“Kong-Angola culture is also responsible for a Cuban martial art/dance form, juego de maní or peanut game, also called juego de maní con grasa (peanut with grease game) or bambosa because of its smooth and slippery qualities (Ortiz 1951 [1985]: 396-429). In colonial Cuba, juego de maní involved a solo dancer who danced within a circle of opponents. His opponents tried to strike blows as he executed various jumps and “evasive steps.” Accompanying musicians were expected to synchronize drumming accents with movement accents in the performance. This form was popular in Matanzas and Las Villas provinces and featured circling, competitive male dancing, which later affected dances of Cuban creation, such as rumba columbia (Daniel 1995). The Cuban art form risked particular danger, since the dancer sometimes had leather covers (muñequeras) that were decorated with nails and other sorts of metal (Ortiz 1951 [1985]: 398). Originally, Cuban women also danced jeugo de maní. This particular Cuban form was outlawed in the 1930s, although it was still apparently performed until the time of Ortiz’s publication (see also León 1984: 71-73).”

-Yvonne Daniel, Dancing Wisdom: Embodied Knowledge in Hatian Vodou, Cuban Yoruba, and Bahian Condomblé