Across Brazil, music and movement are more than forms of entertainment; they’re living records of history, identity, and resistance. Two powerful examples are Afro-Brazilian percussion traditions and the martial art–dance form known as capoeira. Both emerged during the slavery era, when millions of Africans were forced from their homelands and stripped of their culture. In the midst of oppression, enslaved people found creative ways to preserve their heritage and communicate their stories. Rhythms became a language. Movement became a form of survival. What looks today like choreography and music was once a coded expression of cultural memory and resilience. The percussion and capoeira workshops I attended was a form of communication that the enslaved from Africa used to express their thoughts on being oppressed. Being forced to live an unfamiliar way of life and to forget their own culture and traditions was to live with an unknown identity. Instead of allowing their stories that tell who they are to be washed away, they adapted and found ways to keep their voices alive, through music and dance.
Each instrument in the percussion family has a place. While slaves originally used these drums as barrels to carry food, they became multipurpose with each beautifully crafted to create a specific sound. I played the timpani (tímpanos). It is in the medium sized family of percussion. During the workshop, the sequence of beats that I played was simple, but the depth of the base that the timpani created was deep. It adds volume and depth to the overall ensemble of the music.
Interestingly, the timpani reminded me of myself. Someone who is simple and reserved, but the depth of who I am as a person and how I add to those around me is similar to this drum which could be why I felt more connected to it. Percussion was created by slaves as an act of resistance to being enslaved.
Capoeira also followed in this line of thinking as being an act of resistance. Capoeira was created in the 16th century. It was a resistance against oppression and allowed slaves to maintain their own culture. Each move had meaning. During play of Capoeira, someone could make a move also known as asking a ‘question’, and the move that their opponent responded with was the ‘answer’. Those in Capoeira would string continuous movements as they moved about each other. As this happens, percussion would be played with the result being a physical art form. Movements can include: cabeçada (headbutt), rasteira (sweep), chapa de frente (front push kick), chapa de costas (back push kick), meia lua (crescent kick) and more. In my learning of percussion and Capoeira, I’ve learned the purpose of the instruments that are played, the music that is produced, and the movements of Capoeira that are coordinated. Everything that the enslaved created was a form of expression, a resistance to being forgotten, and a way to keep their history and voices alive. While today it may be viewed as entertainment, it holds stories of people that walked Brazilian soil long ago who are still telling their stories today.
Sasha Terry
MPH Candidate, Animals, People, and Environment
Colorado School of Public Health | Colorado State University