History of Besouro Mangangá - (Manuel Henrique Pereira 1897-1924)

History of Besouro Mangangá - (Manuel Henrique Pereira 1897-1924)

- Categories : Capoeira News

Contrary to what most people think, the man nicknamed Besouro Mangangá really did exist. Sadly, very little is known about this character shrouded in legends and mysteries that linger from his birth to his death and which the ancients still remember in their tales.

Born in 1897 in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, son of ex-slaves João Grosso and Maria Aifa, Manuel Henrique Pereira (his baptismal name), has had all his life imbued with a lot of mysticism. We don't know when, but he started his first steps in capoeira with Mestre Alípio, also a former slave, more precisely on Rua do Trapiche de Baixo. They said that the Besouro (beetle) was a tall and very strong black and that in capoeira he had unmatched agility. Which probably earned him the nickname "Besouro", or "Besouro Mangangá" (a kind of poisonous beetle).

Others say his nickname is due to the fact that he once made fuss and found himself surrounded by police, the Besouro simply "disappeared". A policeman, stunned by the scene, said to his partner: “Did you see where this black man went? And the other replied, “Yes, I saw it. He turned into a beetle and flew away ”. He was an excellent player of capoeira, as well as in the handling of the machete and the razor. Including in the game "Santa-Maria". Violent game where capoeirists played with a razor attached to the feet.

These are just a few of the “stories” told about the character of Bahia.

Many also claim to have some kinship with capoeirista, but only one has proven this. Rafael Alves França, (1917 - 1983) also known as Mestre Cobrinha Verde, was his rightful cousin. He started capoeira with his cousin at the age of 4, on one condition: never make money with capoeira. A promise kept all his life.

There are many legends that permeate the life of Besouro. They said that when there was some confusion, the capoeirista would turn into a beetle and fly away, or it would just turn into a piece of wood. They also said that he had a closed body (Corpo Fechado), that he possessed magical powers and that he knew miraculous prayers.

Despite his reputation as a bully (he never got along with the police), the older ones say Besouro could not stand injustice, that he was an advocate for the poor and that he did justice himself. Whenever he saw an unjust situation, he intervened and stood up for the oppressed. So here are some stories that the elders of Bahia still tell.

Army soldier

Besouro would have served in the army at some point in his life. He saw one day among the objects confiscated by the army, a Berimbau (because capoeira was still prohibited at that time). Besouro, who was already initiated in capoeira, tried with his rank of soldier, to save the instrument, but in vain, because his superior affirmed that it was a tool of vagrants and that a soldier did not had nothing to do with this instrument. The result was a fight between Besouro and his superior which required several other soldiers to arrest him and keep him under observation. Besouro was then expelled from the army and went to work on farms in the Bahia region.

Friend gift

It was customary for Besouro to present his closest friends with peacock feathers torn from the hats of bullies / bullies in the Bahia region.

Today is a holiday

They said that Besouro was so respected that sometimes, when he arrived in town, he ordered the merchants to close the doors, because "he" had declared a public holiday. And woe to him who did not obey.

The peanut stand

One day, while walking in the market, Besouro decides to try a peanut in one of the stalls, but he receives a slap in the hand of the merchant and even tells him that he will be forbidden to take the peanuts. Besouro then said to the merchant:

- You don't know who you're talking to.

Besouro therefore turned to the customers in the market and simply invited everyone to help themselves to the peanuts. Knowing then that it was the dreaded Besouro Mangangá, the merchant watched the customers eat all his merchandise. When the peanuts ran out, Besouro asked how much he owed and paid the merchant.

Broken for São Caetano

A story told by cousin Mestre Cobrinha Verde was, that once Besouro got a job at a mill in Santo Amaro, where the boss had a reputation for not paying the employees. The latter said that when payday arrived, the boss simply said that the salary "had broken for São Caetano" ("quebrou pra São Caetano"). It was a phrase used in the area which meant that there would be no pay. Additionally, he said anyone who challenged the boss was beaten and tied to a tree until the end of the day. Besouro having already learned this, he waited his turn to receive his pay. When called, the boss said the sentence: "your salary: broken for São Caetano". But it turns out he wasn't talking to just anyone. Besouro grabbed the boss by the goatee and said, “Pay Besouro Cordão de Ouro's money. Do you pay or don't you pay? The scared boss paid Besouro who took the money and left.

