You've heard of Kwanzaa, the holiday based in African American culture, but similar traditions have appeared in nearly every slave territory. Perhaps you know the Rumba, which is an Afro-Cuban form of dance and associated music (learn more at Wikipedia). Another example of this transculturation, which I would like to focus on, is Capoeira.
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian form of art, dance, music, and game that came about during Colonial Brazil, before slavery ended in the late 1800s. Capoeira encompassed martial arts disguised as dance with distinct instruments and sounds, creating a game that slaves played in their living quarters or on the quilombos (runaway slave communities).
Beneath the surface, what seemed like a game was actually a form of resistance. By learning the ways of Capoeira, slaves learned fighting techniques and frequently mocked their owners. Blinded by the circle of fun and energetic participants playing the musical instruments and singing, owners seldom noticed the deep-rooted aggression that the game expressed. Capoeira was and still remains a sign of the rise against oppression. As a common theme in the class, games are not always for the sole purpose of fun and enjoyment, and often have a more powerful, although less apparent, meaning.
Here is a video of Capoeira today:
(You'll notice in the first seconds of the video a blast from the video games past: a shout out to the best Tekken character, Eddy. He's actually of Afro-Brazilian decent and uses a Capoeira form of fighting…who knew?)
It is interesting how dance and sports can be used for more than just a game. So many sports have skills that you can use in areas others than in competition and being able to translate those skills is a skill in itself.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of an example in the US where this is currently happening. Sort of similarly, I know in the past some sports have come about or gain popularity for non-sport reasons such as baseball becoming popular after labor unions were first formed because then people had more free time and thus decided to spend a lot of it playing a game.
I actually saw a group perform Capoeira at a cultural show a few years back and just thought it was regular form of dance. It’s interesting to see that there is a specific history behind it, and it has actually saved the lives of many slaves. I think this goes back to the saying that “life is a game” because the creation of Capoeira was like a strategy used to survive in the game of life. And like you mentioned Capoeira is a game in itself since they had to find ways to disguise this training from their slave owners. It just makes me think what other forms like martial arts or dance that are games as well.
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