Wait… before you pick up the phone and call someone to clarify any questions about the Festival, you might want to read this first cos chances are, someone has the same questions as you.

FAQ for Adult Participants

• What is the cost to participate?Bantus Capoeira Festival Package w/ Uniform Attend ALL workshops Attend ALL rodas 1 Festival T-Shirt Attend Batizado Ceremony 1 official Bantus Capoeira Abadas (Pants) Special Members Price: MYR300* Non Members: MYR350 Bantus Capoeira Festival Package w/o Uniform Attend ALL workshops Attend ALL rodas 1 Festival T-Shirt Attend Batizado Ceremony Special Members Price: MYR200* Non Members: MYR250 * THIS PRICE IS VALID UNTIL 1st NOVEMBER 2006 ONLY!!!
• Will I be corded this year? Payment of festival fees may not include a cord. Please discuss your eligibility with Quek or Rafael to avoid disappointment. Generally, if you’ve been training with us for at least 3 months, you’ll be eligible for the first cord (Coral).
• Do I need to buy a uniform? If this is your first cord, you may need to purchase a pair of abadas (MYR 170 if purchased separately). Otherwise, there’s no specific uniform to buy. You’ll be wearing the Festival T-shirt and abadas for your Batizado.
• What happens during the Batizado? Briefly, your objective will be to stay on your feet as long as you can in the roda with Mestre Pintor or any of the other guest instructors, who will ‘baptize’ you into the world of capoeira by tripping you up and subsequently awarding you your cord!
• What happens during the Viva Brazil party? You guys just treat this as a night out on the town where you get to chill out with your instructors and visiting guests and dance the night away to thumping Brazilian beats. The night’s performance will be put on by senior students, instructors and special guests.
• I can’t come for Workshops/Viva Brazil Party/Batizado… do I still pay the full amount? Yes, as long as you’re participating for any event as a Bantus student, you’ll need to contribute to the Festival fund. In order to simplify the administrative process, there’s no separate payments for the individual festival events.

FAQ for Bantus Kids

• What is the cost to participate?Bantus Capoeira Kids’ Package w/ Uniform 1 Kid’s Workshop w/ Mestre 1 Street Roda 1 Festival T-Shirt 1 official Bantus Capoeira Abadas (Pants) Attend Batizado Ceremony Cost: MYR180 Bantus Capoeira Kids’ Package w/o Uniform 1 Kid’s Workshop w/ Mestre 1 Street Roda 1 Festival T-Shirt Attend Batizado Ceremony Cost: MYR100
• Will I be corded this year? Payment of festival fees may not include a cord. Please discuss your eligibility with Quek or Rafael to avoid disappointment. Generally, if you’ve been training with us for at least 3 months, you’ll be eligible for the first cord (Coral).
• Do I need to buy a uniform? If this is your first cord, you may need to purchase a pair of abadas (MYR 170 if purchased separately). Otherwise, there’s no specific uniform to buy. You’ll be wearing the Festival T-shirt and abadas for your Batizado.
• What happens during the Batizado? Briefly, your objective will be to stay on your feet as long as you can in the roda with Mestre Pintor or any of the other guest instructors, who will ‘baptize’ you into the world of capoeira by tripping you up and subsequently awarding you your cord!

Additional Information for International Guests

• Where can I stay? In true capoeirista style, you can stay with friends you have made during the last batizado in KL or at our Academia in Damansara Jaya. Failing that, there are plenty of affordable inns and backpackers hostels in town. Check out some of the available hostels here or here. Alternatively you can try: The YMCA KL Description: Standard issue YMCA hostel about 20 minute drive to the Academia or Number Eight Guesthouse Description: Nice affordable place in the center of KL, near to good local food and nightlife but rather far away from the Academia. About 40 minute drive in medium traffic.
• Where’s the academia? We are located at Lot 23c, Jalan SS22/23. The name of the neighborhood is Damansara Jaya. The name of the city is Petaling Jaya, a satellite city of Kuala Lumpur.
• How should I get around? Putera LRT (Light Rail Transit i.e. train) is probably the way to go to get to the Academia. Stop at the Kelana Jaya Station, its all the way at the end of the line in Petaling Jaya. Then you can cab it to academy. Should be about MYR5. To get around in general, if you don’t have a car, take the LRT to a stop somewhere near your destination, then grab a cab.
• What is there to do in KL? The KLUE website is the most up to date and authoritative source of stuff to do in KL. Even the locals refer to it when planning a night out. While you are in town, check out what The Independent and Yahoo! have to say about the sights and sounds of KL. If you are in to nightlife, KL has plenty to offer as well.
• Why are there so few workshops/activities during the weekdays? Unfortunately, we don’t anticipate that our hardworking members will be able to take the whole week off for the festival so we are trying to accomodate their schedules. We are doing workshops mostly at night on the weekdays and we will plan more daytime activities on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to accommodate our international guests. Locals who are able to take Friday off will have three intensive days of capoeira and associated activities.