At the foot of the cross

Once, Besouro, after taking his gun, forced a soldier to drink a large amount of cachaça in Largo da Santa Cruz, one of the main squares of Santo Amaro. The soldier then went to the police station and communicated what had happened to his superior, Corporal José Costa, who decided to mobilize ten men to capture Besouro dead or alive. Besouro seeing the soldiers arrive, left the bar and leaned against a cross which was in the square, his arms outstretched, said he would not surrender. So the soldiers opened fire and didn't stop until Besouro was on the ground. Corporal José Costa approached the body and deduced that he was dead, when suddenly besouro stood up, took his rifle and ordered him to raise his hands, then ordered the other soldiers to do so. likewise and ordered everyone to leave and then sang the following verses:

Lá atiraram na cruz

eu de mim não sei

se acaso fui eu mesmo

ela mesmo me perdoe

Besouro caiu no chão fez que estava deitado

A polícia

ele atirou no soldado

vão brigar com caranguejos

que é bicho que não tem sangue

Polícia se briga

vamos prá dentro do mangue.
--

There they shot the cross

I don't know about me

if by chance it was me

herself forgive me

Beetle fell to the ground made him lie down

The police

he shot the soldier

will fight with crabs

which is an animal that has no blood

police fight

let's go into the mangrove.


The strange death of Besouro

There are also many stories about his death, but one of them is still sung in every capoeira roda today.

Besouro had secured a cowboy job on the farm of Dr Zeca, a local farmer. Dr Zeca had a son, nicknamed Memeu, who had a reputation for being a tyrant. Once Besouro got into an argument with Memeu and ended up hitting him. Fearing for his son's life, Dr Zeca quickly sought to end it with Besouro. For this, he ordered Besouro to go and work on another of his farms. More precisely at the farm of Maracangalha. But first, he gave him a letter that he should give to the manager of the farm. He didn't know that this letter was his death sentence. The letter simply ordered the wearer to be killed on the spot. Besouro, who was illiterate, knew nothing about the contents of the letter, believing it to be a mere recommendation. When the manager received the letter, he told Besouro to wait until the next day for the answer and to wait there at the farm. So the next day, when besouro showed up, he was surrounded by about forty men, who opened fire on him but the bullets did nothing. Then a man known as Eusébio da Quibaca, probably familiar with the "mandingas", attacked Besouro in the back with a "tucum" knife, a knife made from the wood of a tree believed to have magical powers and which was the only thing capable of injuring a man with a closed body. Besouro died young at the age of 27 on July 8, 1924, but he has left a legacy that lives on to this day. They also say that even when injured, Besouro managed to escape by canoe and reach Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Santo Amaro, but due to the injury he did not resist. And the most incredible. There is a document in the file (PEREIRA 1920 - 1927: 21) filed by Caetano José Diogo against Manoel Henrique saying:

Besouro is Manoel Henrique Pereira - cowboy, black mulatto, born in Urupy, residing at the Maracangalha mill; he entered the Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Santo Amaro da Purificação - Bahia, with a wound incised by perforation in the abdomen. He died on July 8, 1924 at 7 p.m., as noted on page 42 v. of book n ° 3, line 16, read 418, admission and discharge of patients.

There are so many other stories about how Besouro's death happened, it would take an entire article devoted to this topic, but the most important thing is that we have to have Besouro as our Brazilian hero. A man who, with his own strength, has always fought against the injustices practiced against a less favored people.

His exploits are recalled in all the capoeira roda in his various songs. Its legends are told and sung to this day by the oldest capoeira masters of Bahia.

There are also many other legends about Besouro, many of which have already been forgotten or lost in time. And in the midst of contradictions, the figure of Besouro is still alive not only for capoeira players, but also in the minds of all lovers of the culture of our country.

Acte décès Besouro Manganga

Film/Video

Besouro o filme VO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSvi45x6lUs

Besouro o filme FR (French): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyLzKPiUtMQ

Film-Documentary about the real life of Besouro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaeYSxIwT9o&t=0s

Trailer of the documentary film on the life of Besouro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M7SmrtbFAs

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