Capoeira: The History of an Afro-Brazilian Martial Art

212 GLOSSARY
Chapa de frente Frontal kick in capoeira Angola.
Chibata ‘Whip’, a capoeira attack.
Chula Type of capoeira song. Usually follows the ladainha, and consists if praises and exhortations by the
lead singer, repeated by the chorus. Also called canto de entrada or louvação.
Congada The dramatic dance and festivities that accompany the election of a Congo king and queen,
organized by black brotherhoods in Brazil since colonial times.
Contra-mestre Aspiring mestre, intermediary stage between advanced student and mestre.
Corrido The song that accompanies the capoeira game, consisting of a solo verse and a chorus.
Cortiço Tenement, usually a delapidated townhouse with small rooms rented out to poor people.
Cufuinha War dance and mock combat performed in the Lunda Empire in central Africa. First described by
Henrique Dias de Carvalho (1890).
Cutilada Hand blow used in some capoeira styles.
Danmyé A friendlier form of ladjia in Martinique.
Dendê Palm oil used in West African, Caribbean and Bahian cuisine.
Desordeiro A troublemaker.
Efundula Female puberty ceremonies in southern Angola, during which some forms of mock combat took
place between young men.
Engenho A (sugar) mill, and, by extension, the whole sugar plantation.
Escravo de ganho A slave ‘for hire’ whose services are sold by his owner.
Fazenda A big estate—plantation or cattle ranch—in Brazil. Most fazendas used slave labour until abolition
in 1888.
Filha de santo ‘Daughter of Saints’, a women initiated into candomblé.
Fundamentos 1 The core knowledge of candomblé, 2 The core knowledge of capoeira.
Galego An inhabitant of Galícia, Spain, by extension any Portuguese immigrant to Brazil.
Galopante Hand punch used in capoeira Regional.
Garrote Venezuelan art of stick fighting, especially prominent in the state of Lara.
Ginga Basic step in capoeira, consists in rhythmically moving from one side to the other.
Godeme One-handed punch used in capoeira Regional.
Gunga The berimbau with the deepest sound in the capoeira orchestra, usually the one which controls the
rhythm.
Inquice Deity in candomblés of the Angola line.
Jogo A game in capoeira.
Jogo de cintura The ‘flexible waist’, which allows good capoeira performance; by extension, the ability to
adapt and react to unforeseen circumstances.
Jogo de dentro ‘Inside game’ in capoeira, when practitioners play at close range.
Jogo de floreio An elegant game, which uses all the acrobatic resources of capoeira, but without full contact.
Jogo do pau Portuguese art of stick fighting.
Jujutsu ‘The art of softness’. One line of traditional Japanese combat techniques.
Kalunga In Kongo/Angola this term had several meanings: God; the world of the ancestors; the rivers and
the sea. ‘Crossing the kalunga’ could mean the transatlantic journey, but also referred to the line between
this world and the world of the spirits or ancestors.
Kixila Strict rules to which the Imbangala warriors living in Angolan quilombos had to abide. The kixila
included symbolic and possibly actual forms of cannibalism and infanticide.
Ladainha ‘Litany’, the introductory song in traditional capoeira.
Ladjia Combat game in Martinique whose techniques strongly resemble capoeira.
Liveta According to Neves e Souza, an open-hand fight that preceeded the n’golo.
Louvação ‘Praise’, another term for chula, the capoeira song that follows the initial ladainha.
Lundu 1 Dance in the hinterland of Luanda, 2 Musical genre that developed in Brazil from the batuque of
the slaves; the lundu is characterized by longer songs and more emphasis on the viola.