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

a rIo de JaneIro Slave Game
FIGuRe 1.17. A Capoeira in the
Time of the Vice-Regent (1932).
from Luíz edmundo, O Rio de
Janeiro do meu tempo (rio de
Janeiro: imprensa nacional,
1938). reproduced by kind
permission of Biblioteca
nacional, rio de Janeiro.
spanish felt hat on their thick, curly hair.”125 an illustration in the book shows a
Capoeirista holding a knife in his mouth and a hat in his hand (figure 1.17). The
hat is a plain spanish hat with no ribbons. The man is wearing breeches, a shirt,
a coat, and sandals.
Luis edmundo purports to describe an event that occurred a hundred years
before his time, but it appears that he was not familiar with the Capoeira characteristics
of that period as he depicts items and accessories that were common in
his lifetime. in the early nineteenth century most Capoeiras were enslaved and
had very little choice as to the style of their clothing. at that time clothes were
an indicator of social status. slaves newly arrived in Brazil wore the short tunics
given to them by slave traders, as described by the German officer Carl schlichthorst:
“on arrival at the port, each slave, men and women alike, was given a
piece of blue cloth and a red hat, because they had sailed in a garment of paradise
[i.e., naked].”126 dressed in this minimal attire, they were displayed in the
slave market. other slaves usually wore cotton trousers and shirts. on special occasions,
men wore a jacket and vest, and women wore a skirt and blouse, if they
possessed these items. Men and children usually wore long shirts, short kneelength
pants, or skirtlike lengths of cloth tied around their waists. schlichthorst
reported, “The strongest slaves work in the streets as porters. They are naked except
for a short apron tied around their waist that barely covers their thighs.”127
Many were partially dressed or completely naked, which resulted in complaints
to the authorities about “indecency.” The edicts that followed forbade walking