Customer Reviews

Capoeira and Candomblé: Conformity And Resistance In Brazil

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Merrell's book offers a fresh perspective on the tradition of capoeira, particularly with his emphasis on the influences of candomble. Merrell builds upon and references Mestre Acordeon's often-cited insights (of "playing in the dark," "playing in water," "playing in the light," "playing with the crystal ball," and "playing in the mind"), attempting to explain to readers the feel and power of "playing in the bodymindspirit." For those who like pondering ways of being (i.e, notions of "becoming," of ambiguity, and of the processual)--and I do--this work is truly enjoyable. While this book may be a bit weighty or academically abstract and philosophical for some capoeiristas' tastes, Merrrell's work fills an important niche in 8-10 top books in English written on the subject. As but one example of his scholarly flights of imagination, see his handling of Exu, trickster by default, and the complexities of moving beyond "either/or" and "both/and" thinking to a third way of thinking, or "thirdness." Expect coverage of complex topics, a bit of "jargon" (appropriate for a scholarly work well-informed by years of research in Latin American history)--and you'll be rewarded with a book that makes you go "hmmmmmm." Axe ASCAB

Capoeira is a unique music-dance-sport-play activity created by African slaves, and Candomblé is a hybrid religion combining Catholic and African beliefs and practices. And while there are numerous books on Candomblé and kindred Afro-American religions, none of them effectively combines Candomblé and Capoeira. Actually, Capoeira and Candomblé are closely tied to one another. Together, they make up a coherent form of life in Brazil within the current process of globalization about which there has been much ballyhoo, eulogies, and condemnation.

This study involves the author's practice of and reflections on the arts of Capoeira and Candomblé; it culminates in the idea of an "other logic," an alternative culture "logic," about which much lip service is being paid in academic circles, with little to no concrete details.

This book, consequently, is one of a kind insofar as it bears on the interdependency of two Afro-Brazilian practices while grounding them in a theoretical framework and at the same time interrelating them with topics of great concern in the initial years of a new millennium: post-colonial and diaspora studies.