Bantus Roda Etiquette
Thank you all for showing up at all the recent public rodas! It was great to have you there and lending yourselves to the overall vibe for each one. Beginners who are new to capoeira and rodas may find the whole affair a bit of a daunting one—we understand this, and this article is aimed at addressing your roda FAQs. Seniors are encouraged to treat this as a reminder of sorts.
A lot of the following tips bank on you guys conditioning on the following traits in yourselves:
- Being alert at all times
- Being respectful, courteous and mindful of others
- Being enthusiastic
You’ll see what we mean as we progress down this article.
Contributing Axé Axé is the positive energy expressed by all roda participants through their clapping and singing. If this is done with much enthusiasm, the pool of axé grows, and the capoeiristas in the roda play with a lot more zeal and energy, making for a much more exciting game.
Try to learn the songs and sing along in the roda, so we won’t have to shout to make up for the lack of volume. (The effect is very similar to that of the Indonesian crowd cheering the home team during Thomas Cup finals, and axé could very well be the secret to the Brazilian dominance in football.)
Forming The Roda Always ensure that there are no gaps in the roda—the circle must be as tight as possible, but do be on the lookout for your those who are exiting the roda and need some space to fit into.
Be attentive to the drama within the roda and be ready to esquiva out of the way if you see a mortal or stray meia-lua heading in your general direction! After the action’s over, be quick to fix up the gaps in the roda again.
Entering The Roda Always enter the roda on either side of the bataria (the band). If you have to wait for your turn, always wait beside the bataria and not in front of them. Should you need to walk past the bataria to get to the other side, try to go around the roda or behind the bataria.
If you really must go in front of it, stay low as a mark of respect. Walking upright in front of a bataria is a blatant request to be whacked by a berimbau.
Playing in the Roda Bantus has a tradition where seniors look out for their junior students by playing with them, helping them develop their game and making them feel welcome in any roda. Patronizing other students in a roda is frowned upon, as it shows a lack of respect for an individual’s dignity.
You do not want to be on the receiving end of serious malandragem in the future when that person you put down turns out to be a great capoeirista. Play nice and avoid waking up with a knife on your back. 
Buying the Game Look for a suitable moment to buy into a game. A game may be bought when:
- Either player looks tired out
- Either player seems to be unsure of his/her moves after a time
- You notice that the flow of the jogar is lost e.g. the players accidentally kick each other
DO NOT buy a game when someone’s in the middle of a rolé, low on the ground, or in the middle of a kick. You may cut into the game by staying low and protecting your face—but always buy the game purposefully. Buying into a game helps to keep energy levels up by substituting each other, so don’t wait too long before doing so!
Being Bought Out of a Game Return to the roda using the shortest route possible, without turning your back to the ongoing game so you can avoid stray kicks. The roda will make room for you to slot in.
Exit Rituals Bantus rodas generally don’t have entry or exit rituals. However, if you really have to do an exit ritual (e.g. going to the bataria and touching the berimbau, atabaque, scratching Candomblé sigils on the ground etc.) make it fast and don’t obstruct traffic. Again, be watchful of the ongoing jogar.
Play the Music Instruments Be brave and swap out the bataria players. The only way to get better at the atabaque, pandeiro and berimbau is to pluck up the courage to walk up to the bataria and offer to play any one of the instruments, being attentive to visual and verbal cues from the more experienced players. We’ve noticed that more people are beginning to do this—keep it up!
It would be great if more of you would come forward like this, as members of the bataria would be grateful for the chance to also play in the roda instead of being stuck with an instrument throughout the game.
Epilogue That’s basically it. What’s important here is for you to always use your wits! The roda is a very dynamic and lively place, with the possibility of a lot of things happening both in and outside it. Stepping into a roda makes you an integral part of it, and you must be aware of what goes on there and react accordingly. How good or bad a roda turns out to be is entirely dependent on each one of you.
So do take this in as much as possible. Beginners, if you find yourselves feeling overwhelmed don’t fret over it—just talk to any of the seniors who would be more than happy to guide you through these ins and outs a step at a time. We hope that this will help everyone improve on our future rodas!