Batuque (game)

Batuque (meaning hammering from the Portuguese verb batucar, to hammer) was a Brazilian game played in Bahia in the early part of the twentieth century by African slaves which were brought to Brazil but now extinct.[1] A similar game, pernada, was popular in Rio de Janeiro about the same time. Players stand in a circle; one player stands in the center in a defensive position, and another moves around him, suddenly attacking. The attacking player tries to throw the defending player to the ground with blows from his legs. Mestre Bimba's father was a champion of batuque, and research seems to indicate that Mestre Bimba incorporated some techniques into his Capoeira regional courses.[1]

Batuque in present

There are efforts to resurrect Batuque (and leg wrestling in general) as a modern sport.[2]

References
  1. Gerard Taylor, Capoeira: The Jogo de Angola from Luanda to Cyberspace, Volumen 2
  2. "batuque".

Further reading

Capoeira: Roots of the Dance-Fight-Game, by Nestor Capoeira, ISBN 1-55643-404-9.


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