an interest in self defense. I remember reading about how to defend against being grabbed from behind by bending down and pulling the attackers leg in between mine, causing a fall, and having it actually work. When in the Air Force, I boxed middle and light heavyweight, and took lessons in the barracks from a traveling oriental practitioner. Years later, in the college classroom, I was floored by the spectacular information revealed before my eyes in home movies of this beautiful yet deadly system, and immediately chased down this life changing African contribution. About 1975, Bill Moore introduced me to an amazing touring show called 'Viva Bahia', (which, I believe, also appeared at New York City Community College), and three of its stars (Amendoin, Gatoinho, and Saci) came to the Vernon Community Center in Brooklyn where I was teaching the martial arts, and put on an impromptu demonstration.

I believe that there was an absolute hunger, an unrecognized yearning for this unheralded,never before revealed demonstration of African martial arts prowess in me that I was unaware of, and I asked Mr. Moore to please get me somebody who would teach myself and my students this wonderful body of knowledge. I had been raised on an intellectual diet of contributions of Columbus, George Washington, Tarzan, Marco Polo, and so on - nothing that ever included the seminal scientific, medicinal, civility, mathematical, and so on contributions of Africa. Mr. Moore sent down the man who I believe was the earliest, most important figure in establishing capoeira here on the east coast - Mestre Jelon Vieira, and his talent co-practitioner Josevaldo 'Loremil' Machado. We struck it off immediately, and he also took classes from me in my areas of expertise. As I was also going to NYCCC at the time and was the President of the Evening Student Government, we presented two well received shows. I took out ads in the Amsterdam News - which happened to be seen by Henry 'Carvao' Young, (promoted to brown cord)  and Warrington Hudlin (movie producer) - and was the sole reason they saw capoeira, according to them. But then, to go back to the question - how could I not do capoeira? It was- and is - exciting, nurturing, fun, rich, ennobling, beautiful, ever creative, proven, - and much more. Its beautiful moves, sweet and deadly, reminded me of Sugar Ray Robinson,reputed to be the greatest pound for pound boxer in history; its genesis emerged from the core of black consciousness, from the core of African power, from the richness of ancestral legacy. How can it be resisted, and one be fulfilled? As much of African history was - and is - not revealed, was distorted, was hidden - this was magnificent proof that unimagined, life-affirming riches was available and ready for those who discovered and were willing to learn. And it was the equal to and better than some of the more popular martial arts. And its only source were the enslaved Africans kidnapped and brought to Brazil. 

 
Capoeira Africana: In your opinion, what would the spread of capoeira on The Continent do for the capoeira world? For the African world?

Mestre Bob Cooper: The spread of capoeira on the continent of Africa for the capoeira world? If that was to happen, I can only see positive results, because it is, in effect, the child of African thinking. But, as I have said before, Africa has proven time and again to be a mother lode of riches in many areas, which, in my opinion, is why its ideas, land, traditions, etc. are so often adopted, co-opted, taken, borrowed, renamed, even up to the present. What that means in my opinion, is that all benefit when African positives are popularized. Easy or not, it is worth doing. Capoeiristas all over would get the sense of their art being appreciated and promulgated.

The effect of the spread of capoeira on the African world? "Welcome Back!!! If due credit is given, it would be yet another great instance of Africans reclaiming their past and present glory. We just have to remember that the robber is usually indisposed to return that which he has stolen, particularly if benefits are being reaped. Even now stolen property in Africa remains in many cases in the hands of the invading crooks (see South Africa)  Remember we are even now, as Dr. Jacob Carruthers of ASCAC said, we are in intellectual warfare. Even though Egypt is in Africa, it is taught as if it is a separate entity. Here in New York, the museum on 80th and fifth has two separate exhibits - one for Africa, and another for Egypt. Even though there is concrete evidence that math began in Africa, it is taught as if it did not. Even though the Greeks say they learned 'civilization' from the Africans, (see Dr. Theophile Obenga's books), we are taught that THEY are the origin of same. Remember that the Moors educated and ruled Spain for centuries - but in school, in many cases. we are never taught the debt Spain owes to them. And on and on. 

    
Capoeira Africana: [Now that you are a Mestre] What responsibilities, if any, do you feel you have to the capoeira community? To the African American community?

Mestre Bob Cooper: Where do I start? I have always felt big responsibility to capoeira as a part of my discovery of African/African American (True) History...as is noted in Carter G. Woodson's "Miseducation of the Negro" the educational system construct is totally at variance with the important contributions in the U.S. and worldwide, and needs perception and correction almost all the time. Even now most of the ads I have seen (in Brazil and Egypt) predominantly promote non-black images for beauty, importance, power and creativity.  The first time I took a plane to Brazil, after being introduced to capoeira by Jelon Vieira, the airplane movie show depicting it showed two totally unskilled non black practitioners, and gave no credit to anything African. It was bad. They could have at least shown someone with skill.....Another point is that the preponderance of martial art skills in the past, and even now highlight, for the most part, Asians and whites (Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Jackie Chan, etc., with an occasional Wesley Snipes thrown in), and almost 95% of then showcasing Japanese and Chinese, etc. Arts. Why not the incredibly beautiful and deadly (proven in combat) capoeira art? It has all the elements and is powerful and beautiful and deceptive at the same time. I believe it is the obligation of all those who are fortunate enough to experience this art to promote it ceaselessly because of its' many benefits to all. Almost everybody I know who really loves capoeira is a wonderful person. And, to me, Mestre Grande is a wonderful example of that. No one is perfect, but this is a perfecting activity. To show the effect of dominant publicity of other arts, I remember that when we had Capoeira Angola in Manhattan on 135th street in a center on the second floor, many people would go right by and attend the karate class on the third floor. They seemed to be totally unaware of the gold mine they were passing up, and seemed to succumb to the brainwashing that indicates that Africa had minimal, if any contributions in areas. So those of us who know, and are "conscious" must take the lead in - as ASCAC (the Association for the Study of  Classical African Civilization) reclaiming African History with documented proof of martial arts (Beni Hasan area in Egypt), medicine, science, architecture..(Imhotep - not Hippocrates) in telling the truth. We need to follow the lead of Dr. Maulana Karenga, creator of Kwanzaa; the lead of Dr. Molefi Kete Asante, creator of the first PH.D program in the world in African studies at Temple University; the lead of Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop and Dr. Theophile Obenga who demolished all nay-sayers in 1974 at UNESCO with eleven different proof for various sciences that the original Egyptians were black Africans...and so on. I have no problem with those who say that capoeira is Brazilian, because it is - in my opinion - as of now; but the authors, creators were only the enslaved Africans - not the Indians, not the Portuguese, not anyone else. There is ample proof of that. But the misinformation of who did what has long been dominated by the skewed white supremacy doctrine so that, unless you specifically say something is African, it is automatically assumed that the author must have been white. So, if you simply say "it is Brazilian", based on all the ads I saw, you naturally assume - not African. Now if you say that Brazilians - and others - of all colors are brilliantly preserving the legacy of the African Creators of Capoeira - you then get it right!!!!  There are some working now in the trenches to unearth the African contributions - Chike of Capoeira Africana; Patrick Gorham lanfia Toure of Africa Writes; Dr. TJ Desch, author of Fighting For Honor; Dr. Edward L. Powe, author of  African Martial Arts; and others, to them we are grateful for this yeoman work, and with them unlimited success in Letting the Light Shine so that the  World May See It. 

