Capoeira is an Afro Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, music,
and dance. It is strongly believed to have been created in Brazil by African slaves by
mixing the many fighting styles from many of their tribes sometime after the sixteenth
century.
A Capoeira roda is formed by a circle of people and at the head of the roda is the
bateria, which are the Capoeira instruments - berimbau, atabaque, pandeiro,
sometimes the ago-go and recoco. The bateria is led by the gunga, the head
berimbau, and it is the player of the gunga that sings a song, which everyone
responds by singing the chorus. It is the music that sets the rhythm of the game.
A game begins with the instruments, then the singing and clapping. Two players
start at the foot of the berimbau. As their game progresses, another player from the
roda may circle round to pay their respects to the berimbau, find an opening, and
buy the game. The game continues in this flow until the berimbau signals the end.