General Questions

• How much are the T-shirts? The Festival T-shirts will be for sale at MYR 35 each. Numbers are limited!
• Can I get a cord to tie up my new abadas? If you haven’t been awarded your first cord (Coral), then you’ll need to tie your abadas up with a plain string. We will have some available in the academia during the festival period. You’ll get to wear your new colours proudly after you’ve been awarded your cord during the Batizado!
• Can I watch the Workshops? To be fair to our participants, the Workshops will be strictly for people who have registered for the festival. You may however come and watch our Noite Brasileira, Batizado and any other public rodas we hope to organize, ad-hoc.
• What should I wear? For workshops, please wear a Bantus t-shirt whenever possible. We strongly encourage you to wear capoeira training pants or your abadas for workshops. For Noite Brasileira you can show up in your clubbing/going out gear. For the Batizado all students will be required to wear Festival t-shirts and Bantus abadas.
• Can I get a ride to… ? Please arrange with your fellow students for a ride to any of the festival venues first before trying to call any of the senior students above. Most of our rides will be used to transport our international guests and may not be able to accomodate any more passengers.
• Can I play in the rodas? For Bantus students, you can play in all the Bantus rodas according to the rules and etiquette outlined here. You are also expected to observe the rule of seniority where you may only “buy” a game from a junior student, or wait for a senior student to take you into the roda. Non Bantus capoeiristas are advised to seek the permission from our Mestre or the presiding instructor before entering the roda. Workshops, Street Rodas and Batizado: Watch for cue from Mestre as to who’s turn it is to play. i.e. Open Roda for Beginners and Coral, Troca de Corda for Verde and Verde/Amarelo, Open Roda for Instructors and Special Guests. Viva Brazil Party: We will be putting on a show for the public on that night so the more seniors students, visiting Bantus instructors and special guests will be part of the show.
• How do I know who’s the Mestre or presiding instructor? Just ask any of our Bantus students and they’ll point you to the right person.

» Discuss this on the Bantus Forum

I say gawd damn that was a long flight! We got off at HK and during the six hour layover decided to venture over to Disneyland cos Rafa was told that we can get in free if we are on layover. So we proceeded… one hour, a bus ride and two train rides later we reached there and just as we were about to talk in, the guard dude tells us that Disneyland closes at 8pm. Doh! Dejectedly, we trudged back to the MTR and made our way back to the airpport. The rest of the flight was uneventful to say the least. we basically… chilled for one day on the plane. Popped some antihistamines and that was that.

Follow the adventures of our Malaysian Bantulinos as they make their way to the Bantus Capoeira World Festival in Brazil on their Multiply blog.

Video of the Panasonic AC (Auto Cleaning) Robot Air Conditioner featuring Bantus Capoeiristas

Video of the new 100 Plus Aqtiv commercial, featuring Rafael showing off some Capoeira moves inside a pool.

For a capoeirista, it’s hard to beat the feeling you get when you receive a different coloured cord at your Batizado in recognition of your progress in the art form. You’re proud of your achievement—and you should be. In Bantus it takes a lots of effort to cover the grounds on which one will be considered for a change of cord. It is hard-earned.

Before we venture further let’s set the record straight about what getting a higher level cord is not. It’s not about having the right to belittle younger students, whether in a roda or on the streets. It’s not about being able to execute flawless aerials to wow a crowd. It’s not about brilliant singing or playing of any of the instruments.