 For further information about Mestre Bob Cooper please visit his 
site at www.ROBERTJCOOPER.com.

Brasil e consciência negra

Há muitos anos atrás quando eu vivia em Viena Áustria, Kwame Opoku do Ghana, um grande e bom amigo que fiz por lá (na Europa, bem entendido), resolveu confessar toda a sua contrariedade com a insistência com que eu justificava coisas que não conseguira realizar no Brasil, alegando como impedimento incontornável o racismo.

Advogado na sede da ONU em Viena, velho adepto das grandes causas africanas de nosso tempo, tive a honra de admirar na casa dele, fotos suas com Amílcar Cabral, Nelson Mandela, Sam Nujoma e tantas outras enormes e memoráveis figuras do renascimento africano as quais, de algum modo meu amigo esteve ligado por dever de ofício ou militância. Estar perto de uma pessoa associada tão diretamente à história moderna do negro africano me fazia ficar exultante. Sentia-me assim também muito próximo daqueles gigantes lutadores pela liberdade dos homens, orgulhos da raça humana, heróis da minha geração.

Mas demorei muito a assimilar a contrariedade de Kwame. Ela me constrangia e envergonhava bastante. Sentia-me enquanto negro brasileiro um pouco diminuído, num sentimento de inferioridade estranho para uma pessoa como eu que sempre se vangloriou de sua combatividade, seu engajamento político, de sua militância enfim.

Mesmo orgulhoso de, inusitadamente ser o professor de marimba africana de um africano real – Pasmem, mas é isto mesmo! Bem antes de ser meu amigo, o já velho Kwame (desconfio eu um membro destacado de alguma casta da nobreza ashanti, segundo pude testemunhar numa festa de reverentes conterrâneos seus) fora educado num liceu de Accra, onde havia tocado piano. Um africano refinado como europeu, digamos assim, mais, sobretudo um africano com um recôndito desejo de aprender a tocar um instrumento musical de sua cultura ancestral.

Kwame comprou o instrumento que – imaginem!- eu mesmo havia fabricado no Brasil e levado para Viena. Um ano depois Kwame acabou se tornando meu aluno, numa inusitada relação cultural invertida entre um brasileiro afro-descendente e um africano ‘legítimo’.

Isto me animava e redimia um pouco, mas devo reconhecer que demorei algum tempo mais para compreender de onde vinha aquele sentimento de quase desprezo de Kwame pelas minhas lamúrias de negro brasileiro revoltado.

” Há racismo lá no Brasil? E vocês, sendo tantos como são, aceitam?”

Era esta a admoestação mais recorrente que ele me fazia, querendo dizer com isto que talvez nós estivéssemos sendo condescendentes demais, omissos demais diante das afrontas e impedimentos que o racismo nos impunha. Jamais consegui convencê-lo da força insuperável das amarras que nos tolhiam.

Jamais me recuperei daquela sensação de fera afrontada. Fiquei até hoje achando que talvez falte mesmo em nós, brasileiros – e isto estava explícito no sentimento honesto de Kwame, o africano – a consciência do que significa ser mesmo um afro-descendente, um negro-africano desgarrado, além da vívida sensação que temos do estigma, da pecha de ignorantes, despreparados e submissos que carregamos nas costas.

Reconheçamos que só os nossos antepassados africanos, trazidos para o Brasil como escravos, manietados e subjugados pela força bruta, é que tiveram o direito de incorporar, de assimilar, de se curvar diante da opressão (mesmo fingidamente que fosse, saltando para trás como os capoeiristas negaceando o golpe) por necessidades de sobrevivência física.

Reconheçamos, sobretudo que, mesmo assim, mesmo podendo se acovardar diante da força bruta e da morte, muitos de nossos antepassados ainda assim, insubmissos morreram, lutando, apenas para nos legar as lições e o sangue de sua descendência.

Sei que são palavras amargas no dia em se deveria apenas exaltar nosso orgulho, mas me ocorreu dizer agora mesmo que falta-nos talvez e ainda – a consciência negra plena e profunda – o traquejo para manejar ferramentas válidas da insubordinação e da revolta, a consciência ampla dos nossos direitos – não de negros tão somente, mas de homens – direitos básicos humanos enfim, ainda hoje quase que apenas concedidos por brancos ‘bons’, ‘solidários’ ou ‘piedosos’ – e muitos o são honestamente, coitados – e quase nunca conquistados pelo esforço organizado de nós mesmos, a reboque de nossas geralmente pífias lideranças, oportunisticamente aboletadas nos poleiros do poder.

