Capoeira is African

One of the most “Brazilian” arts is really African. Created by the Africans brought to Brazil as slaves beginning in 1500, capoeira is a martial art that was forbidden by law but survived underground. It was used by slaves to protect themselves in the hostile environment. There is much dispute surrounding the origin of this art: there are many who disagree on whether it arrived with enslaved Africans or whether Africans created it once they reached Brazil. The article states there is a continued effort to “disfranchise African people of their contributions to world civilization” (assatashakur.org), but truth is, no one disputes that it is an African creation. The word "capoeira" is probably a derivation of the Ki-Kongo word "kipura" which means "to flit from place to place; to struggle, to fight, to flog". N'dongo warriors, using their capoeira skills, would literally catapult themselves across rivers to avoid being captured by the Portuguese slavers. It is an amazing spectacle of agility, acrobatics and physical prowess. It can be a dangerous, even murderous style of combat that gives the trained fighter the ability to beat back an attack by eight men simultaneously, tossing them in all directions and crippling them one by one until all are incapacitated if not dead. In one of the novellas I posted earlier (Little Missy), there is a scene where a slave kills his master with capoeira.

Capoeira is practiced in Brazil today as a form of art, not as a murderous skill. During the carnival, bands of capoeira attract large crowds on the streets. It has become a dance with music provided by singing and percussion instruments, using the berimbau (originated in Tunga, Africa), which has a low-strung wire that is beaten with a stick. Practitioners of Capoeira gather in a circle, called a roda, and those who surround the contestants sing, clap and play the berimbau and drums. History and philosophy are passed through the songs. Then the contestants perform a movement called the Ginga, where they move around each other, almost like a dance, in order to disorient their opponent. It has a unique beat that continues to touch my heart. It is almost impossible to imagine how many years of culture and skill have been put into the capoeira practiced today, but like many of Brazil’s most loved bits of culture, it’s come from Africa.

http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/guerrilla-warfare-tactic-technique-survival/1496-africa-brazil-beyond-capoeira.html