10 Brazilian legends based on the history of their cultures

Brazil is a beautiful land, with a rich history and culture in which the heritage of pre-Columbian and indigenous peoples is mixed with the influence of European cultures. There are many Brazilian myths and legends that have arisen over time, which claim to give a explanation to the world, reality and the different phenomena and events that worried or astonished their settlers.

In order to exemplify and show the folklore of that land, throughout this article we will see a dozen of diverse Brazilian legends.

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A dozen Brazilian legends

Here we present a dozen Brazilian myths and legends, many of them dealing with the origin of natural elements and / or phenomena such as the rainbow, nightmares, some fruits or animals or even elements of the religious beliefs of its natives.

1. The birth of the night

One of the phenomena that has always drawn attention to all cultures and on which they have always sought One explanation is the arrival of night, and the pre-Columbian legends of the tribes that populated Brazil are not the exception.

The legend says that at the beginning of time there was only day, but one day the Big Cobra's daughter told her husband that she wanted to see the night. Although her husband told her that it did not exist, she insisted that she did and that her father kept it. The husband sent his employees home the Big Cobra in search of the night.

The Big Cobra decided to satisfy her daughter's will by giving her employees a coconut of tucumán in which he housed her but warning them not to open it or otherwise everything would darken. However, on the return trip curiosity got the better of them and they did not follow the god's recommendation, opening the coconut and causing the darkness to appear.

Along with her would appear the creatures of the night and various animals. Only the daughter of the Big Cobra would understand what had happened, deciding to put an end to the darkness of her to pull a hair from her and pass it through her: this action would separate the clear of the dark and it would make the day return, but having as a result that from now on half the time was day and the other half night, the current succession between the two moments. In addition, the employees were punished, being transformed into monkeys.

2. Iguazu falls

There are also numerous legends that tell us about the history of the emergence of different geographical features of Brazil. One of them is the legend of the Iguazú falls.

This legend tells us that the gigantic snake Boi lived in the Iguazú River, to which the Guarani natives offered a young woman as a sacrifice, whom they threw into the river. However, on one occasion a man named Tarobá fell in love with the young Naipí, who was to be the sacrifice of that year.

Tarobá, who had previously tried to convince the village elders not to sacrifice her, decided to take a canoe and kidnap the young woman to save her. The great serpent, furious at the rapture of what was to be their sacrifice, pursued them and ended up hitting the river, dividing it in two in such a way that Tarobá and Naipí were trapped and creating together with them the Iguazú falls. The waters that fall from them are the hair of the young woman, while Tarobá would end up being transformed into a tree. The great snake watches over them from the bottom, but when the rainbow forms at the falls, the two young men meet again.

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3. The legend of Ajuricaba

Some of the original legends of Brazil also refer to historical phenomena of great relevance, such as the experience by part of the indigenous population of the arrival and the conflicts and struggles with the first Europeans and specifically in this case of the Portuguese. It also tells the story of one of the best known indigenous leaders of the Manaós tribe, Ajuricaba.

Legend has it that Ajuricaba was born in front of the Rio Negro, being predicted by his grandfather that he would become the leader of his people and that he would always be protected by the river goddess, Maori. His prowess and warrior spirit were remarkable from a young age. However, one day the great ships of the first Europeans arrived to arrive on the coasts of Brazil, commanded by Belchior Mendes and with a much superior weaponry. Soon conflicts broke out between the two peoples, which lasted for years.

The Portuguese withdrew up to five times, but knowing that they would return, Ajuricaba's grandfather would give him command of the combat. He ajuricaba would use multiple ambushes and fight bravely, but in one of the battles he would finally be taken prisoner and chained up by the Portuguese, who planned to use him as a war trophy and take him to Portugal. However, before reaching this point Ajuricaba decided to die: he threw himself into the river, in the hands of the goddess that his grandfather predicted would protect him. It is said that on full moon nights a white canoe can still be seen in the river, in which Ajuricaba travels.

4. The legend of the Amazon River

The Amazon is the longest and mightiest river in the world, being an important source of water and life for the territories through which it passes, including Brazil. In this land there is also a legend regarding its origin.

Legend has it that in a time when animals could not yet speak, the Sun and the Moon fell in love with each other. However, soon they were both aware that their love was impossible, since its proximity caused the destruction of the other: while the Moon extinguished the Sun, it melted the Moon.

And not only that, but their union would cause floods that would end the Earth. This would make them finally decide to separate, something that would cause the Moon to cry inconsolably for days. His tears reached the planet, but the fact that they were fresh water would cause them to be rejected by the sea, in such a way that they would end up transforming into a gigantic river: the Amazon.

5. Curupira, the guardian of the forest

Brazilian indigenous tribes highly valued the importance of the jungle and forests, which possess their own protective creature / deity. We are talking about the legend of Curupira, typical of the Tupi.

This powerful being is small in size but has great strength and speed, is usually described as bald or red-haired and with large ears and one of its most distinctive is the fact that your feet are inverted (that is, facing your back rather than The front).

He is a protector of trees, animals and nature, often making those who invade and damage him lose their way and forget their way back.

Hunters and loggers are often his enemies, interrupting his activities (while tolerating hunting in those who carry it out out of hunger). Due to the inversion of his feet, his footprints are also extremely confusing, something that makes it difficult to find him. It is also said that he sometimes takes children into the woods to teach them to love them, returning them to their families when they are seven years old.