Talvez falte a nós, negros brasileiros, o instinto africano de romper enfim, de uma vez por todas, com a escravidão emocional que ainda está entranhada em nós. A consciência de que, haja o que houver, façam o que fizerem para nos submeter, somos e seremos livres sempre sim.

Depois desta estada em Viena – ironicamentea pátria de Adolf Hitler – trocando lições de negritude com Kwame Opoku, o africano, passei sempre a observar melhor a diferença sutil que existe entre ter consciência negra e ter a consciência de ser negro.

A primeira consciência (a de ter) reside na profunda e refletida compreensão dos valores morais, éticos, sociais, culturais enfim contidos na herança africana de irmãos na diáspora, a busca incessante pela essência de ter a África simbólica dentro de nós, de ter humanidade enfim, onde quer que se esteja neste vasto mundo. A consciência de si per si, de sermos nós mesmos os reis, cada qual com mais um rei seu na barriga.

A segunda consciência (a de ser) seria manter a alma inquebrantável, a consciência ideológica limpa, adquirida na convivência com a exclusão social reiterada e o racismo num país que tem negros, mas que também tem – fazer o que? – brancos, na busca de saídas para fazer a ‘coisa certa’ junto com a maioria – e não no oco de uma minoria ‘negra’ de ocasião, no convescote de uma casta sórdida – para romper as barreiras mentais de nossa submissão, daquela escravidão emocional que nos aniquila e avilta a todos.

A consciência sócio racial de jamais ficar trancado no gueto escuro de nós mesmos, na síndrome da dicotomia que, separando maquiavelicamente negros de brancos, perpetua e legitima a desigualdade, assim justificada pelas alegadas diferenças de um – a branca elite – supostamente sempre superior aos demais – todos aqueles que não sendo brancos, passam a ser negros, simplesmente por exclusão.

A consciência plena de saber se colocar acima deste mundo de iniquidades que o racismo introjetou nas cabeças de nós todos, negros e ‘brancos’ do Brasil.

A consciência enfim de que, para todos os efeitos, o Brasil é essencialmente um país com negros, que só atingirá o ansiado sucesso de seu processo civilizatório (como dizia o saudoso Darcy Ribeiro) no dia em que tiver consciência de sua natureza pan-africana, super humana de ser, quando tiver, definitivamente se assumido como Brasil brasileiro de todos nós.

Nunca mais vi Kwame Opoku, o africano. Dele tenho notícias esparsas, sei, por exemplo, que se aposentou do trabalho na ONU. Depois que deixei de vê-lo muita coisa mudou. Mandela foi libertado, por exemplo. A África do Sul virou uma grande nação. Angola caminha para isto, a África sofrida ainda em certos bolsões renitentes de ditadura e pobreza também e sobretudo, anda.

Desejaria neste Dia da Consciência Negra no Brasil que nós, os negros e os brancos deste nosso país de sonhos perfeitamente realizáveis e angústias passageiras, fizéssemos um exame de consciência e partíssemos para a luta às nossas próprias custas e riscos, certos de que assim - e só assim – a vitória será certa.

                                                     ~ Spirito Santo ~
                                     (http://www.spiritosanto.wordpress.com/)

ENGLISH

Many years ago when I lived in Vienna, Australia, Kwame Opoku from Ghana, a good friend of mine (who I met in Europe), decided to confess his opposition to the fact that I was unable to do certain things in Brazil because of the irreversible racism.



He was an attorney that worked at the United Nations Headquarters in Vienna and an adept of the great causes of our times. I had the honor to appreciate pictures of him taken with Amilcar Cabral, Nelson Mandela, Sam Nujoma and many other memorable figures that were part of the African rebirth. My friend was connected with these individuals either because of his profession or militancy. Either way, being so close to a person that was directly associated to the modern history of the black African made me feel exulted. I also felt like this when I was close to those giant fighters of men who represented pride in the human race and the heroes of my generation.


It took me a long time to understand Kwame’s contradiction. It intrigued and shamed me a lot as I felt, as a black Brazilian, a bit lowered with a weird feeling of inferiority to a person that was just like me that, yet feeling vain glory for his spirit of combat, political engagement, militancy, etc.


Well, before becoming my friend, Kwame (he suspected I was a member of a noble Ashanti cast, as I was able to find out from one of his countrymen) attended high school in Accra, where he played the piano. He was an African refined like a European, so to speak, but above all an African with a burning desire to learn how to play an instrument of his ancestral culture. Needless to say, becoming his teacher of the African “marimba” (a musical instrument) to this “real” African was both astonishing and unusual. But that was it! Just imagine - Kwame bought the instrument that I had made in Brazil and took it to Vienna. A year later, Kwame became my pupil through a cultural relationship between an African-Descent Brazilian and a native African.


This made me excited and redeemed a bit. But I must admit that it took me some time to understand the nature of that feeling of disdain for Kwame, for my lamentations of a revolted black Brazilian.


“There is racism in Brazil? And all of you, being as many as you are, accept it?

This was the admonition more recurrent that he made, trying to say that maybe we were too condescending and dismissive of the comforts and obstacles that racism imposed on us. I was never able to convince him of the insuperable forces of the mooring cables that hindered us. Nor did I ever recover from that sensation of a confronted wild beast. Until today, I have thought that maybe, in reality, something lacks in us Brazilians. And this was explicit in the honest expression of Kwame, the African. The consciousness of what it means to be a person of African descent, a misguided black African, besides the stigma that we experience of ignorant, non-educated and submissive people that we carry on our backs.


We should recognize that only our African ancestors brought to Brazil as slaves, subjugated by brutal force, are the ones who had the right to incorporate, assimilate, and submit before oppression (even pretending, jumping backwards like the capoeiristas dodging the kicks) for physical survival.


