Welcome to the martial world, Brazil has its typical martial arts, both indigenous and African. Unknown among the general public, one of the most authentically Brazilian martial arts with the greatest tradition. The Brazilian Indians also have their own martial art that uses a special body painting, thick cloths to protect the joints, jaguar skin around the waist and even necklaces made from snail plates.
We are talking about HUKA-HUKA, this fighting style was created by the Bakairi indigenous people and Xingu peoples, located in the state of Mato Grosso. The huka-huka is widely practiced in this region and represents one of the modalities of the Indigenous Peoples Games, a sports competition created in 1996, these Games are a kind of Olympics between native peoples and the event takes place every two years in a place different from the country. The name Huka-huka alludes to the sound of fighters imitating the jaguar's screams.
The fight involves a religious ceremony, and its practice involves precepts considered relevant for the personal formation of male and female indigenous young people, the fight begins with the host fighter choosing his opponent, who stands up when he approaches. The two begin to spin in circles approaching each other making the noise of a jaguar. The fight is practiced with the athletes on their knees.
In the ritual, a chief man, who is considered the owner of the fight, goes to the central part of an arena and chooses opponents by calling them by name. Then the fighters stand face to face, kneel and rotate in a clockwise circle. They face each other and start fighting.
The objective is to lift the opponent and then take him to the ground. Outside of competition, the huka-huka is a traditional ritual to test the strength of young Indians. It is usually done after the Quarup, the Xingu ritual of homage to the dead.
At dawn the day after Quarup, the champions of each tribe face off in huka-huka competitions. After the combat between adults, groups of young people also face each other to prove their virility. The fight is won by whoever knocks the opponent down in the supine or prone position, or lifts him completely off the ground, or one of the warriors gives up, or when he holds one or both of the opponent's knees for 3 and 5 seconds, or when he dominates the back.
of the opponent, on top, causing him to have his hands and knees on the ground. Huka-huka, in addition to being a sport, also has a ritualistic and disciplinary character, being a way found by the natives to promote their culture and participate in the life of the tribe. As a ritual fight, huka-huka is practiced during the Quarup (a ritual to honor the illustrious dead) and has competitive symbolism, where the strength and virility of young people is tested.
The martial art is inserted in a wide context of competitions carried out in virtue of Quarup. Each village has its best fighters, who are chosen by the community as the main ones. In the ritual, a chief man, who is considered the owner of the fight, goes to the central part of an arena and chooses opponents by calling them by name.
Huka-Huka is a fight similar to wrestling: without traumatic blows, based on takedowns, immobilizations and locks. The fight starts with the athletes on their knees, where the fighters stand face to face, kneel and rotate in a clockwise circle. They face each other and start fighting.
The objective is to lift the opponent and then take him to the ground. The fight is present in several of the rituals of the Xingu peoples, and it means status for the winner. The respect of the village and other villages is gained, happiness for the family and great pride in the community to which it belongs.
Since childhood, huka-huka has been practiced to become a great fighter. To win the fight it is necessary to lift your opponent and throw him to the ground and there is no judge. This differs, for example, from Judo because it does not mean simply knocking down or immobilizing the opponent already on the ground, and it is also different from other martial arts, such as karate, because it is not enough to strike the opponent, it is necessary to beat him in a direct grappling contest and then show yourself capable of taking him down.
At dawn on the day after Quarup, the moment of symbolic resurrection ends and the crying and singing cease. Visitors announce their arrival with shouts and start huka-huka competitions between the champions of each tribe, followed by group fights for the youth. The fight has also been studied by mixed martial arts fighters, in order to apply it in professional combats.
The teeth of a dogfish scratch the skin of the Xingu warrior, the herbs give him a bath of purification. The ingestion of teas causes him to vomit for internal cleansing and, finally, the mandatory fasting and the prohibition of sleep prepare him for the big day of the fight. This is the ritual that precedes Huka Huka, a genuinely Brazilian indigenous martial art.
The sport takes place on the cusp of the end of the Kuarup, a Xingu funeral ritual that marks the end of the mourning period one year after the death of community members. With ornaments of thread, feathers and beads and the body painted with genipap and annatto, the warriors are summoned to fight by the “owner of the fight”, an indigenous person who plays the role of observer and goes to the center of the circle, calling the fighters for the fight. Name.
Face to face, and lowered to protect their legs, opponents rotate in a circular fashion and face each other first by eye. Afterwards, they hold each other to see who can lift the opponent and take him to the ground, leaning his back on the ground or even touching the lower part of the knee, in which case the fight is ended. As there is no judge, it is the athletes themselves who decide whether to win, lose or draw: in which case they let go of each other and neither is knocked down.
The victory is rewarded by the recognition and respect of the indigenous communities for the winner. At the end of the main struggles, indigenous youth and children face each other imitating adults and, based on intergenerational exchange, keep the Xingu culture alive. The Xingu Indigenous Park is located in the north of Mato Grosso, on the border with Pará, the Xingu Indigenous Park occupies 2.
6 million hectares and was the first Indigenous Land approved by the Federal Government, in 1961 . Aweti, Ikpeng, Kaiabi, Kalapalo, Kamaiurá, Kĩsêdjê, Kuikuro, Matipu, Mehinako, Nahukuá, Naruvotu, Wauja, Tapayuna, Trumai, Yudja and Yawalapiti ethnicities. If you liked it, like, subscribe, comment, share, turn on notifications and see you next time.