6. The Pisadeira

One of the legends of Brazil tells us about the creature known as the Pisadeira, which is considered the physical representation of nightmares.

This creature has the body of a skeletal old woman, with long yellowish nails, the nose of a hawk, and open mouth from which only horrible laughter arises that only those she chooses can hear. It is said that this creature stalk people from rooftops, jumping on the chest of the sleeping (especially after the drowsiness after dinner) and generating a suffocation that paralyzes its victim.

She is aware of what is happening, but is unable to move or react and will often feel like she is drowning and about to die when she wakes up. The Pisadeira can find the situation more amusing the more fear the person has, being able to prolong and repeat its attack.

7. The legend of Guarana

Among the many myths and legends existing in Brazil, we can find many that refer to the origin of food from these lands. One of them is the one that tells us about Guarana.

The legend says that An indigenous couple from the Maues tribe had lived together for years and wished to have children, having failed to engender. On one occasion they asked the god Tupá to grant them this grace, something to which the god responded by giving them a healthy and good son who grew as time went by.

But the god of darkness Jurupari began to envy the boy and his strength, peace and happiness, making the decision to kill him: at a time when the little boy went to collect fruit, the god turned into a snake and bit him, killing him with his poison. The parents were devastated, but the god Tupá sent a storm that the mother understood as a indication that he should plant his eyes: from them would be born a plant capable of giving strength and vigor. In doing so, the grieving parents discovered that guarana would be born from the eyes of his son, the seeds of which are in fact reminiscent of human eyes.

8. The legend of Açaí

Although not very well known in the West, the açaí is the fruit of a palm tree of great importance for the peoples of the Amazon and great relevance in the territory of Brazil. This fruit has been consumed since pre-Columbian times, and there is a sad legend regarding its origin.

Legend tells us how a long time ago a tribe located on the Pará River suffered a time of great scarcity, with the continued growth of the population posing a serious danger to the survival. Due to the critical situation the leader, named Itaki, would agree with the tribe council that from now on every baby born would be sacrificed. However, one day her daughter Iaçá became pregnant and would give birth to a girl. The council demanded that the agreement be fulfilled, something Itaki would agree to despite Iaçá's pleas.

After the death of little Iaçá she would spend days locked up in her tent, praying to the god Tupá in order to for the village leader to learn a way to fix the situation without having to die any more kids. At night, the woman heard crying, which she followed to a palm tree. There he saw her daughter, smiling, rushing to hug her. However, when he touched her he only found the palm tree, something that would make her embrace her cry sadly.

However, the next day the woman woke up, still embraced, dead but happy as she looked at the leaves of her palm tree. Upon seeing her body and the direction of her gaze, her father Itaki discovered some small fruits, açaí, from which wine could be obtained. The birth of these fruits caused his people to have food, something that in turn would make the sacrifices stop as they were no longer necessary. The fruits received the reverse name of the leader's daughter, Açai.

9. The legend of the uirapurú

One of the birds whose origin has been represented by the legends and myths of the original peoples of Brazil is the uirapurú. This beautiful singing bird was considered a magical and supernatural being, to the point that her feathers are a lucky charm when it comes to love.

According to the legend that tells us of her origin, there was once a tribe in which two women had fallen in love with the same chief, who had to choose one of her to become her wife. The chief decided that the chosen one would be the one with the best aim, establishing an archery test of which one of them was the winner. The other woman, named Oribici, wept inconsolably and she prayed to the god Tupá to transform her into a tree in such a way that she could continue to see her lover without him knowing it.

The god made her that way, something that made it possible for Oribici to witness little by little how her lover was happy and deeply in love with his wife. The young woman decided to leave for the north, where she saw her sadness Tupá made her small and gave him the gift of her song in order to help her relieve her pain. Thus, he transformed her into the uirapurú.

10. Iasá and the origin of the rainbow

This legend tells how a young woman from the Cashinahua tribe, Iasá, was so beautiful that the god Tupá fell in love with her, something to which she corresponded, both becoming a loving and happy couple. However, the demon Anhangá would also fixate on the girl, which in order to prevent her from committing to Tupá and getting her love he would go to the woman's mother with the intention of her asking for her hand, offering in exchange all the food that he would need for the rest of her life if she was him granted. The mother agreed to the deal, and Iasá had to marry the Anhangá and separate from Tupá.

Iasá asked her future husband to grant him the wish to see her lover Tupa hers again before agreeing to marry and live in the underworld. The demon accepted but would make one condition: cutting himself on the arm in order for the blood to create a path for him to follow.

Knowing this and in order to mislead Anhangá, Tupá would try with the help of the gods of the Sun, the Sky and the Sea to create different strokes of different colors (yellow, sky blue and sea blue respectively) that made the devil lose track of Iasá. The woman, however, would lose strength as she lost blood, to the point of falling to the ground and dying on the beach, never getting to meet her lover again. The mixture of his blood and the dust of the sand that would arise from his collision with the ground would also form orange, violet and green lines. The set of all these traces would form the first rainbow.

Bibliographic references:

• Gomez, A.M. and Palma, V. (2011). Legends of the Brazilian Amazon. Orellana Collection, 22. General Technical Secretariat. Ministry of Education. Embassy of Spain in Brazil.