We should also recognize, however, that being able to become cowards before brutal forces and death many of our ancestors died not submissively but fighting to leave us a legacy and lessons from the blood of their ascendance.


I know these are bitter words in days we should be exalting our pride but I have decided to say it right now that something is lacking in black consciousness - the knack to manage valid tools of subordination, of revolt, and the ample consciousness of our rights not only for black people but for the basic human rights of all men. These rights are usually only granted to a “good” white person, “solidary” or “generous”. Many are poor men and almost never conquered by our own organized efforts, carried by our generally faulty leadership, opportunistically placed in power.

Maybe something is missing in us black Brazilians - the African instinct to break, once and for all, the emotional slavery that is still engrained in us; the consciousness that whatever happens, what is done to submit us, we are and will always be free, indeed.

After my stay in Vienna, ironically the homeland of Adolf Hitler, exchanging lessons on blackness with Kwame Opoku, the African, I started to observe better the subtle difference that exists between to have black consciousness, and to have the consciousness of being black.


The first one (to have) dwells in the profound and reflecting understanding of moral values, ethical, social, cultural, etc., contained in the African heritage, of brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, seeking incessantly for the essence of having the symbolic Africa within us, to have humility wherever we are in this world.


The second one (to be) would be to keep the unbroken soul, the clean ideological consciousness, acquired in dealing with repetitive social exclusion and racism in a country with black and white people (what should we do!) looking for ways to do “the right thing” along with the majority. This is usually accompanied by the occasional black minority, at the “picnic” of a sordid cast, trying to break the mental barriers of our submission, of that emotional slavery that annihilates and lowers all of us.


The socio-racial consciousness will never be enclosed in the dark ghetto of our own, in the dichotomy syndrome, that separates diabolically, blacks and whites, perpetuates and legitimates inequality. This inequality is justifiable by the alleged differences of one, the white elite, supposedly always superior to all others. All of those that are not white are considered black simply by exclusion.

The plain consciousness to know how to excel in this world of inequality that racism injected in the heads of us all, blacks and “whites” of Brazil.


The consciousness, anyway, that Brazil is essentially a country with black people will only reach the awaited success of its civilizing process (as Darcy Ribeiro would say) on the day that it has a consciousness of pan-African nature and one that is super human. It will come when it has assumed the Brazilian in all of us.

I did not see Kwame Opoku, the African, after leaving Vienna. I have received random news. For example, that he has retired from United Nations. After seeing him for the last time, many things changed. Mandela was freed from prison. South Africa became a great nation. Angola is walking toward the same goal. The suffered Africa, under renitent pockets of dictatorship, and poverty, still lives on.

I wish, on this Day of Black Consciousness in Brazil, that we blacks and whites of this country of ours of perfectly accomplishable dreams and temporary anguishes, make an assessment of consciousness and start the struggle at our own expense, knowing this is the only way we will be able to know that the victory is assured.

  ~ Spirito Santo ~ 

 (http://www.spiritosanto.wordpress.com/)

Voz da Afrika

Diferentes povos/países/raças
Falam diferentes linguas/dialetos
Mas quando voçe limpa a garganta
Transmite o mesmo significado
                                     - Provérbio Igbo (Nigeria)

Lembro-me nos meus tempos de infância, passar longas horas com minha avô, e um caderninho de anotações para escrever palavras novas em kimbundu, minha lingua materna. Ficava sempre muito feliz quando chegasse a hora de aprender com minha avozinha. Nunca fui fluente na minha própria lingua materna, muito embora meus pais e irmãos mais velhos falassem kimbundu muito bem. Em geral, as pessoas da minha geração e do mesmo povo (kimbundu) que eu, não falam a lingua tradicional.

Meus pais sempre contaram que os pais deles os encorajaram a falar mais português do que kimbundu, porque eles achavam que desta forma os filhos teriam um futuro melhor na sociedade angolana, dado a condição que os colonizadores tinham imposto no país. Uma condição de domínio forçado. Nunca entendi na totalidade.  Afinal de contas, o objectivo dos colonizadores era de separar os colonizados das suas raízes, tradições, hábitos e culturas, e esforçar a inserçaõ da sua própria cultura. Por conseguinte eles conseguiram alcansar os objectivos preconizados - e de que maneira!! Eu pessoalmente considero isso um estúpro.

Com o comércio de escravos, muitos africanos foram colocados na região que hoje é chamada Brazil. Os africanos trouxeram consigo para o novo mundo seus hábitos, culturas e tradiçeões. Umas das tradições trazidas pelos africanos ao Brazil, é a hoje chamada Capoeira, que por muitos considerada patrimônio cultural Brazileiro. Capoeira, a dança da Zebra(Ngolo), uma forma de luta, um ritual, uma expressão cultural africana, uma arte de libertação.

Pratico esta bela arte já ha alguns anos. Me apaixonei por capoeira angola de uma forma espiritual. Nesta jornada de aprendizagem, tenho observado muitas questões politicas dentro do mundo da capoeira. Muitas destas questões têm a ver com o estabelecimento histórico da capoeira. Muitos resitem o facto de que capoeira teve a sua origem no solo Africano, na mente de Africanos. Muitos não aceitam o facto de que capoeira foi concebida e nascida em Africa. Entretanto, nós, Capoeira Africana, estámos aqui para contribuir, com o que for necessário, no processo de estabelecimento da história da capoeira, desde as suas raízes, seu desenvolvimento, aos seus frutos, e as suas sementes. Nós somos africanos, e temos a intenção de mostrar capoeira ao mundo, desde uma perpectiva Africana. Queremos trazer capoeira de volta ao continente de uma forma que os nativos percebam. Reconhecemos que a dança de Ngolo (donde capoeira originou) tem sofrido várias modificações até hoje. Embora essas modificações existão, sentimos no sangue e na alma uma conecção tão profunda, muitas vezes impossivel de se explicar ou de se entender. Meu ser African sente isto!!

