The Religious Foundations of Capoeira Angola: The Cosmopolitics of an Apparently Non-religious Practice
Scholars commonly associate the religiosity of capoeira with the Afro- Brazilian religion of Candomblé, although some consider capoeira to be exclusively a martial art or even a sport. From the vantage point of the leaders of capoeira Angola groups, their individual power comes from a set of magical...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[2017]
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| In: |
Religion and society
Year: 2017, Volume: 8, Issue: 1, Pages: 79-93 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Angola
/ Capoeira
/ Spiritual movement
/ Ritual
/ Candomblé
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| Further subjects: | B
Candomblé
B Spirituality B Capoeira B Magic B Religion B Cosmology B Politics B Power |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Scholars commonly associate the religiosity of capoeira with the Afro- Brazilian religion of Candomblé, although some consider capoeira to be exclusively a martial art or even a sport. From the vantage point of the leaders of capoeira Angola groups, their individual power comes from a set of magical attributes that go beyond the influence of Afro-Brazilian religions. In this article, I explore an alternative form of spirituality that is based on the existence of spiritual beings such as the ancestors and the dead mestres (leaders). I argue that these entities emerge only in capoeira performances, affecting ritual action in such a way as to constitute an alternative form of religion that co-exists with Candomblé. By focusing on the effects that these spirits have in the configuration of charismatic personal power, it is possible to delineate cosmological attributes that make capoeira a potential religious practice in its own right. |
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| ISSN: | 2150-9301 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion and society
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3167/arrs.2017.080105 |