A Collision of Cultures in the Brazilian Battle Dance - Capoeira Music

a rIo de JaneIro Slave Game
FIGuRe 1.7. The Kongolese Cosmology
yellow, the beginning of everything. its position, south, means that it belongs
to the world of the dead. Kala, life, is black. Tukula, embodying leadership, authority,
and power, is red. its position on the circle, in the north, connects it with
the gods. Luvemba, designating death and mutability, is white. The fifth point, in
the center of the circle, didi, is green. This is the center of life and of the earth.
Because of its central position, it is the most important point and is the key to
healing and discovery, among other things.
red and yellow are highly significant. red symbolizes power, charisma, and
leadership; yellow embodies knowledge. Because of their position in the circle,
red is connected with the gods while yellow is associated with the dead. The
ribbons adorning hats, held in the hands, or tied to staffs, enable Capoeiras to
communicate with their gods (red ribbons) or with the power linking the gods
with the dead (red and yellow ribbons) for protection or help or to intimidate an
enemy.
olfert dapper’s seventeenth-century painting depicts warriors in Luango
holding flags and wearing feathered hats and garments that flutter in the wind
(figures 1.8, 1.9).112 The fluttering robes symbolize strength. The flags, according