Brazilian myths and haunts on the Lusosphere – Part 1

Now you've already met and been frightened by some of the Latin-American frights, legends and popular myths selected by Juliana Rincón in her two articles (here and here) about this subject for Global Voices, it's time to plunge headfirst into the imaginary popular universe of Brazil.

In this first of three articles that will take us around the virtual campfire to hear stories about ghosts and enchantment from the Brazilian imagination as told on the Lusosphere, focusing on the tales told by Brazilian culture and folklore sites.

Sombra Nocturna, by O Pirata on Flickr. Published under a Creative Commons BY 2.0 Licence

One of the best legend and folklore websites in Brazil is the Jangada Brasil [Pt], a respected online magazine about Brazilian popular culture. This site has a small but wonderful library [Pt] of myths and legends, a sure stop for any Lusophone internet citizen who wants to read about Brazilian myths and legends. And it is in Jangada Brasil that we will begin this night's storytelling with stories which will tell us about the Negrinho do Pastoreio [Pt], the terrible Cuca [Pt] and the more urban fright of the Loira do Banheiro [Pt]:

Negrinho do Pastoreio

Escravo, órfão, o menino pertencia a um fazendeiro rico, cruel e arrogante. Maltratado por todos, principalmente pelos filhos do senhor, sofreu inúmeros castigos e barbaridades. Ao perder a tropilha de cavalos de seu amo, foi surrado sem piedade. Seu corpo moribundo foi, então, jogado à boca de um enorme formigueiro, para que as formigas o devorassem. No dia seguinte, o fazendeiro, atormentado, correu ao local e não mais encontrou o supliciado. Em vez disso, viu Nossa Senhora e o Negrinho, seu afilhado, são e feliz, montado em um cavalo baio, pastoreando uma tropilha de cavalos invisíveis.

O Negrinho do Pastoreio é mito de origem gaúcha, com fundamentos católicos e europeus, divulgado com finalidades morais. A compensação e redenção divinas aos sofrimentos terrenos. A tradição popular concedeu-lhe poderes sobrenaturais, canonizando-o. Possui inúmeros devotos. Afilhado da Virgem, encontra objetos perdidos, bastando prometer-lhe um toco de vela que será dado à madrinha. Em algumas versões, oferece-se também, um naco de fumo para o menino.

Negrinho do Pastoreio
This boy was an orphan slave who belonged to a rich, cruel and arrogant land owner. He suffered many tortures and injuries, being mistreated by everyone, including the land owner's sons. Once, after losing track of one of his master's drove of horses, the boy was beaten without mercy. His almost lifeless body was then left at the top of a giant anthill, so that he could be devoured by the ants. On the next day, the land owner, his soul tormented by his acts, went back to the anthill but didn't find the poor boy's body. Instead, he met Our Lady along with the boy, who was her godson, healthy and happy, riding a wild horse and herding a drove of invisible horses.
The Negrinho do Pastoreio [which can be roughly translated as “The Little Black Herding Boy”] is a gaúcho [southern Brazilian or Argentinean] myth with a catholic and European basis, told with a moral goal: the divine compensation and redemption from earthly sufferings. The popular tradition gave him supernatural powers, turning him into a sort of popular saint. He has a lot of devout followers. Godson to the Virgin, he can find lost objects if you promise him to light a stump of candle for his Godmother. In some versions, he can also ask for a pinch of tobacco in exchange for his favors.”

A Cuca

A cuca é um papão, um ente fantástico que mete medo às crianças causando pavor. Sua aparência varia de lugar para lugar, mas a maioria das pessoas diz que ela tem a forma de uma velha, bem velha e enrugada, corcunda,  cabeleira branca, toda desgrenhada, com aspecto assustador. Ela só aparece à noite, sempre procurando por aquelas crianças que fazem pirraça e não querem ir dormir cedo. Então, a cuca as coloca num saco, levando-as embora para não se sabe onde e faz com elas não se sabe bem o que, mas, com toda certeza, trata-se de algo muito terrível.

