Bimba’s Rhythm is one, two, three: From Resistance to Transformation through Brazilian Capoeira By Lang Maria Liu A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Lang Maria Liu (2013) BIMBA’S RHYTHM IS ONE, TWO, THREE: FROM RESISTANCE TO TRANSFORMATION THROUGH BRAZILIAN CAPOEIRA Doctor of Philosophy (2013) Lang Maria Liu Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education University of Toronto Abstract Capoeira is a Brazilian fighting art with roots in slavery that blends live music, dance, play and ritual. It is also an embodied form of knowledge that is holistic and sometimes profoundly transformative – a way of seeing and being that embraces an Afro- Brazilian vision of the world. Using personal lived experience and collected oral testimony related in a story-telling form, the study explores the knowledge embedded within capoeira through the lives of practitioners and through practitioners’ explanations of their teachings. The question of whether capoeira has a common essence, or more specifically, whether the capoeira of twentieth century Bahia from which all modern schools ultimately trace their origins has an essence, is explored. In the thesis, capoeira is discovered to be an expression of resistance and transformation. Capoeira, the author discovers, is a form of resistance in that its traditional teachings reflect a communal, non-materialistic and sensuous stance, in opposition to the dominant individualistic, capitalistic, techno-scientific approach that has dominated the industrialized West. Capoeira is also a source of transformation in that it allows individuals to develop to their fullest expression – a self that encompasses the physical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual dimensions – and helps people integrate within a web of relations, human, animal, or other. ii Using a Transformative Learning approach informed by an Indigenous framework, this dissertation attempts to bring the reader on a journey of the mind, body and spirit. In three books, each one describing a separate fieldwork trip to Brazil, the author weaves a tale that is both personal and profound in its planetary implications. iii Agradecimentos ~ Acknowledgements This work is dedicated to my mother – my inspiration and my light. Merci, Maman, pour tout ton amour inconditionnel. Obrigada aos Mestres, Professores, amigos e capoeiristas do Brasil e do mundo afora que me ensinaram, guiaram e inspiraram, me transformando na pessoa e no capoeirista que sou hoje. Thank you to all the Mestres, Professors, friends and other capoeiristas of Brazil and around the world who taught me, guided me and inspired me, helping me transform into the person and capoeirista I am today. * To my mestre, Manuel Nascimento Machado – Mestre Nenel – for believing in me. To Mestre Bimba, for his enlightened capoeira. To my teachers, Professors Anum, Chapinha, Berimbau and Mascote, to Mestres Preguiça, Canguru, Cafuné, Piloto and Garrincha, and to the rest of my family at the Filhos de Bimba Escola de Capoeira, for all of their knowledge and for making me feel at home. To Chang – my best friend and fantastic brother. To my father who inherited the pain of a culture and whom I deeply love. To Tulipe, my little guru, for teaching me about pure joy. To my Formatura partner, Lobo, for making it easy. To Maria, my friend and soul sister in Salvador. To Mestre Augusto for opening doors to me in Bahia and for his friendship. To Mestre Santa Rosa, Mestre Curió, Mestre Jararaca and all my other friends and teachers in the world of Capoeira Angola, for sharing your knowledge and lives with me. To Marionete, for those long bike conversations and for being there in so many ways. To Trevor, for making me believe in love again. To my students who believe in me and who have made the tough, but rich, journey of capoeira in Toronto with me. To Marvin, for his wisdom and caring. To Elizabeth Gilbert, Ruth Landes and Ruth Behar for writing from the heart. In loving memory of Roxana, who guided me through the thesis process. To Jean-Paul Restoule, my supervisor, for his spiritful guidance. To Anne Goodman, David Turner and Edmund O’Sullivan, my committee members, whose work sparked many of these ideas. To my mom and Cathy Ponte, for helping me edit several drafts of this monster! To Mark Francisco for helping with all the formatting stuff and making it fun, to Jen Lam for printing several drafts, and to Deanna Yaruchuk for the mock exam. To all my friends who cheered me on all these years and who make life so beautiful. To all the healers and teachers who have helped and are helping me become whole again. To the Creator, for the gift of life and for loving me, despite my doubts. iv Table of Contents ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v GLOSSARY viii MAP OF BRAZIL xiii LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND FIGURES xiv INTRODUCTION 1 Methodology 4 Indigenous Knowledge 12 Storywork 15 The Interviews 18 The Origins of Capoeira: Slavery 33 Prologue to Book 1 35 BOOK ONE……………………………………………………………………………………… SALVADOR DA BAHIA (DECEMBER 2004 – AUGUST 2005) ~ Part One: Graça 1. Voltei (I Came Back) 41 2. Mestre Augusto: Encontro at Itapoã 45 3. Mestre Pelé of the Golden Throat 51 4. Mestre Curió 56 5. Mestre Zé do Lenço 63 6. Life in Bahia 65 7. Magic in Bahia 69 8. Frederico de Abreu – The Historian 73 9. Maria, Porto Alegre and Getting Sick 75 ~ Part Two: Santo Antônio 1. The Move 82 2. Professor Anum 85 3. Mestre Jararaca 89 4. The Clever Body 92 5. Winter 97 6. Malícia 102 7. Mestre Mica 105 8. Mestre KK – Luís Bonates 109 9. Spring in Salvador 113 10. Mestre Olavo 116 11. Mestre Zé do Lenço’s Birthday 122 12. Mestre Marinheiro 123 v 13. Adeus, Adeus… 130 Epilogue to Book One 134 BOOK TWO………………………………………………………………………………………. CAPOEIRA: A TAPESTRY OF BRAZIL (DECEMBER 2006 – APRIL 2007) ~ Part One: Salvador da Bahia 1. Mestre Augusto and the Students 138 2. Aracajú – Mestre Adolfo 145 ~ Part Two: Belém do Pará 1. Belém 155 2. Mestre Bezerra 157 ~ Part Three: Return to Salvador 1. Daily Life 165 2. Balões 167 ~ Part Four: Carnival 1. Olinda’s Mestre Sapo 170 2. Contra-Mestre Betão 176 ~ Part Five: Last Month in Salvador 1. The Rains of March 181 Epilogue to Book Two 184 BOOK THREE................................................................................................................................. A Palma do Bimba é um, dois, três (January 2008 – May 2008) ~ Part One: The Bachelor 1. Cabral Discoveries 189 2. Roberta and the Women of Capoeira 194 3. Bahia 197 4. Dona Nalvinha 200 5. Visiting Frede 203 6. The Vulnerable Researcher 210 7. Carnival in Diôgo 212 vi 8. Santo Amaro’s Mestre Evan 214 9. Berimbau Lessons 221 ~ Part Two: Wedding Bells 1. My Students in Bahia 224 2. Mestre Santa Rosa in Cachoeira 227 3. Return to Santo Antônio 231 ~ Part Three: Filha de Bimba 1. Mestre Nenel 236 2. Mestre Diôgo of the Retiro 247 3. Mestre Cafuné and Mestre Piloto 249 4. Estrela 256 Epilogue to Book Three 258 CONCLUSION: TEACHINGS FROM CAPOEIRA 266 Women in Capoeira 267 The “Essence” of Capoeira 271 The Darker Side of Capoeira 272 Culture 274 Spirit 277 Capoeira as an Act of Resistance 281 Embodied Teachings 286 Capoeira and Transformative Learning 290 Closing the Circle: Bringing it all Together 296 APPENDICES 301 REFERENCES 327 vii GLOSSARY academia = capoeira school afiliado = someone to whom one is related; Mestre Bimba used the term to denote family-like relationships in capoeira água = water aipim = kind of root eaten widely in Brazil, part of the staple diet of many indigenous people; pirão de aipim is mashed aipim aluno/a = student aluno formado = graduated student Amazonas = a rhythm played by Mestre Bimba on the berimbau Angoleiro = practitioner of Capoeira Angola agogô = cowbell água de côco = coconut water apelido = nickname (also known as “Nome de Guerra” in capoeira circles) arrastão = take-down where attacker grabs behind the knees and lifts the opponent arrocha = modern style of pop music from Bahia atabaque = tall drum used in many cultural manifestations in Bahia aù = cartwheel axé = “good vibes, positive energy” (African concept) azulejos = Portuguese blue tiles Baiana/Baiano = a person from Bahia balões = throws created by Mestre Bimba where one partner throws the other (and the one thrown must land on his feet) bananeira = banana tree; hand stand in capoeira banda/banda de costa = take-down using a rapid heal strike banguela = slow rhythm created by Mestre Bimba and played on the berimbau barracão = kind of structure where capoeira used to be played bateria = capoeira orquestra baqueta = stick used to strike the berimbau wire Belém do Pará = capital city of the state of Pará at the mouth of the Amazon River benção = a “blessing”; a powerful kick to the solar plexis used in capoeira benguela = modern variation on Mestre Bimba’s Banguela rhythm beriba = a kind of wood used to make berimbaus berimbau = a bow-like musical instrument of African origin used mostly in capoeira blocos = Carnival groups boa viagem/Boa Viagem = have a good trip (sung in many capoeira rodas at the end); also the name of a neighbourhood in Salvador cabaça = berimbau gourd which is pressed to the stomach to create an echo cachoeira/Cachoeira = waterfall; also the name of a small town of the Recôncavo region of Bahia calça = pants cana de açucar = sugarcane Candomblé = Bahian religion with strong African roots canivete = a type of capoeira movement where on supports the weight on one hand and folds the limbs like a switchblade viii capitão do mato = “Captain of the Forest”, a man who was hired to capture runaway slaves in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.