“The berimbau gave me the compass”: capoeira and its manifestations in Sergipe, in the nineteenth century

Abstract

This text aims to understand aspects related to the manifestations of capoeira in Sergipe, in the second half of the 19th century. Being capoeira object of this investigation, it is understood as a cultural manifestation, including through its teachings, being an educational practice. We point out that it arose in a context marked by black slavery in Brazil. Considering this context, it is questioned to what extent the capoeira configurations, during the timeframe researched here, contributed to this manifestation regarding to the habitus formation of the subject called capoeira. Under the historiographic matrix of the New Cultural History newspapers, posture codes, reports of provincial presidents, paintings of recognized painters, travelers' reports, and official documents were analyzed. It was identified that, even though not included in official documents, capoeira marked the history of Sergipe thru its teachings.