Diaspora Without Displacement: The Coloniality and Promise of Capoeira in Senegal
Capoeira—a game of combat primarily developed by enslaved West Central Africans—has become an icon of both Brazilian national culture and pride in the country’s diasporic African heritage. Yet the sport remains less accessible in Africa itself, overshadowed in large part by participants in the Global North. In Diaspora Without Displacement, Celina de Sá tells the story of capoeira as it "returns" to the African continent through the creative initiatives of young urban professionals in Senegal. De Sá demonstrates how a new generation of African capoeiristas are taking up their own Afro-diasporic performance tradition, effectively reframing notions of diaspora and race through their social practice. Though capoeira has largely Angolan roots and the agents of return are typically white Brazilians and Europeans, the West African practitioners de Sá documents nonetheless form an exceptional relationship to capoeira that, in turn, becomes a mode of political and social consciousness. Analyzing a capoeira network across West Africa, de Sá shows how urban West Africans use capoeira to explore the relationship between Blackness, diaspora, and African heritage.
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Diaspora Without Displacement: The Coloniality and Promise of Capoeira in Senegal
Capoeira—a game of combat primarily developed by enslaved West Central Africans—has become an icon of both Brazilian national culture and pride in the country’s diasporic African heritage. Yet the sport remains less accessible in Africa itself, overshadowed in large part by participants in the Global North. In Diaspora Without Displacement, Celina de Sá tells the story of capoeira as it "returns" to the African continent through the creative initiatives of young urban professionals in Senegal. De Sá demonstrates how a new generation of African capoeiristas are taking up their own Afro-diasporic performance tradition, effectively reframing notions of diaspora and race through their social practice. Though capoeira has largely Angolan roots and the agents of return are typically white Brazilians and Europeans, the West African practitioners de Sá documents nonetheless form an exceptional relationship to capoeira that, in turn, becomes a mode of political and social consciousness. Analyzing a capoeira network across West Africa, de Sá shows how urban West Africans use capoeira to explore the relationship between Blackness, diaspora, and African heritage.
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Diaspora Without Displacement: The Coloniality and Promise of Capoeira in Senegal

Diaspora Without Displacement: The Coloniality and Promise of Capoeira in Senegal

by Celina de Sá
Diaspora Without Displacement: The Coloniality and Promise of Capoeira in Senegal

Diaspora Without Displacement: The Coloniality and Promise of Capoeira in Senegal

by Celina de Sá

eBook

$29.95 

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Overview

Capoeira—a game of combat primarily developed by enslaved West Central Africans—has become an icon of both Brazilian national culture and pride in the country’s diasporic African heritage. Yet the sport remains less accessible in Africa itself, overshadowed in large part by participants in the Global North. In Diaspora Without Displacement, Celina de Sá tells the story of capoeira as it "returns" to the African continent through the creative initiatives of young urban professionals in Senegal. De Sá demonstrates how a new generation of African capoeiristas are taking up their own Afro-diasporic performance tradition, effectively reframing notions of diaspora and race through their social practice. Though capoeira has largely Angolan roots and the agents of return are typically white Brazilians and Europeans, the West African practitioners de Sá documents nonetheless form an exceptional relationship to capoeira that, in turn, becomes a mode of political and social consciousness. Analyzing a capoeira network across West Africa, de Sá shows how urban West Africans use capoeira to explore the relationship between Blackness, diaspora, and African heritage.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781478060932
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication date: 06/27/2025
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 280
File size: 40 MB
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About the Author

Celina de Sá is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Table of Contents

Preface  xi
Introduction. Moving Origins  1
1. Whose Diaspora? Unmaking Origins and Renewing Regionalism  33
2. Whiteness, Blackness, and Bushness: The Coloniality of Black Performance in Dakar  77
3. In Pursuit of Heritage: Unpacking the Materiality of Everyday Objects  117
4. Spiritual Baggage: Negotiating the Body and Religious Possibilities  145
5. After Tourism: Diasporic Chauvinism and the Renewed Regionalism of West African Host Piligrims  181
Conclusion. Protecting the Magical Possibilities of Black Movement  217
Acknowledgments  223
Glossary  227
Notes  231
References  241
Index
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