Falando da inserção de línguas Africanas na capoeira. Um assunto que até agora, pelos vistos, tem causado muita polêmica, e perguntas, especialmente vindas dos não descendentes de África. Um facto que me faz pensar bastante uma vez que este tópico torna-se bastante delicado para os descentes de Africa no mundo da capoeira e não só. Trata-se do reestabelicimento e reconstrução da identidade Africana no mundo da capoeira e for a dela. Os filhos de Africa querem agora escrever a sua própria história. Antes era quase impossível, mas agora com os meios tecnológicos, e com a globalizacao, as coisas tornam-se mais fáceis para isso. A hora é essa!

Usar linguas Africanas na roda de capoeira angola indica uma forma simples e bonita dos praticantes prestarem HOMENAGEM as raízes desta bela forma de arte, e de reflectirem nas suas próprias origens genéticas. Capoeira Africana tem se dedicado na criação de meios para realçar a influência Africana na capoeira. Desta forma, pensamos que ao trazer capoeira de volta a Africa com mais aspectos que a caracterizam de uma perspectiva Africana, irá causar um interesse mais intenso e natural da parte dos africanos. Portanto, canções em linguas africanas, cantadas na roda de capoeira iria automaticamente suscitar um orgulho de aprender capoeira como patrimônio cultural e histórico africano.

Nós não queremos retirar o português da capoeira, antes pelo contrário, gostariamos de colocar os traços nos tes e os pontos nos is. Eu, como uma pessoa que fala português como lingual nativa, suporto a permanênica da lingua portuguesa na capoeira. Não queremos retirar nada, só queremos realçar algo que já existe na capoeira-a presença e influência das culturas africanas. Este aspecto é muito importante no processo de recosntrução da nossa história como africanos, e da unificaçao dos povos de descendência Africana.

Acreditamos que este esforço é humanitário. Se a humanidade está composta por vários povos, é natural que haja igualdade entre todos esses. Tudo isso faz parte da luta por um mundo melhor onde existe harmonia, paz, e amor sem exploração, estúpros e opressão. O apelo é um: Que a voz dos africanos seja ouvida de uma forma harmoniosa e salutar. Que os africanos sejam capazes de desabafar seu sofrimento e alegrias através de canções, suas culturas e tradições.

Capoiera é uma expressão cultural Africana e por isso os Africanos sentem-se “em casa” quando na roda da capoeira. Alí, eles podem expressar-se livremente. Daí a importancia de  usar suas próprias linguas. Isso é de direito aos africanos.

É meu sonho, como mulher Africana,de um dia ver meus filhos usufruir das artes e culturas que seus antepassados criaram, na roda da capoeira, cantando em kimbumdu, Umbundu, Igbo, Yoruba, Lingala, etc. Ver capoeira voltar as suas raízes para completar o circulo/ciclo de existência.

Aproveitamos este espaço para agradecer alguns mestres de capoeira Angola, que têm evidado esforço no sentido de propagar aspectos culturais africanos na roda de Capoeira Angola, e outros que estão por detras da actual presença da capoeira angola no continente, especificamente em Moçambique. Nomeadamente, Mestre João Grande, Mestre Janja, Mestre Moraes, Mestre Valmir, Mestre Cobra Mansa, Mestre Jurandir, e tantos outros que não conhecemos, e nao mencionados.

Disfrute dos videos colocados com carinho aqui no nosso/vosso blog, com canções cantadas em línguas africanas. Muito bonito!!

                                                     - Lucia Kudielela Fernandes, Capoeira Africana

Capoeira no Mocambique

Nzinga Capoeira usando a lingua Africana

LowCountry Capoeira Angola usando a lingua Africana (E.U.)

Olu ndi Afrika

Mba na-asụ

N’onu n’onu

Ma egbuchaa ikili

Ọ bụlụ ofu.

Différents peuples

parlent différents langages/dialectes

mais une fois que les gorges s'eclaicissent

le message reste le meme.        

Órísirìsì enìyán gbó ọrísìrìsì èdé súgbòn nígbá ti à bá a ọná fùn ọkanaa la sọ.

The above quote is translated into a few languages but essentially it means the same thing: Different people/races/nations speak different languages/dialects, but when the throat is cleared it conveys the same meaning. The original axiom comes from the Igbo ethnic group of southeastern Nigeria. In a country of 150 million people Nigeria has roughly 300 languages distributed among its populace.  One may wonder how the people of Nigeria communicate with such a plethora of living and breathing vernaculars to choose from. The answer is they communicate in different languages, using their ex-colonizer’s language as a lingua-franca on the surface, in this case that would be English, and their original languages to express their more intimate, deeper seeded thoughts and cultural wisdom. This statement is made without judgment or value placed on one language over the other, rather it is made to illustrate the cultural complexity and multilingual nature of contemporary Nigerians.

This example can be seen all over Africa. Blessed with rich array of diversity, both in its people and its resources, The Continent of Africa has also been challenged with how to express a sense of oneness from this variety. As it could be imagined no ethnic group anywhere in the world would want to succumb to their language, and thus identity, becoming inferior to another’s. So, to evade the dilemma of furthering pitting one African group against another to fight for linguistic and cultural dominance Africans adopted the language of their ex-colonizers as a means to communicate amongst themselves. Evidently, this acceptance also placed Africans in a position to communicate with many other people in the world, as Africa was colonized by Europeans and there are a great number of speakers of European languages around the globe. However, as stated earlier, Africans never stopped speaking their own languages even with the implementation of European dialects. As Africans move with the rest of the world into the 21^st century it is becoming more and more evident that there are limits to communicating with another person’s choice of words, as there are some African concepts and ideas that do not translate into a European/American context. In addition, the angle in which a word expresses its particular view is seen from a cultural lens, one that an outsider to that lens may not agree with but has to accept or try to redefine because they are communicating in that language (i.e. the word “black” is simultaneously used describe a people and a dismal state of being). Consequently, interest in African languages are growing with each generation as its youth are becoming more aware of the need to assert one’s genuine identity, decode the world through their own cultural framework, and simply enjoy speaking in the idioms of their parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great-great grandparents, etc. All of this is to say that although it is true that Africans speak in different tongues and the meanings are generally the same in each, there comes a time when one must prioritize their own particular style of communication to retain cultural authenticity and express originality, which only makes the world a more abundant and exciting place to live in.

