[SENATE] Bill to Legalise Capoeira
Posted: 19:00:42 Thursday, 05 October, 2017
Esteemed colleagues and comrades in the Chamber of Deputies, I bring another bill before this legislative body. What I propose is simply this: The legalisation of the ancient Brazilian martial arts style, developed around four centuries ago, known commonly as Capoeira, and its recognition as Brazilian cultural heritage.
Capoeira, an ancient Afro-Brazilian method now embraced by much else of society, is a wonderous thing to watch. It is not only a martial arts, it is also features dance and theatrical performances such as the popular Samba de Roda, the Maculelê, and the Puxada de Rede. Many performers sing and play music as they display their skills. But due to its historical connection to self-defence practised by the slaves of colonial Brazil, it was long looked down upon, and immediately following the abolition of slavery in 1888, Capoeira was in the year 1890 banned across Brazil, to prevent what many paranoid minds feared - an outbreak of violence among the "barbaric freedmen". An outbreak that never happened.
Immediately after the 1890 prohibition, terrible acts were carried out in the name of this law, including arrests, torture, mutilation, and even murder. Cultural practices such as the Roda de Capoeira, were cracked down upon. However, since the beginning of this decade, the repression against Capoeira has significantly declined, as it simply no longer is seen as posing a threat to anyone. In fact, there are suggestions to develop proper Capoeira schools, and many practitioners openly use it as a form of dance to entertain tourists intrigued by our cultural heritage. Several prominent and public champions of the legalisation of a peaceful, beautiful Capoeira exist, such as Manuel dos Reis Machado ("Mestre Bimba") and Vicente Ferreira Pastinha ("Mestre Pastinha"). There is no reason to keep this up. Four decades have passed since 1890.
In the West, an interest in Asiatic martial arts have been rising during the end of the last century. Mr. Edward William Barton-Wright introduced his own form of the Asiatic "jujutsu", known as "bartitsu", in 1898. Jujutsu classes are currently being held in, following the Great War, among other places, England, France, Germany, Italy, America, Australia and New Zealand. In the 1896 Olympics, that magnificent if bourgeois event held in Athens, fencing and Greco-Roman wrestling were included as sports. And I know that in distant Japan, new styles such as the mysterious "karate" are being developed. I even heard that in the Kingdom of Siam, something called "Muay Thai" is merging with old classical British boxing. All across the globe, except in Brazil, martial arts are advancing as a cultural phenomenon and healthy activity. Let's change that, colleagues comrades.
Thank you.
Capoeira, an ancient Afro-Brazilian method now embraced by much else of society, is a wonderous thing to watch. It is not only a martial arts, it is also features dance and theatrical performances such as the popular Samba de Roda, the Maculelê, and the Puxada de Rede. Many performers sing and play music as they display their skills. But due to its historical connection to self-defence practised by the slaves of colonial Brazil, it was long looked down upon, and immediately following the abolition of slavery in 1888, Capoeira was in the year 1890 banned across Brazil, to prevent what many paranoid minds feared - an outbreak of violence among the "barbaric freedmen". An outbreak that never happened.
Immediately after the 1890 prohibition, terrible acts were carried out in the name of this law, including arrests, torture, mutilation, and even murder. Cultural practices such as the Roda de Capoeira, were cracked down upon. However, since the beginning of this decade, the repression against Capoeira has significantly declined, as it simply no longer is seen as posing a threat to anyone. In fact, there are suggestions to develop proper Capoeira schools, and many practitioners openly use it as a form of dance to entertain tourists intrigued by our cultural heritage. Several prominent and public champions of the legalisation of a peaceful, beautiful Capoeira exist, such as Manuel dos Reis Machado ("Mestre Bimba") and Vicente Ferreira Pastinha ("Mestre Pastinha"). There is no reason to keep this up. Four decades have passed since 1890.
In the West, an interest in Asiatic martial arts have been rising during the end of the last century. Mr. Edward William Barton-Wright introduced his own form of the Asiatic "jujutsu", known as "bartitsu", in 1898. Jujutsu classes are currently being held in, following the Great War, among other places, England, France, Germany, Italy, America, Australia and New Zealand. In the 1896 Olympics, that magnificent if bourgeois event held in Athens, fencing and Greco-Roman wrestling were included as sports. And I know that in distant Japan, new styles such as the mysterious "karate" are being developed. I even heard that in the Kingdom of Siam, something called "Muay Thai" is merging with old classical British boxing. All across the globe, except in Brazil, martial arts are advancing as a cultural phenomenon and healthy activity. Let's change that, colleagues comrades.
Thank you.
Bill to Legalise Capoeira
Whereas it is recognised that the 1890 legislation which prohibits the practise of "Capoeira" and its variants in the Republic of the United States of Brazil no longer fulfils its purpose, i.e. the judicial management of recently freed former slaves in the immediate aftermath of the 1888 Lei Áurea which abolished slavery,
- Section 1. The Republic of the United States of Brazil recognises the traditional practice known as "Capoeira" as part of Brazil's cultural heritage.
- Section 2. The Republic of the United States of Brazil revokes the legislation issued in the year of 1890, once again legalising the open practice of "Capoeira" and its variants.
- Section 3. This bill shall go into effect thirty-one (31) days after passage.