| about Bantus Capoeira What does Bantus Mean? The name Bantus refers to a broad African ethnic group, the Bantu people, who shared a similar language root and occupied two thirds of Western & Southern Africa (Angola, Guinea, Congo, Mozambique etc). The term Bantu refers to over 400 different ethnic groups from these African regions. –NTU means “human” and BA- indicates a plural, put together it means “people”. Grupo Bantus Capoeira Grupo Bantus Capoeira was founded by Mestre Pintor in 1991 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Mestre Pintor has over 40 years experience in capoeira, and was taught by the world famous Mestre João Pequeno. Bantus Capoeira now has branches across Brazil, in Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia & Thailand. At Bantus Capoeira we play the Angola, Regional, and Contemporânea styles of capoeira. We also practice Samba, Maculelê, Puxada de Rede, Dança Afro and Forró, all forms of Brazilian dance. Who is Mestre Pintor? Paulo Cesar Leite dos Santos, or Mestre Pintor as he is known within Capoeira circles, is the master of Grupo Bantus Capoeira in Brazil. He started playing around with Capoeira on the streets as a teenager. Later on he trained in Belo Horizonte and then Bahia with various masters, chasing after knowledge of Capoeira, before coming to rest in the academy of Mestre João Pequeno of Pastinha in Salvador, Bahia. He graduated as a master in 1989 with the group of Macaco at the Escola de Educacao Fisica in Belo Horizonte, and after a few more years training with Mestre João Pequeno also graduated as a master of Capoeira Angola. World Capoeira Festivals Every year the group holds a “World Meet” - a capoeira cultural exchange with our fellow members at their academies. In 2005 we travelled to Malaysia, and in 2006 we made the long trip to our headquarters in BH, Brazil for the 15th Anniversary of Bantus Capoeira. It was an unforgettable journey where we had the fortune to meet many famous masters including Mestre Pintor, Mestre Escamoso, Mestre Sena, Mestre Jaime do Mar Grande, Mestre Ciro, Mestre Tamandua, Mestre João, and the great Mestre João Pequeno, and instructors and students of capoeira from around the world. The week-long festival consisted of capoeira games, workshops, lectures, and presentations of all aspects of Afro-Brazilian culture and dance! In 2007 the World Meet was held here in Perth to celebrate 10 years of GBC Australia. The event was an unforgettable experience mixing with Bantulinos from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Holland, Germany, and Brazil. Our members were able to meet Mestre Pintor, Mestre Escamoso, and other instructors from around the world. They took part in workshops, a capoeira competition, and made new lifelong friendships. The 2008 World Meet was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - to coincide with the 5th Anniversary of Bantus Capoeira Malaysia. Capoeiristas from Australia, Singapore, Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand all made the journey to be enlightened and enthralled by capoeira. Many festivities and capoeira activities were enjoyed by all and the Festival proved to be a huge success, with massive numbers taking part in it and the Batizado e Troca de Cordao. The Batizado A batizado (pronounced “ba-chi-za-doh”) is an initiation and grading ceremony where capoeira students receive their first capoeira cord. The students wear their cord around their waist through the belt loops of their pants. The cords are hand made with wool of various colours. The first Bantus cord is made from the colours red, black, and white. The 2nd to 11th (final) cords are made from the colours of the Brazilian flag, blue, green, yellow, and white. As a capoeira student progresses and improves in the art of capoeira, they change their cords at the batizado ceremony in another capoeira tradition known as the troca de corda, or change of cords. To reach the master level (mestre de capoeira) the student needs to dedicate their life to capoeira and can take up to 30 years of training. The batizado and troca de cordas must be supervised by the mestre of the group, in our case, Mestre Pintor, and the group’s highest ranking instructors and happens only once a year. The Grupo Bantus Capoeira Cord System Higher cords are received according to capoeira skills, knowledge and effort to improve the game and active participation in the group. Beginner Cords White/Black/Red (Coral) Green Green/Yellow Intermediate Cords Yellow Yellow/Blue Advanced Cords Blue (Aluno Graduado) Blue/White (Transition) Blue/Green (Aluno Formado) Blue/Green/Yellow (Professor) Blue/Green/White (Contra Mestre) Blue/Green/White/Yellow (Mestre) About Capoeira Nicknames (Apelidos) Before it was legalised, the punishment for practicing Capoeira was extreme, and the police were vicious in their attempt to stamp out the art. Capoeira continued to be practiced, but it moved further underground. Rodas were often held in areas with plenty of escape routes, and a special rhythm called cavalaria was added to the music to warn players that the police were coming. To avoid being persecuted, Capoeiristas also gave themselves nicknames, often more than one. This made it much harder for the police to discover their true identities. This tradition continues to this day. When a person is baptized into Capoeira at the batizado ceremony, they are given a nickname. Their nickname is usually based on a personal character trait or an event that person is famous for. Contact Grupo Bantus Capoeira Australia |