As this concerns capoeira, I am an advocate for the use of African languages within the art form. My perspective on this topic comes from that of an African in America. Both of my parents were born and raised in Nigeria, West Africa. I have brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents who have never set a foot on any of the lands in The Americas. While I have lived and schooled in Nigeria, and visited other parts of The Continent, I was born and raised primarily in the U.S. so I believe it is fair to say that I am influenced both by my heritage and my upbringing. From this vantage point, when I began capoeira some odd years ago I knew that language would be a barrier if anyone tried to introduce this to Africans on the continent. With the nature of continental Africans being so multilingual I didn’t necessarily think that picking up another language would be a problem. It was more so that I didn't believe the stories that were being told - their characters, their context, their codes - would carry over well from Portuguese to African languages. Reason being: continental Africans can locate themselves in capoeira’s narratives of slavery and colonization. So the practice of capoeira becomes personal to Africans, even political. Continental Africans took part in the slave-trade, were traded as slaves, were colonized both at home and abroad and traveled to and from the Diaspora during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. So capoeira's story is also Africa's story. The waters can't wash away our memory. Thus to do the capoeira dance to African lyrics is not only an expression of joy because of its familiar speech and utterances, but it is also a symbol of resistance, reclaiming our culture and asserting the self-determination to tell our own story, which are the very same principles that capoeira (as we know it today) were founded on.

Now, should every African ethnic group translate capoeira songs to their own language? I wouldn’t go that far. The aim is not to loose capoeira’s rich history and storytelling by diluting the Brazilian experience with the politics of cultural ownership. Rather the aim is to empower both the Afro-Brazilian community and the African World through the spread and practice of capoeira. And this is really where I think the division will lie on which side one chooses to stand on this issue: is the spread of this Afro-Brazilian art form aimed at bringing awareness to these communities and to Africa where they came from, or is it solely to bring awareness to Afro-Brazilians and their current country of Brazil? Honestly, I believe it’s both. But definitely, as sure as I can be, a tree can not be separated from its roots...or it will die. Thus, the case for African languages within capoeira becomes even more reasonable and a worthy discussion to be had. What I will say shouldn't happen, however, is that for other cultures outside of Brasil or Africa to make their own songs in their own languages. While there is no patrol on that act and people are free to do as they please, we practitioners of capoeira must assess why we do the art in the first place. Capoeira was born out of the struggle and spirit of Africans in Brazil and should, I believe, reflect the character of each location. More importantly, capoeira would cease to have a common thread amongst its practitioners if every capoeirista in every corner of the world were to make their own songs in their own languages. Yet, if there is a systematic inclusion of agreed upon songs inserted into the culture the thread will continue to weave different people, different histories and different cultures together under the same cause and humble beginnings (which is what we plan to do with Capoeira Africana). In the end, the many languages of the world do convey the same meanings when diagnosed for content. But in this context, since we are talking about the African character, culture and creation in relation to capoeira, I think it is time capoeiristas learn to speak like Africans.

                                                                     - Chike Nwabukwu, Capoeira Africana

Usos e Nomes do Arco Musical Africano / The African Musical Bow: Uses and Names

O Arco Musical Africano

O mbulumbumba e o bavugu são instrumentos usados pelo povo Khoisan **. O mbulumbumba é tocado com um arco que se move para a frente e para trás, do estômago. Uma vara pequena, segurada com a mão direita, é usada para bater na corda. Os escravos angolanos levram o mbulubumba a Brasil.

– Dicionário histórico de Angola por W. Martin James

**Khoisan é uma da civilizações mais antigas.


Embora África tenha uma grande heterogeneidade de culturas, fortes semelhanças ainda podem ser encontradas entre muitas delas. A música é uma forma de arte que faz parte do dia-a-dia dos africanos. A música, no contexto africano, é uma expressão natural de emoções, como, alegria, amor, tristeza, e nostalgia. É usada igualmente para comunicar-se, e para conectar com regiões ancestrais e espirituais. As expressões das emoções e de assuntos gerais da vida, são manifestadas através da criação da música, escutando, e dançando. Neste poste, vamos fazer a introdução de um instrumento de música encontrado no sul, no leste, no oeste, e no norte do continente. É chamado Hungu, mbulumbumba, ibubura, umuduri, chitente, etc. Fizemos uma selecção de um número de vídeos para ilustrar este instrumento é tocado, onde e por quem.

Este é o nosso primeiro episodio sobre os muitos nomes deste instrumento magnífico. Em episódios subsequentes, discutiremos seu uso na diáspora de África, e na Capoeira; tendo em mente que uma das finalidades de Capoeira Africana é reconectar esta bela forma de arte a suas raizes. Também, para criar dar a conhecer sobre a forte influência de muitas tradições e culturas africanas na Capoeira. Muito embora teste instrumento musical africano, com modificações ligeiras, seja usado hoje na Capoeira, muitos capoeiristas estão inconscientes de suas origens. Esperamos que com esta esta série de artigos, sobre usos e nomes do arco musical african, mais partes do retrato maior sejam tragos a superficie.

De facto, aos arcos amarrados com uma corda, e tocados com uma vara, e têm uma cabaça unida a ele, para produzir sons resonantes, existim em partes diferentes de África, e são usadas de várias maneiras. A corda é feita da fibra de planta, de intestino de animal ou do metal (maneira moderna). O kalumbu era tocado tradicionalmente na Zâmbia, por jovens, para indicar o desejo para de se casar. O Umuduri é encontrado em Tanzânia e em Rwanda. É tocado em festividades, cerimónias especiais, ou por pedintes para provocar pena. O ibubura, igualmente chamado idono ou indono existe em Burundi, e é tocado até mesmo por crianças. Este tem pelo menos duas calabaças unidas ao arco. E, O Hungu é usado por bandas contemporâneas, em Angola. Os instrumentos acima mencionados sao simplesmente alguns exemplos.