What it is however, is far more difficult to attain. Mestre Pintor agrees to award a person with a higher cord based on strength of character and maturity. Maturity breeds humility, and from there stems the natural desire to step beyond one’s personal interests and instead labour with those of others in mind.

If it all sounds rather abstract at this point, well, it is—Bantus doesn’t operate purely by numbers and a hard-coded syllabus. Perhaps now though, you’d understand why it would take different people different lengths of time to attain the various cords we have in our school.

To our green-cord students, much is expected of you. Not only will you need to train even harder in your movements, music and singing, you should be showing more interest in the actual day-to-day running of the academy as compared to your junior counterparts. Demonstrate your accountability to Bantus and be mindful about maintaining its good reputation.

Whether you intended for it or not, you will be looked up to as mentors and examples to be followed by the younger students, so keep your noses clean. Remember that genuine respect never comes automatically, but is, as with most good things, earned.

Moving on to another aspect of cords, here’s the gist of the various colours which Bantus awards to its students:

Beginner Cords

• White/Black/Red (Coral—named after the coral snake)
• Green
• Green/Yellow

Intermediate Cords

• Yellow
• Yellow/Blue

Advance Cords

• Blue (Aluno Graduado—graduated student)
• Blue/White (Transitional—for students who may not be ready for the next cord)
• Blue/Green (Aluno Formado)
• Blue/Green/Yellow (Professor)
• Blue/Green/White (Contra-mestre)
• Blue/Green/White/Yellow (Mestre)

Having said all this, Rafael keeps saying that ultimately the cord is just a string to hold your abadas up—meaning that a capoeirista’s worth is not necessarily dictated by the colour of the cord he wears

It is now the 3rd day after the insanely inspiring Bantus Capoeira Festival. Time seems to have settled on the slow boat to China, compared to how it zipped by us as we went through our programme for the weekend. Here’s a recap on what transpired:

The workshops on Thursday and Friday were well-attended to say the least—a lot of mental effort went into keeping from treading on others’ fingers and toes, apart from concentrating on what Mestre Pintor was teaching us. He also shared with us the finer points of playing the instruments in a bataria and some of the simpler forro moves. Some of our guests from overseas demonstrated absolutely captivating angola games which most of us had never witnessed before.

Then on Friday night Bantus Perth rocked the foundations of the building as they thundered their infectious samba batucada beats that had practically everyone unable to keep still. Not only that, Sarah and Chloe put down their hip moves (pun intended) which we all tried hard to imitate but ended up looking like awkwardly gyrating monkeys. That didn’t seem to stop anyone from enjoying themselves completely though!

Early Saturday evening saw us preparing for the Noite Brasileira party at the Westin’s latin american joint, Qba. The line-up for the night began with a theatrical Maculelê show where the performers slipped through the crowd to take to the open floor area outdoors which served as our stage.

Legend has it that a group of villains plundered Maculelê’s village and killed his people, sending him into a rage that lead him to seek out the evildoers who ended up taking his life as well. However a sorceror raised him from the dead and he once again pursued his revenge by engaging each of his foes in a vicious fight to the finish.

The roda that followed was nothing short of spectacular—our guests and Rafael pulled out all the stops to give us explosively energetic jogas. There was even a Gringo vs Rafael period where the two set out to outdo each other’s floreios in their typically flamboyant style. The younger capoeiristas also did us proud when they showed off their potential to the cheering crowd.

Out came the samba instruments immediately after the roda was done. We were only allowed a few heartbeats before the pounding of the huge drums took over and the samba girls, decked out in their glittering costumes took to the floor and mesmerised us with a choreographed number. The Aseana drummers also joined in the music-making seamlessly, carrying the bewitched crowd of revellers from one crest of rhythm to the next.

Eventually the samba instruments made way for Qba’s resident band and DJ who continued to supply the music for the rest of the night.

The party stretched into the wee hours of the morning, but that didn’t sap the enthusiasm from anyone who was waiting in anticipation for the Batizado ceremony later in the afternoon. We all gathered at 1 Utama for more rodas, maculelê, singing, playing in the bataria, and cheering on our friends who played for their cords, most of whom for the first time.

