The game of capoeira in play

Abstract

This article analyzes the game of capoeira from the perspective of its historical development and presents aids for problematizating the concept of game. The analyses presented here result from the confluence of three games: the game not-yet-played, in other words, that which constituted the investigative course of the study; the game itself of capoeira, explicit through its controversial historical development; and the social game, embodied in the complex, contradictory and dynamic relations within the capitalist society. The game of capoeira is influenced by the historical time in which it is situated, and also constructed out of the interests and actions of the subjects which, through it, act and vie for power in society.