Capoeira Muçurumim’s mission is to focus on the healing, martial, and dance aspects of Capoeira Angola and use Capoeira as a forum to bridge cultural gaps, combat community violence, promote self-empowerment, and healing.
WHAT IS CAPOEIRA ANGOLA:
Capoeira Angola is an Afro-Brazilian martial dance with origins in central and west Africa. It’s roots lie in the N’golo tradition in which two combatants, mimicking the movements of fighting zebras, would compete for the hand of a bride. The better warrior won the bride and was excused from paying a dowry. During the colonial era, this and other martial practices were up-rooted and transplanted to Brazil via the trans-Atlantic slave trade by the Portuguese. In Brazil, the art evolved with influences from different African tribes as well as from the indigenous cultures of Brazil, and the effects of European colonialism. In Brazil, Capoeira was used as a means of liberation from societal and psychological constructs of slavery and colonial oppression. Capoeira Angola movements are offensive and defensive, and are primarily made up of kicks, sweeps, and escapes. The Capoeira ceremony takes place in a “roda,” circle in Portuguese, and is accompanied by music and song indicative of African martial arts. From the late 1800’s until the 1930’s, Capoeira, along with other African traditions, was abolished and it’s practitioners persecuted. Today, Capoeira is revered as the cultural treasure of Brazil.