The senior students were just as excited despite their having had their experience in the previous year. Our Ligeirim and Cafune of Japan played for their green cords. Surprise graduations were in store for Cacapa from Japan, Queka and Coelho who received their green-yellow cords in recognition of their progress in, passion for and contribution to capoeira. The batizado closed with a final rendition from the samba batucada band.

All too soon, we were saying our goodbyes to all our new-found friends who had to catch their flights home. E-mail addresses and phone numbers were exchanged, promises to keep in touch made.

It was an amazing weekend. Bantus Capoeira Malaysia would like to thank every one of you who made this year’s festival to be the incredible success it was. Our gratitude goes out to all our guests who flew in from Brazil, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Australia to lend us their axé from their home countries.

To all who helped behind the scenes, thank you for keeping mayhem at bay. Students, you demonstrated and shared your love for capoeira, and that is helping it take strong root in Malaysia. Congratulations to all who received their cords this year.

As the dust settles we are left with the memories of this year’s festival, inspired and energised to take capoeira to a higher level. For this writer, the most striking thing would be the fact that we are all part of the bigger Bantus family that is scattered across the world. None of this would have been possible were it not for the camaraderie based upon the mutual love for all things capoeira.

I can’t wait to find out what it will be like at next year’s festival, to be held where it all began—Brazil!

The air quality has gotten so bad that we would advise you all to slow down on your training sessions. Classes will carry on, but our workouts won’t be as intense as before so as not to tax your lungs too much.

If you have respiratory problems, we strongly encourage you to cut back on all aerobic activity especially if it’s in the open air. A few general pointers on dealing with the haze situation:

• Wear A Mask—There are a few sorts being sold in pharmacies, but it would be money well-spent to get one of the more dearer types which are molded to be more form-fitting on your face, and can filter the air better. Guardian sells these at RM6.50 a piece, and stocks deplete rapidly as soon as they arrive at the stores.
• Drink More Water—This can’t be stressed enough. Your normal 8 glasses a day may not suffice in these conditions.
• Hide In Air-Conditioned Buildings/Rooms
• Don’t Smoke

At 12pm our guys were clumping together at the Beginner’s Centre, waiting patiently to shape up our convoy to make the trip out to Kampong Fest at the 21st mile of Ulu Langat. We were all geared up to have a leisurely day out in the countryside, and the weather was lovely with the sun slightly obscured by friendly clouds.

The inane noise of highway traffic was far behind us and we wound past numerous villages along the way.

The 5-car convoy took about 40 minutes to get to Desa Blonde—a private 4 acre orchard in Hulu Langat, on the banks of Sungai Lui. The inane noise of highway traffic was far behind us and we wound past numerous villages along the way. Partially-completed concrete structures gave way to refreshing sights of rolling hills still covered in virgin forest, and the air was noticably more breathable. Having parked our cars along the few others along the main road, we made our way into the ‘dusun’ (orchard) with our gear.

It turned out to be a really relaxed afternoon. Entrance was by invitation only and it was a pretty exclusive event—most of the guests were expatriates, and the rest consisted mostly of the rest of the performers involved in the entertainment schedule. There were lots of activities going on, from Batik painting to Kampong-cooking and butterfly-catching for the kids. Musicians were gathered under one of the larger trees to perform their original works. Meanwhile our boys seemed to take a sudden liking for fruit—Rafael gave a pulasan tree (akin to that of the rambutan) a good whacking with a very long stick to get to part with its fruit, while the Suicide Crew was spotted climbing a langsat tree. They didn’t take advantage of the nearby stream (presumably Sungai Lui) though. Others were flipping around on the grass.

It was probably the first time for most of the group that they had to negotiate with soft, leaf-covered ground while playing.

There was a song/dance performance by an orang asli group before we finally assembled in front of the main stage for our roda. It was probably the first time for most of the group that they had to negotiate with soft, leaf-covered ground while playing. Even the most sure-footed of us were humbled! Nevertheless, we gave our all to the roda’s axé while enjoying the breeze and the soft dappled sunlight through the trees. The roda ended to a warm round of applause from the audience.

