Batizado
Batizado
A ceremonial “baptism” of a new capoeirista. The student plays with a master, receives a first cord and often a nickname.
Quick Facts
Term typeEtiquette and ceremony
LanguagePortuguese
Formnoun
Pronunciation[bah-chee-zah-doo]
Alternative Namesbaptism
Readings and romanizations
IPAbatʃiˈzadu
Definition
Batizado (Portuguese “baptism”) is a ceremony in which a new student first plays in the roda with an experienced capoeirista, usually a master, and receives the first cord (corda). The student often also gets a nickname (apelido) by which the community knows them. By tradition, nicknames were used in the days when capoeira was banned in Brazil by the penal code of 1890. Mestre Bimba introduced the ceremony in capoeira regional. Today the batizado is usually held once a year, along with the exchange of advanced students' cords (troca de cordas), and is often combined with a visit by guest masters and a seminar.