Faça parte desta discussão

Capoeira Africana gostaria de convidar os leitores do seu blogue a contribuir com informação sobre o arco musical africano (Hungu, mbulumbumba, ibubura, umuduri, chitente, etc.). Nossa intenção é de experimentar a riqueza deste instrumento africano magnífico com conversas abertas e troca de informação.

English


The African Musical Bow

Mbulumbumba

The mbulumbumba and the bavugu are instruments used by Khoisan people**. The mbulumbumba is played with a bow that is moved back and forth, away from and toward the stomach. A small stick, held in the right hand, is used to strike the string. Angolan slaves took the mbulubumba to Brazil.

- Historical Dictionary of Angola by W. Martin James

**Khoisan is one of the oldest civilizations.


Although Africa has a great heterogeneity of cultures, strong similarities can still be found among many of them. Music is an art form that is part of the daily lives of Africans. Music, in the African context, is a natural expression of emotions such as joy, love, sadness, and nostalgia. It is also used to communicate and to connect with the ancestral and spiritual realms. Expressions of emotions and general life affairs are manifested through the creation of listening and dancing to music. Today, we introduce a musical instrument found in the south, east, west and north of The Continent. This single stringed bow is called the hungu, mbulumbumba, ibubura, umuduri, kalumba, chitente, etc. in these respective areas. We have selected a number of videos to illustrate how it is played, where and by whom. Follow the links at the end of the article to explore.

Single stringed bows played with a stick that have a calabash gourd attached to them to produce resonating sounds exist in various parts of Africa and are used in many ways. The string is made from plant fiber, animal gut or metal (modern way). The kalumbu was traditionally played in Zambia by young men to indicate their wish to marry. The umuduri is found in Tanzania and Rwanda. It is played at festivities, special ceremonies or by beggars to stir sympathy. The ibubura, also called idono or indono, exists in Burundi and can be played by children. This one has more than one calabash attached to the bow. The hungu is used by contemporary bands in Angola. The above are just a few examples.

This will be our first installment of the names and uses of this magnificent instrument. In subsequent episodes, we will discuss its use in the Africa Diaspora, and in Capoeira; keeping in mind that one of the purposes of Capoeira Africana is to reconnect this beautiful art form to its roots. Also, to create awareness of the strong influence of many African traditions and cultures on Capoeira. Even though this African stringed bow, with slight modifications, is used in Capoeira today many practitioners are unaware of its origins. So, we hope that with this series of articles on the names and uses of this instrument we bring more pieces of the bigger picture to light.

-The African Musical Bow played with the mouth to produce resonating sounds.

Be Part of this Discussion

Capoeira Africana would like to invite its blog readers to contribute with information on the traditional musical bow (hungu, mbulumbumba, kalumba, ibubura, umuduri, chitente, etc). Our intention is to experience the richness of this superb African instrument through open conversations and the exchanging of information. Thank You.

Links (click on names to see the video)

Hungu

Ibubura

Imuduri

Chitende: Mocambique

Chitende: South Africa

Moring(ue)

"Rhythm in light
rhythm in color
rhythm in movement
rhythm in the bloody cracks of bare feet
rhythm on torn nails
Yet rhythm
rhythm.
Oh painful African voices."

                    - From poem "Fire and Breath" written by Agosto Neto,
                      Accomplished Poet and Angola's first President


Undoubtedly, capoeira has a myriad of influences. Developed and stylized over centuries of practice, use, and contact with a vast number of cultures, it can almost be said that one does not know exactly who and what have permanently left an imprint on capoeira as we know it today. However, one thing is for sure: enslaved Africans played a major, central role in capoeira’s creation and sustenance.

Often disrespected, dishonored, and dismembered from the story of the Americas and Africa as well, descendants of the enslaved continue to fight for the value of their contributions to the world. Spread out in many directions across the globe, including the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Eurasia, these Africans, stripped of almost everything but faith and cultural memory, brought with them key markers of their African existence once on The Continent.  Some elements such as the use of drums, dance, intricate footwork, headbutting and grappling martial techniques, as well as ancestor worship serve as evidence of their shared connection to Mother Africa with the Africans who still inhabit The Continent today.

In this forum we will explore the many contributions and manifestations of Africans, on the continent and in the Diaspora, that have or could have helped to shape capoeira as we now know it. Today, to those who are unfamiliar with it, we introduce you to Moring (also known as Moringue).

Moring is a combat sport and martial art that originated on the island of Reunion. It was created and developed by enslaved Africans in their sugarcane fields who combined traditions from Mozambique and the neighboring island Madagascar to create this art. Its history is traceable back to the mid-18^th century and it is seen as a representation of the “cafre” culture, or people of Creole African descent. The activity became an escape for workers in the sugar cane fields and the poor white working class after the abolition of slavery on the island in 1848. Given the musical and dance elements associated with the practice it was seen as non-threatening to the slave owners who were aware of its existence. Combining folkloric traditions from the maloya and sega (customary religious and dance practices from the African islands in the Indian Ocean), Moring is performed to the beat of drums during the matches and/or training. Each match commences with bumping of the chests of the participants involved and the drums then indicate the pace of the bouts, rendering whether they will run slow or fast.  

When the actual bout begins the dancers/fighters kick, sweep, and use their hands, upside down and right-side up, in attempts to show their bravado while trying to knock the other person off their feet. Please note that Moring is practiced by both men and women. Unfortunately, the art was banned soon after slavery by the French government, who colonized the island, because it was seen as violent and pertaining to the maroons, or slaves who escaped from the fields. Moring only made a revival in the 1960s through the efforts of a man named Jean René Dreinaza.