Ela também é chamada de coca ou coco e assombra crianças de Portugal, Espanha, alguns países africanos e tribos indígenas brasileiras. Em alguns lugares ela é um velho, em outros, se parece com um jacaré ou uma coruja.

Existem muitas canções e versos sobre a cuca. Luís da Câmara Cascudo, em Geografia dos mitos do Brasil, indica a seguinte cantiga, comum no Nordeste brasileira:

Dorme, neném
Se não a cuca vem
Papai foi pra roça
Mamãe logo vem

Cuca
Cuca is a bogeyman, a fantastical being that instills fear in children, causing terror. It's appearance varies from place to place, but most people say that it looks like a hag, very old and wrinkled, bent and humped, with a mass of tangled white hairs and is a frightening vision. She only appears at night, always looking for misdemeaning children who don't want to go to bed early. Then, Cuca puts these children in a big sack, taking them away to nobody knows where, to do nobody knows what, but certainly terrible things, to them.
She can be called coca or coco and frightens children in Portugal, Spain and some African countries, and some Brazilian indigenous tribes too. In some places she is an old man, in others she looks like an alligator or an owl.
There are many songs and verses about cuca. Luís da Câmara Cascudo, in his book Geografia dos Mitos do Brazil [“The Geography of Brazilian Myths”], comments on the following folk song, very common in the Brazilian northeast:
‘Sleep, baby
Or cuca will come
Dad is working
And mum is soon to come’.”

A loira do banheiro

Ela vive nos banheiros das escolas. Possui farta cabeleira loira, é muito pálida, tem os olhos fundos e as narinas tapadas por algodão, a fim de que o sangue não escorra. Causa pânico entre os estudantes.

Dizem que era uma aluna que gostava de cabular as aulas, escondendo-se no banheiro. Um dia, caiu, bateu com a cabeça e morreu. Agora, seu fantasma vaga à espera de companhia, assombrando todos aqueles que fazem o mesmo que ela costumava fazer. Em outras versões, é uma professora que se apaixonou por um aluno. Terminou assassinada, a facadas, pelo marido traído. Tem o rosto e o corpo ensangüentados, as roupas em frangalhos.

Loura ou loira do banheiro, menina do algodão, big loura. Lenda urbana contemporânea que ocorre, com modificações, em todas as regiões do Brasil. Algumas vezes é uma mulher feita, outras vezes, uma menina. Os locais de sua aparição podem variar: escolas, centros comerciais, hospitais. Entre os caminhoneiros, surge nos banheiros de estrada, de costas, linda, corpo perfeito, belas pernas. Porém, ao se voltar para sua vítima, com o rosto sangrento, causa o horror.

Acredita-se, também, que seja possível invocá-la. Para isto, basta apertar a descarga por três vezes seguidas ou chutar, com força, o vaso sanitário. Então, ela aparecerá, pronta para atacar a primeira pessoa que entrar no banheiro.

A Loira do Banheiro [“The Blondie of the Toilet”]
She lives in school toilets. She has long and full blond hair, and is very pale, with sunken eyes and cotton balls in her nostrils to keep her blood from pouring out. She causes panic among students.
Some say she was once a student herself who used to play truant by hiding inside the toilet. One day, she fell and hit her head against something, dying on the spot. Now, her ghost wanders looking for company and haunts everyone who likes doing the things she did. In other versions, she was a teacher who fell in love with a student. She ended up murdered, stabbed to death by her betrayed husband. She has the face and the body covered in blood and the clothes reduced to rags.
Loira do Banheiro [“The Blondie of the Restroom”], menina do algodão [“the cotton girl”], big loura [“the big blondie”]. This contemporary urban legend occurs, with slight modifications, in all regions of Brazil. Sometimes she is a grown woman, in others she is just a little girl. The places she haunts can vary: schools, commercial centers, hospitals. Among the truck drivers, she appears at public toilets, with her back turned to the observer, beautiful, with a perfect body, gorgeous legs. But once she looks at the victim, her face is covered in blood and causes horror in those who look at her.
Some believe she can be summoned. To do so, you only need to flush the toilet three times and then kick  the toilet seat violently, she will then appear, ready to attack the first person to come into the toilet.”

