Abadá
- A long and loose shirt that was used by the Nago peoples, similar to the national clothing of Nigeria. Waldeloir Rego describes the typical clothing of the capoeirista in the mid-twentieth century as "ordinary pants with the hems rolled up, barefoot, and with an abadá-type shirt, made of a sack of sugar or flour."
- Despite definition 1, nowadays the term abadá has come to mean the white pants used in capoeira, rather than a shirt.
- The group created in 1988 by Mestre Camisa, the younger brother of Camisa Roxa, who was a student of Mestre Bimba. In this case, ABADÁ-Capoeira stands for Associação Brasileira de Apoio e Desenvolvimento da Arte – Capoeira (Brazilian Association for the Support and Development of the Art of Capoeira).
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Abalar
- To shake.
Abalou capoeira abalou / Abalou deixa abalar
It shook, capoeira shook / It shook, let it shake
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Acarajé
- A traditional Afro-Brazilian food. Acarajé is a patty made of beans fried in dendê oil, typically filled with carurú (okra) and vatapá (seafood paste), and sometimes topped with pepper and shrimp.
Igreja de São Fransisco, e a Praça da Sé
Onde ficam as baianas vendendo acarajé
Church of Saint Francis, and the Praça da Sé
Where the Bahian women sell acarajé
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Agogô
- The agogô is an African musical instrument whose name means "bell." It consists of two hollow iron cones that are struck with a stick. The bells are typically tuned a fourth or a fifth apart. The agogô is also used in candomblé.
Capoeira mandou me chamar, diga ela que eu já vou
Vou tocar meu berimbau, atabaque e agogô
Capoeira sent for me, tell her I’m coming
I will play my berimbau, atabaque, and agogô
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Agora
- Now.
Tô dormindo, tô sonhando / Agora vou acordar
I’m sleeping, I’m dreaming / Now I will wake up
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Aidê
- A woman's name.
Ai ai Aidê / Aidê Aidê cadê você?
Ai ai Aidê / Aidê Aidê where are you?
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Aluno - Aluna
- Student.
Sou aluno que aprende / Meu mestre me dá lição
I am a student who learns / My master gives me lessons
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Amanhã
- Tomorrow.
Hoje tem, amanhã não
Today you have it, tomorrow you don’t
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Angola
- Country in western Africa. In colonial days, "Angola" referred simply to the port of Luanda (the current capitol) from which Africans captured from various regions of western and central Africa were exported to the New World. References to Angola abound in capoeira songs because the art of capoeira arose from the fusion of various dances, martial arts, rhythms, and traditions of the Africans brought from this region.
Angola, Angola, tudo é diferente na Angola
Angola, Angola, everything is different in Angola
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Angoleiro - Angoleira
- Practitioner of capoeira angola.
Eu sou angoleiro, angoleiro da Bahia
I am an angoleiro, an angoleiro from Bahia
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Anum
- A black bird in northeastern Brazil. In Brazilian popular imagination, it was commonly associated with the black race because of its cheerful manner.
Anum não canta em gaiola / Nem bem dentro, nem bem fora
The anum bird doesn’t sing in a cage / Neither inside nor outside
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Apanhar
- 1) To get beaten up.
- 2) To grab, snatch, or pick up.
1) Dá dá dá no nego / Se não der vai apanhar
Give, give, give it to him / If you don’t, you’ll get beaten up
2) Apanha a laranja no chão tico-tico
Não apanha com mão, só apanha com bico
Pick up the orange on the floor, little bird
Pick it up with your beak (mouth), not your hand
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Apelido
- Nickname. It is common for capoeiristas to be known by a nickname. In some groups, students receive their nicknames at their batizado (baptism); in others, the nickname is given at any time during the capoeirista's training, whenever an appropriate name arises. A nickname may describe a person's physical appearance or personality, and it may be complimentary or mocking. Many of the famous capoeiristas of the past were known by nicknames such as Sete Mortes (Seven Deaths), Besouro (Beetle), Traíra (Traitor), Querido de Deus (Loved by God), Cobrinha Verde (Little Green Snake), Madame Satã (Madamme Satan). Nicknames of some of today's mestres include: Curió (Songbird), Jogo de Dentro (Inside Game), Camisa (Shirt), Cobra Mansa (Tame Snake), and Acordeon (Accordeon).
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Aprender
- To learn.
Todos podem aprender, general até doutor
Everyone can learn, from generals to doctors
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Aqui
- Here.
Aqui não sou querido, mas na minha terra eu sou
I am not loved here, but I am in my own land
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Aquinderreis
- Corruption of aqui d’el Rei, from the expression acuda aqui d’el Rei (help from the King). In the old days, this expression was used as a cry for help, since the “King” was considered the only one able to help and protect someone. Some elderly residents of Bahia still use the expression gritar aquinderreis (to scream ‘aquinderreis’) to mean “to cry for help.”
Iê, aquinderreis, camará
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Arame
- The steel wire of the berimbau, typically taken from the inside rim of a tire.
A cabaça e o caxixi e um pedaço de pau
A moeda e o arame, está aí um berimbau
The gourd and the caxixi, and a piece of wood
The coin and the wire; this is a berimbau
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Aruandê or Aruandá
- Corruption of Luanda, the capitol of Angola. The exchange of the L sound for R is a common distortion that occurs in Romance languages.
Iê, aruandê, camará
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Atabaque
- The atabaque is a tall hand drum. The body is typically made of jacaranda wood and the head, fastened to the body by ropes, of calfskin. The atabaque maintains the beat and secures the pace of the rhythm being played in the roda. There are three sizes of this instrument: rum (the tallest with the lowest sound), rum-pi (medium height and medium sound) and lê (shortest with the highest sound). Multiple atabaques are used in maculelê and in candomblé ceremonies, but the capoeira roda uses only one.
Meu atabaque é de couro de boi
My atabaque is made of ox-hide
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Aú
- A cartwheel.
Se eu dou uma rasteira, tu sai no aú
If I give a sweep, you escape with a cartwheel
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Axé
- The term axé (also spelled aché or ashé – all pronounced ah-SHEH) comes from the Yoruba peoples of Western Africa. It is the name they gave to the life force; the concept is similar to the Eastern idea of qi. In capoeira today, axé has come to mean something like “energy.” If a roda has a lot of axé, it means it has good vibes, powerful energy. Some groups use the word as a greeting.
Dos velhos Mestres que viveram na Bahia,
Manda todo o seu axé e também sua magia
Bahia manda seu axé pra mim
From the old Mestres who lived in Bahia,
Send all your axé and also your magic
Bahia send your axé to me
