Capoeira, an original Afro-Brazilian discipline, is not so easily defined due to its numerous facets, as a deadly martial art, an exotic dancing discipline, inspired by an ancient far-away culture. Nearly four hundred years of slave trade brought to Brazil an envyingly cultural heritage, composed of a continuous influx of different ethnic groups, which, concomitant with the different native, African and European regional expressions and its rich constant geopolitical changes, has produced a singular, colourful and vibrant multicultural and multi-ethnic society engaged in their new Brazilian identity. From the XVIII to the XIX century, the harsh conditions with which black slaves were treated led to increasing numbers of slave revolts in the Americas, where escaped slaves forming independent Maroon communities in French, Hispanic, British and the Netherlands Antilles, and the Quilombola communities in Brazil, organized fighting guerrilla wars against the plantation masters and owners, giving rise to campaigns against slavery in Europe and the abolition of slavery in the Americas. Capoeira became the result of Brazil's own diasporic experience, a branch of a large tree which grew into a unique and complex social art that cannot be dissociated from its historical and anthropological perspectives. This book is written by expert Brazilian capoeira Mestre Ricardo Cachorro, unveils the Age of Exploration and the resulted Atlantic slave trade, unfolding African slavery in Europe as early as in the 15th century, much before black slaves were taken to the New World. The enchanting saga of the Akindele family from the beautiful Yoruba kingdom of Adágún L}wá will take you deeply into pre-colonial Africa and to the lands of newly explored Bahia de Todos os Santos in 1531, where the almost sacred history of capoeira began. From the new findings in Africa to the discoveries in Brazil, this captivating book navigates through the Feitorias and Capitanias the sugarcane mills of the 17th century the real and virtually unknown cradle of capoeira. It brings to surface beautiful historic and cultural aspects of the colonial periods with its arts, music and religion, the African melting pot which was formed from the blend of ancient African cultures and the new Afro-Brazilian rural and urban settings and, finally, the old and the modern founders of capoeira. This is a delicious treat for all Capoeira's lovers, practitioners, and instructors who want to know more about this original Afro-Brazilian discipline, as well as students of history, anthropology, art, music, theatre, and related fields all the way from the academic researcher to the curious history & culture lover.