Some people disagree that Loira do Banheiro could be the same thing as Big Loura. Some even say that there's no ghost named Big Loura in Brazil. A friend of mine, who is a great student of the Loira do Banheiro urban legends herself, told me that there are many other ways to summon this ghost, some of them involve blood, or swearing in front of the mirror, and in some cases Loira do Banheiro will come to get the summoner. Other versions of this legend say that this ghost died after being raped while she was playing truant inside the toilet. These facts are deeply mysterious, and we'll delve deeper into them in the second part of this series.

On the site PerfeitaUniao.org we can find lots of stories and Brazilian myths [Pt], like, for example, the Boitatá, the Brazilian counterpart of the British Will o’ Wisp and the Latin-American Luz do Mal, and the legend of the Curupira, along with the myths of Iara Mãe-d'Água [“Iara Mother of the Waters”] and Uratau, the bird whose song frightens the caboclos but enchants the indigenous Tupi-Guarani people:

Boitatá

Esta é uma versão brasileira do mito explicativo do fogo-fátuo ou santelmo, existente em quase todas as culturas. Na Alemanha, ele é a Irrlicht (a luz louca), que é carregada por minúsculos e invisíveis anões. Na Inglaterra é o Jack with a lantern que, em forma de fantasma, guiava os viajantes pelos charcos e banhados; na França é o Sinistro Moine des marais (monge dos banhados), com as mesmas finalidades de guias de pântanos; em Portugal são as alminhas, as almas dos meninos pagãos ou a alma penada que deixou dinheiro enterrado não se podendo salvar enquanto este ficar infrutífero.

No Brasil é um mito dos mais antigos e de origem quase que totalmente indígena. Seria uma cobra-de-fogo que vagava pelos campos, protegendo-os contra aqueles que os incendeiam. Às vezes transformava-se em grosso madeiro em brasas que fazia morrer, por combustão, aquele que queima inutilmente os campos. O boitatá foi citado por Padre Anchieta em carta de São Vicente de 31 de maio de 1560. O padre traduziu o nome por “cousa de fogo, o qiue é todo fogo”. Mbai, coisa e tatá, fogo, davam a versão exata: um fogo vivo que se desloca, largando um rastro luminoso. Como há outra palavra tupi parecida, mboi, cobra; chegou-se a mboi-tatá, a cobra de fogo. Também é conhecido como uma serpente de fogo, que reside na água, ou uma cobra grande que mata os animais, comendo-lhe os olhos; por isso fica cheia de luz de todos esses olhos. Touro ou boi que solta fogo pela boca. Espírito de gente ruim, que vaga pela terra, tocando fogo nos campos ou saindo que nem um rojão ou tocha de fogo, em variantes diversas. É conhecido por diversos nomes em diferentes regiões do Brasil.

No Norte e Nordeste é chamado de batatão, no Centro-Sul de boitatá, bitatá, batatá e baitatá. Já em Minas Gerais também é conhecido como batatal, e ainda como biatatá, na Bahia. Prudentemente, Anchieta dizia: “O que seja isto, ainda não se sabe com certeza”.

Boitatá
This is a Brazilian version of the myth that explains the Will o’ Wisp or Saint-Elmo's Fire which exists in almost all cultures. In Germany, it is the Irrlicht (the mad light) carried by tiny and invisible dwarves. In England it is the Jack Lantern who, in the form of a ghost, guides the travelers through the bogs and wetlands; in France it is the Sinister Moine des Marais (monk from the wetlands), with the same attributes as the swamp guides; in Portugal they are the alminhas (little souls), the souls of the pagan boys or the apparition of a soul who left behind some buried money and can't save itself until this treasure is found by someone.
In Brazil this is one of the oldest myths, and it's origin is almost entirely indigenous. It would be a fire-snake that wandered the fields, protecting against those who try to set fire to them. Sometimes it's transformed into a thick burning log that kills by combustion those who burn the fields uselessly. The boitatá was mentioned by the priest Anchieta in his São Vicente letter dated of May 31, 1560. The priest translated its name as a ‘thing of fire, that is all fire’. Mbai means thing, and tatá fire, giving the exact version: a living fire that moves, leaving a bright track. Since there's another similar tupi word, mboi, that means snake, we come to mboi-tatá, the fire snake. It is also known as a serpent of fire that lives in the water, or a big snake that kills the animals and eats their eyes; that's why it is so full of light — it's the light of their eyes. [It can be] a bull or an ox that breathes fire from it's mouth or a bad person's spirit who wanders the land, torching the fields or running around as a firecracker or a torch, in differing versions. It is known by different names in different regions of Brazil.
In the Northeast is called batatão, in the center-south is boitatá, bitatá, batatá and baitatá. In the state of Minas Gerais, it's known as batatal, and in Bahia it's called biatatá. Cautiously, the priest Anchieta said: ‘What it may be is still not known for sure’.”

