Capoeira Angola arose out of the experience of African people who were enslaved and taken forcibly to the Americas. Capoeira Angola is a living testament to their determination to resist the physical, cultural, and spiritual oppression that resulted from their enslavement - an oppression that continues today in a myriad of ways.
Another part of the experience of colonization was the disposession of Indigenous People, and a centuries-long effort to eradicate them physically, culturally and spiritually.
Though the United States federal government still celebrates Columbus Day, various cities around the country are renaming that date "Indigenous Peoples' Day." In Bellingham, the city council approved a resolution to rename it Coast Salish Day.
We can celebrate this day, and honor the
treaty that the Federal Government signed with the Indigenous People of this land, as we do in the tradition fo Capoeira Angola, with a song:
Iê!
Reconheço
que essa terra
é a
casa ancestral
de um povo bem antigo
que é
preciso respeitar.
A
essencia desse povo
é na
terra, é no mar
é nas arvores, nos rios
é a historia do lugar.
Agora
moramos juntos,
juntos
vamos trabalhar
para
defender essa terra
para
defender o mar!
Nessa
roda de Angola
é
bonito de se ver
vem
p’ra roda meu colega
a
amizade vai crescer, camarada!
Translation:
I recognize that this land
is the ancestral home
of a very ancient people
who are worthy of respect
The essence of this people
is in the land, is in the sea,
is in the trees, in the rivers,
it’s the history of this place.
Now we live together,
together, let us work
to defend this land
to defend the sea!
In this roda of [capoeira] angola
it’s good to see you
come to the roda, my friend,
our friendship will grow!
