Capoeira: The History of an Afro-Brazilian Martial Art

98 THE CAPOEIRA SCENE IN BAHIA
Figure 4.3 The earliest image of a combat match in Bahia. Slaves and freedmen preferred to socialize well away from
their masters’ sight, for instance on this clearing—capoeira—on the Itapagipe peninsula, on the outskirts of the city.
‘San Salvador’. Engraving after Johann Moritz Rugendas, from Voyage Pittoresque dans le Brésil (Paris: Engelmann &
Compagnie, 1835). By kind permission of the British Library, London.
circles this engraving is always—and in my view, incorrectly—linked to his other one explicitly entitled
‘Capoera’, most likely to be located in Rio de Janeiro and already discussed in Chapters 1 and 3. In my opinion
there is absolutely no convincing evidence that Rugendas depicted what is defined today as capoeira in his
San Salvador engraving; it could be any other form of Afro-Bahian martial art, such as the batuque.
Nonetheless his engraving proves the centrality of male combat games in early nineteenth-century Afro-
Bahian culture.
In the second half of the nineteenth century other, more substantial sources confirm that capoeira, in its
widest and generic meaning, already existed in Salvador. In James Wetherell’s diary, only published after
his death, an entry headed ‘Blacks’ for the year 1856 reads as follows:
Negroes fighting with their open hands is a frequent scene in the lower city. They seldom come to
blows, or at least sufficient to cause any serious damage. A kick on the shins is about the most painful
knock they give each other. They are full of action, capering and throwing their arms and legs about
like monkeys during their quarrels. It is a ludicrous sight. 9
Comparing the blacks’ movements with monkeys certainly reflects the author’s eurocentric prejudices but
could nevertheless also express some degree of objectivity, since the imitation of animals’ moves is a
recurrent theme among capoeira practitioners. Wetherell is ambiguous in his description, first classifying it
as a ‘fight’, and then suggesting it was not really serious. Furthermore, his indication that this scene is
frequent in the lower part of the city is crucial in so far as this is the first known reference of a martial game
being played in the port area. Not calling it capoeira or giving it any name at all might be attributed to his
unfamiliarity with slave culture. On the other hand, he is acquainted enough with slave music to give a
description of the different instruments bondsmen used, including a detailed account of the berimbau. 10