Mr. Dreinaza was an international French boxing phenomenon. He had only known the stories of Moring through the tales his mother told him as a child. In 1989, at 29 years old, he visited Madagascar, his ancestral homeland, for the first time. It was then that he discovered the traditional martial arts of the moraingy of the coast, the diamanga and dakebé of the highlands. When seeing moraingy he recalled, “What appealed to me most was the musical and ritual aspect of the fight, the respect for the forefathers.” Inspired, he traveled back to Reunion to reinvent and reintroduce this art to his contemporaries. Within a few years he drew the interest of many young people to the elegant techniques, styles, and rituals his culture. Taking pride in the slave ancestry of the sport, the reintroduction began to serve as a revival of cultural pride for people on the island because for so many years African and Malagasy (Madagascar) culture had been outlawed and/or looked down upon. As Dreinaza continued to teach Moraingy (now known as Moring), he called upon the older generations to recall their knowledge and correct his teachings and songs where he was insufficient. 

All of this is to say that the similarities between Moring and Capoeira are striking. While there is no concrete evidence that directly links the two art forms one can deduct that the traditions of Mozambique, strongly present in both Brazilian and Reunion culture, manifested near identical qualities in two separate parts of the world. This peculiarity has even peaked the interests of some Brazilian capoeiristas, as Mestre Lua Rasta, a Capoeira Angola teacher, and Mestre Nennel, a Capoeira  Regional teacher, have both been known to perform and demonstrate Moring with their respective academies. Given the facts, we do believe that there is indeed a correlation between capoeira and Moring. Whether distant or immediate, the aesthics and history of both arts parallel in such a way that it is hard not to see a connection. So today, we give thanks for the legacy of Moring. We give thanks to the people of Mozambique and Madagascar for holding onto their culture while enslaved and not allowing their conditions to completely repress or erase it. We give thanks for the lives of the enslaved Africans for their strength, tenacity, and creativity in the face of desolation and despair. We honor your contributions to the African continuum. The rhythm continues. 

We are reaching out to our contacts in Reunion and the Indian Ocean islands to conduct an interview of what Moring is like first hand so stay tuned! In the meantime, check out some videos of Moring below (and do some of your own research) and tell us what you think about its relationship to capoeira. Thanks.   

 

(Please excuse the advertisements in this one but if you get past it there is actually interesting footage.)

STAY TUNED!

Sawubona Capoeira Africana! Thank you for reading. Please stay tuned as we will be updating the site regularly providing exclusive interviews and insights from the African capoeira world. We are pulling resources together to bring you video footage of interesting research, people, places and events as well. But as you know, "Umuntu ngumuntu nagabantu". So we need your help too! Send us your thoughts, your pics, your references, etc. so we can make this an efficient communal hub of information and resources to access capoeira in the African world. We can't do it without you! But it must be done. Isandla sigez' esinye.

Let My People Go: A look at the African-American experience in Capoeira Angola over the past 20 years

On September 18, 2010, a number of African-Americans and supporters of this community joined to discuss the experiences of the black people in Capoeira Angola since its arrival in the United States 20 years ago. The discussion was prompted and facilitated by Totti Angola (Aristoteles Kandimba), a senior student of Mestre Joao Grande and a native of the country Angola in southwestern Africa. Totti currently lives in the Netherlands and is working on a documentary entitled, “Let My People Go”, which will explore this very issue. The meeting was meant to be a research session for Totti’s project and was held at the Low Country Capoeira Angola Society (LCCAS) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Many older students and significant members of the African-American Capoeira Angola community were present, including Professor Ken Dossar, a lecturer at Temple University who was responsible for bringing the first angoleiros to the U.S. in the 1980s (Mestre Moraes and Mestre Cobra Mansa);  Jamie Brown, an angoleiro who started capoeira in the '80s, has trained extensively under Mestre Moraes and Mestre Cobra Mansa and is responsible, directly and/or indirectly, for the creation of every angoleiro in Atlanta, Georgia; Professor Justin Emeka, a theater director at Oberlin College and a long-time angoleiro who was responsible for first bringing Mestre Jurandir of FICA to the U.S., as well as training with the organization for a number of years; and the leader of the Low Country Academy, Chicago, another long-time angoleiro and community activist that trains many members of the African-American community in Philadelphia and a strong influence on the greater African-American capoeira community in the U.S. at-large.

The afternoon started off with a roda (of course!) which contained lots of axé and many good games. The capoeiristas sang beautifully, moved gracefully, and danced rhythmically around the roda. For the sake of having enough time to for the discussion the roda ended at the two hour mark sharp. After taking another hour to cool down and consume snacks and beverages the discussion began. The topics covered in the discussion spanned a wide but focused spectrum, including when and how Capoeira (Regional then Angola) first came to the U.S., the participation of black capoeiristas then and now and why some African-Americans (and Americans in general) have an aversion to learning the Portuguese language.  Participants also wanted to discuss their reactions to the recent delay in naming Chicago, a student of the Mestre Joao Grande for almost two decades, the honorary title of Contra-Mestre. This part of the discussion was not prompted by Totti but the conversation ensued because there were so many passionate speakers on this topic. It arose in relation to Mestre Joao Grande bestowing a handful of his other longstanding students this year with the honorary title when Chicago’s credits appeared to be just as credible…if not more. In addition, Chicago is the only American, specifically African-American, within the eligible crop of honories that was not acknowledged as having some mastery of the art thus some members of the African-American community felt it was a topic that affected their identity as well.    

In all, the 5 hour discussion was informative, enlightening, and enriching. It only ended because time ran out due to prior commitments. Totti encouraged the community to continue to have these discussions and all consented that they would like to. With the lack of representation of people of African descent in Capoeira Angola right now it seems as this would be a positive step towards the cohesion and comprehension of what Africans are experiencing in this art form today. Thus, not only do we encourage the meetings but we also hope to be a part of the next one and the many more to come.

~ Some games from the event ~