Violence and Aggressive Behaviour - Anthropological Perspective

Violence in capoeira today is perceived as part of some capoeira group's philosophy and tactic, yet as my interlocutors mentioned, it can only be performed by those who have individual aspirations to act violent. Some quoted that many youngsters are being manipulated by older members of the group and only act violent because they are told so. If masters are provoking violence, they awake the worst aspects of capoeirista's personality. Such violent capoeiristas can turn into experienced and smart ones if they pass to another group. Masters quote that every person can be good or bad, so the teacher should awake in capoeirista ou lado bom (the good part). Such dualistic views of personality are very common within capoeira. They are similar to some oriental perceptions of human nature following the principle of yin and yang. Yoga master Aurobindo (1990, pp. 242-243) for example writes about the duality of the human nature. According to him the first part is earthly, instinctive and driven by desires and impulses. The second part is self-conscious, reasonable, ethical, esthetical, intelligently sensible and dynamical and is capable to find, understand, use and modify the principles of his acting. 

However, violence in Salvador is part of day to day reality and some of my interlocutors state that is mostly performed by those having urgent needs for money or material goods. Some capoeira schools are using violence to humiliate other groups on public rodas in order to get more students consequently earning more money. However, all capoeiristas agree that none of the groups is promoting street violence, assaults or other forms of crime. Thus, violence in capoeira cannot be seen only as result of economic factors such as described by Loureiro and Carvalho (2007, p. 2). Authors write that mostly people from lower social classes find themselves frequently in situations where they have to decide whether to employ violent acts or not, in order to acquire urgent material sources for survival. The decision is dependent on the ratio between the expected payment and the benefits from the work or from criminal acts in relation to the potential punishment and the potential salary on the work market. 

A lot of Salvadorian capoeiristas come from lower social classes but I haven't been told or noticed that they would assault or rob on the streets. On the contrary they are trained to protect themselves against street violence and in the community they live are being perceived as sportsmen. Capoeira instructors are respected members of communities and have to be moral avoiding any form of crime and violence. However, capoeiristas state that poverty in Brazil and economic differences are frustrating for many, so some choose to act violently just to assure economic goods. Some of my interlocutors have argued about political reasons for violence urging in injustice, corruption etc. They would like to leave Brazil, believing that in USA and Europe political corruption doesn't exist; therefore outside Brazil there is a chance to succeed for those who know how to work (pra quem sabe trabalhar). Graf and Ottomeyer (1989, pp. 18-21) suggest that modern democratisation and capitalisation lead toward unbalanced distribution of capital, fears of impotence caused by alienation of work (Marxist concept) and identity crisis. These factors can lead to the processes of disintegration. The authors perceive connections between disintegration (anomy, apathy) and group or individual inclinations toward violence. Also, Rodrigues (2006, p. 243) in regards to high levels of violence in the modern world, especially in Africa and Latin America, argues that violence and feelings of unsafeness are consequences of rapid democratic processes in some countries.

I was frequently told that most of violent acts are performed by youngsters providing money for fin da semãna, (weekend); therefore also young capoeiristas are being trained to perceive potential danger and avoid it on the streets when going out on the weekends. Statistics also show that in Salvador mostly young men - between 15 and 25 years old - are involved in violent acts (Oliveira et al., 2000). I have been told many times that pai da familia não rouba(fathers don't rob.). Therefore, although Fröschl and Löw (1995, pp. 37-38) ascribe potential reasons of male violence to the compensation of social weaknesses, I would not disregard also the generational differences. They write that men who are not capable of supporting the family are subject to alcoholism; men who are unable to get a job or to be promoted and men who do not manage to advance in the social hierarchy are more likely to release their frustration in violent form. Yet they claim that social situations have to push them into a corner and leave them powerless in order for them to react violently.