Glossary

Capoeira Glossary*

*(Please note this is not an exhaustive list)

A

  • Abadá: (1) Nowadays the term abadá has come to mean the white pants used in capoeira; (2) Capoeira group created in 1988 by Mestre Camisa, called ABADÁ-Capoeira. ABADÁ-Capoeira stands for ‘Associação Brasileira de Apoio e Desenvolvimento da Arte – Capoeira’ (Brazilian Association for the Support and Development of the Art of Capoeira).
  • Academia: Capoeira school.
  • Angola (Capoeira style): (1) Slow, playful game played low to the ground, including specific rituals and technique; (2) Former Portuguese colony in the south west of Africa.
  • Aluno: Student.
  • Apelido: Nickname.
  • Arame: Litterally ‘wire’. An arame is the metal string on the berimbau. The arame is ususually extracted from the inside the innner rim of an old tire.
  • Armada: Kick.
  • Atabaque: The drum used in capoeira roda.
  • Ataque: Attacking move.
  • Aú: Cartwheel.
  • Aú batido (Beija-flor): Half-cartwheel with one hand on the ground.
  • Aú sem mão: Cartwheel without hands.
  • Aula: Class.

B

  • Bahia: A state in northeastern Brazil. It has the highest percentage of Brazilians of African descent and is internationally known as a center of Afro-Bahian culture. Bahia is known as the “cradle of capoeira” because it was the only place that capoeira survived the intense police persecution of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the art then spread from Bahia to other cities in Brazil and subsequently other countries.
  • Balanco: Balance.
  • Bananeira: Handstand.
  • Baqueta: A wooden stick approximately 12 inches long used to strike the berimbau wire and thus create sounds. Thin stick used to hit the arame and thus play the berimbau.
  • Base: Startposition of the ginga.
  • Bater palma: Clapping your hands.
  • Batizado: Baptism. It is the initiation of new students into the capoeira group. This tradition was started by Mestre Bimba in the 1930s; the batizado consisted of the initiates’ first time playing in the roda to the sound of the berimbau. In modern batizados, new students receive their first cordão (cord) as well as an apelido (nickname). The batizado often happens together with a troca de cordões (changing of cords), in which more experienced students can advance from one cord level to another. Batizados are usually held once a year and also include workshops with invited capoeira Mestres as well as performances of other cultural traditions. Capoeira groups of the regional and contemporânea styles practice the tradition of the batizado, whereas groups of Capoeira Angola do not.
  • Benção: Front kick.
  • Berimbau: An (African) instrument, which determines the rhythm and the game of capoeira. Commonly three types of berimbaus are present in the roda (the ‘gunga’, the ‘medio’ and the ‘viola’).
  • Bimba: Historical Capoeira Master (Manoel dos Reis Machado) from the 19th century and the founder of Capoeira Regional. Mester Bimba was the first one to open a capoeira academy.
  • Brincadeira: Playfulness.

C

  • Cabaça: Gourd used as the resonator on the berimbau.
  • Cabeçada: Headbutt.
  • Camará: Friend.
  • Capoeira Angola: See ‘Angola’.
  • Capoeira Regional: See ‘Regional’.
  • Capoeeiragem: A nineteenth-century for capoeira, the martial art.
  • Capoeirsta: The contemporary term for a capoeira player.
  • Caxixi: Wooden rattle used with the berimbau.
  • Chula: Type of capoeira song. Usually follows the ladainha, and consists of praises and exhortations by the lead singer, repeated by the chorus. Also called canto de entrada.
  • Cocorinha: defensive/squatting movements used to evade high kicks.
  • Comprar o jogô: Buy the game; entering the ‘roda’ by cutting in on another player.
  • Contemporânea (Capoeira style): The modern form of capoeira, a modified version of Regional.
  • Contra golpe: Counter attack.
  • Contra-mestre: Rank between advanced students and ‘Mestre’.
  • Corda: Colored belt awarded to mark grades of advancement in some capoeira groups.
  • Corrido: The song that accompanies the capoeira game, consisting of solo verse and a chorus.

D

  • Defensa: Defence.
  • Dobrão: Coin used to play the berimbau.

E

  • Escravo: Slave.
  • Esquiva: Defensive escape position.
  • Esquiva de frente: Defensive escape position ‘in the front’.
  • Esquiva do lado: Defensive escape position to the side.

F

  • Floreios: Acrobatic/fancy movements.
  • Formatura: Grading of a new master.

G

  • Galopante: Open hand blow to the side of the head used in capoeira Regional.
  • Ginga: The basic movement in capoeira.
  • Golpe: Kick.
  • Grupo: Group.
  • Gunga: The bass berimbau. It is responsible for keeping the rhythm.