Dusting the soil from our abadas and shirts, we scuttled over to the food tent for some much-needed grub and drinks but were hijacked by the NTV7 crew who wanted us to do a quick wrap-up clip for their “You Asked For It” programme. While all this was going on, the air grew much cooler and dark rainclouds were gathering overhead. Thankfully it only began to drizzle once we had cleaned off our plates of (overpriced) food. It was rather unfortunate for the organizers though, as they had planned events for the rest of the day right up till 10pm.

Our journey back to the academia pretty much wrapped up the day’s events for us. Some hung out at Syed Abu for drinks, while others scattered to their respective homes. The writer’s body couldn’t decide whether it was tired or refreshed from the outing, but she certainly did enjoy herself.

Last weekend was a flurry of activity as Bantus Malaysia was invited to participate in the infamous yet famously publicized Fête De La Musique. And so it was that on a sunny Saturday afternoon, a troop of Bantus Capoeiristas appeared miraculously at the waterfall in 1 Utama, all geared up and ready to perform. They wowed the crowd with their stunning and dashing display of moves—the writer was conspicuously absent as he was bound by ‘duty’ elsewhere. However from interviews with other Bantus capoeiristas and fans alike, it was said that the Saturday show proved to be a crowd pleaser. And everything was alright.

A small troop of Bantus capoeiristas grouped together in front of Lot 10 and played capoeira!

Saturday aside, Bantus was due to perform at two more shows in the heart of Kuala Lumpur…and so it was that on a sunny Sunday afternoon (somehow shows happened to be on sunny days), a small troop of Bantus capoeiristas grouped together in front of Lot 10 and played capoeira! We were joined by KK from the Kuantan group, and by Norazman and his crew from CAAOM. What followed was an intense session of capoeira which proved to be rather good despite the absence of our instructor, Rafael.

The roda lasted long enough for the hungry crowd to lap up every ounce of axé we had to offer. After which, everyone dispersed for a quick snack before our next performance later on in the day. Some had to leave to spend time with their fathers, it being father’s day and all. A few people, namely Quek and Andrew decided to hang back and play some chill-out angola music while waiting for time to pass. They were joined by a few others as they came trickling back to the entrance of Lot 10.

As more capoeiristas appeared, some began to play a little angola.

Soon, a sizeable crowd had gathered to witness this bold display of music in a public vicinity. As more capoeiristas appeared, some began to play a little angola. Meanwhile all this activity was attracting quite a crowd, and with the arrival of Rafael, we decided to give them a quick demonstration before moving on to our main and final performance of the day.

The fifteen-minute roda seemed to last longer as everyone played, building up a massive amount of axé which would soon explode upon the steps of Tang’s. No doubt everyone was happy and spirits were high as we made ready to adjourn to our final location.

By the time we set things up, a sizeable crowd had gathered to see what the commotion was about.

There was initially some confusion about where we were supposed to perform, so in true Bantus fashion, we unanimously decided to perform on the doorsteps of Tang’s in front of BB plaza. By the time we set things up, a sizeable crowd had gathered to see what the commotion was about. We started with some music, followed by the singing and the games.

What followed can only be described as a wonderful display of axé as everyone played their hearts out. As the games progressed, the axé was slowly building up, and the energy was intense! The crowd was a good one, with a lot of people adding to the fun by clapping along to the music and the beat.

Everybody held their breath for a split second and the thought finally registered in their heads. The roda was over!

As the roda approached its climax, the music intensified, and the games were fast and powerful! And then, BOOOM! Everything stopped! Silence. Peace. Relief. Everybody held their breath for a split second and the thought finally registered in their heads. The roda was over!

And the axé exploded and spilled out to every corner of the street as the crowd dispersed and the capoeiristas basked in the contented feeling of achievement that only a good roda can offer. Everyone was tired, but a hell lot happier as they went about their separate ways, knowing that soon, very soon in fact, (the next day actually) they would meet again to share the energy that they had just experienced.

» More photos by Kenneth

Kenneth Hiew, a photographer who’s been spending some time taking photos of us has posted his thoughts on his blog, check it out:

I had only vague notions of what it was all about, but upon seeing the do (called a roda), and doing research and getting more into the topic, I saw that there was much depth in the stories to be told about the culture, anthropological aspects, ethnography, etc.

» Read the rest of his post