Downey, G. (2008).
Scaffolding Imitation in Capoeira: Physical Education and Enculturation in an Afro-Brazilian Art.
American Anthropologist, 110(2), 204–213. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1433.2008.00026.x
ABSTRACT: Imitation plays a crucial role in apprenticeship in the Afro-Brazilian performance genre capoeira, as in many skills across cultures. In this article, I examine the interactional dynamics of imitative pedagogy in capoeira to better understand physical education as a form of bodily enculturation. The ability to learn through imitation is widely considered a hallmark of our species. Imitative ability,however, is a social accomplishment rather than a capacity of the learner in isolation. Human models often provide ...