I

  • Instrutor: Instructor. In the Senzala Group one receives that ‘title’ after the blue cord/belt.

J

  • Jogador: Player.
  • Jogar (verb): To play.
  • Jogo: Game.
  • Jogo de Capoeira: The game of Capoeira.

L

  • Ladainha: The introductory song in traditional capoeira. Opening song in an Angola game. The ladainhas are not ’call’ and ’response’ but rather are sung by a soloist, usually crouched at the foot of the berimbau. However, at the end of the ladainha the singer will go into a canto de entrada, where he praises capoeira mestres, places, or famous capoeiristas, and then chorus responds in the acknowledgement by repeating what was just praised.
  • Luanda: Capital of Angola.

M

  • Macaco: Monkey or acrobatic movement.
  • Malandragem: Deception, cunning.
  • Malicia: Cunning, shrewdness, one key quality of capoeira players.
  • Mandinga: (1) Witchcraft, socery; (2) Spiritual power and cunning in capoeira.
  • Mandingueiro: Someone who has mandinga, e.g. who knows how to use witchcraft or who knows how to use cunning and malice when playing capoeira.
  • Martelo: Literally meaning ‘hammer’. Roundhouse kick.
  • Martelo cruzado: Armada followed up by a flying martelo.
  • Medio: Also known as berimbau do centro. It plays the basic theme with a basic variation.
  • Meia-lua de Compasso: Low spinning kick, a half-moon of the compass with one or both hands in the ground.
  • Meia-lua de frente: A high half-circle kick in front coming from the outside going inwards towards the middle.
  • Mestre: Master in Capoeira.
  • Moeda: Coin used to play the berimbau.
  • Moleque: Word used in Brazil for a young, usually black, boy.
  • Mortal: Backwards salto.
  • Movimentação: Movement.

N

  • Negativa: Squatting position with one leg straight used to evade high kicks by moving to the side.

P

  • Palmas: Clapping hands.
  • Pandeiro: Like a tambourine but with a drum skin.
  • Pastinha: Historical Capoeira Master from the 19th century and the founder of the first Capoeira Angola Academy.
  • Ponteira: Front snap kick with the ball of the foot.
  • Profesor: Teacher. In the Senzala Group one receives this ‘title’ after the green cord/belt.
  • Pisão: Sidekick; similar to bênção.

Q

  • Quadra: A type of capoeira song, consisting of a short solo followed by call call repsonse.
  • Queda de rins: Fall to the ground; resting on one elbow into the kidneys.
  • Queixada: Kick coming from the inside going outside. Used in in capoeira Regional and other contemporary style.

R

  • Rasteira: Sweep technique.
  • Regional (Capoeira style): A Capoeira style created in Bahia in the 1930s by Mestre Bimba. Bimba modified many of the exisiting kicks in the traditional capoeira to create a more upright and aggressive style. Regional style originally practiced by Bimba and his pupils is rarely seen. Instead there is a hybrid that could be called Regional/Senzala.
  • Roda: Literally means ‘wheel’. This is the circle in which capoeira is played.
  • Rolê: A squadlike position used when moving away from negativa.

S

  • Salvador: The capital of the state of Bahia, and the capital of Brazil from 1549 to 1763. It is known as the “cradle of capoeira,” since it was the only city in which the art survived the intense police persecution of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Salvador has a large population of Brazilians of African descent and is internationally recognized as a center of Afro-Brazilian culture.
  • São Bento Grande (de Angola): Medium paced rhythm most often used in the roda.
  • São Bento Grande (de Regional): Fast berimbau rhythm created by Mestre Bimba for a faster and more offensive Capoeira game based on São Bento Grande.
  • Senzala: Slave quarter. It is also the name of one of the biggest Capoeira Groups established in the 1960’s. The Senzala group was responsible for adding several new warm up and teaching techniques. They built on the work of Mestre Bimba and modified existing kicks and movements.

T

  • Tocar (verb): To play music.
  • Toques: Rhythms played with the berimbau.
  • Troca negativa: Changing sides while in negativa.

V

  • Viagem: Journey.
  • Vingativa: Shoulder tackle and hip throw takedown.
  • Vintem: An old coin used in Brazil and Portugal which used to play the berimbau. It can be a heavy coin, a washer or a stone. The vintem is also called dobrão.
  • Viola: The berimbau that has the highest pitch; it has the most freedom to improvise during the roda.
  • Volta do mundo: ‘Around the world’; circling the roda when a capoeirista is tired.