\'Curupira, Saci and others\', by ~ferigato user at DeviantART

Curupira, Saci and others, by ~ferigato user at DeviantART. Published under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND-3.0 Licence

Curupira

A primeira assombração indígena a ser adotada pelos europeus foi o curupira. Anchieta se refere a ele em carta de 30 de maio de 1560, escrita de São Vicente, São Paulo: “É coisa sabida e pela boca de todos corre que há certos demônios a quem os brasis chamam de Corupiras, que acometem aos índios muitas vezes, no mato, dão-lhes de açoites, machucam e matam. São testemunhas disso alguns de nossos irmãos que viram, algumas vezes, os mortos por eles. Por isso, costumam os índios deixarem em certos caminhos, que por ásperas brenhas vai ter ao interior das terras, no cume da mais alta montanha, quando por cá passam, penas de aves, abanadores, fechas e outras coisas semelhantes, como uma espécie de oblação, rogando fervorosamente aos curupiras que não lhes façam mal”. É um dos poucos casos de oferenda propiciatória que se verifica entre os índios brasileiros. A criação de mito semelhante se verifica em quase todas as culturas antigas.

O curupira é descrito como um indiozinho ágil, de pés voltados para trás, cabelos vermelhos ou cabeça raspada, protetor das árvores e da caça, senhor dos animais que habitam a floresta. Antes das grandes tempestades, percorre a mata percutindo o tronco das árvores para assegurar a sua resistência. Personifica o rumor da floresta e as incertezas de quem se aventura mata adentro. Quando quer pode ser bondoso. Mas, em geral, ele voltava-se contras os caçadores em defesa dos animais.

Seu assobio estridente é motivo para o caçador se apavorar e perder-se na mata. Nota-se que não é um gênio bom. É enganador e assassino. Seus pés virados iludem os perseguidores por deixar rastros falsos no chão. Pode, contudo, ajudar a alguns caçadores em troca de comida, dado-lhes armas e transmitindo-lhes segredos que, se revelados, são punidos com a morte.

Curupira
The first indigenous haunt to be adopted by the European was curupira. Anchieta makes a reference to it in his letter dated of May 30th 1560, written in São Vicente, in São Paulo: ‘It is known, and by everyone's mouths, that there are certain demons that the brasis [as he refered to the native Indians] name Curupiras, that often haunt Indians in the woods and lash, hurt and kill them. Some of our brothers give testimony of this, having seen those killed by it. That's why Indians have the custom of leaving bird feathers, fans, arrows and other similar things, as a kind of offering, on the top of the highest hills when threading certain trails that lead, through rough paths, to the heart of those lands. They ask curupiras with fervor that no harm is done to them’. This is one of the few verified cases of propitiatory offerings among Brazilian indigenous peoples. The creation of similar myths is confirmed among almost all ancient cultures.
Curupira is described as a very nimble little Indian, with his feet turned backwards, fire-red hair or a shaved head, a guardian of trees and game animals, master of all animals that inhabit the forest. Before big storms, it strides along the woods drumming the large tree trunks to assure resilience. It embodies forest sounds and the uncertainties of venturing into the wilderness. When it wants to, it can be generous. But it generally turns against hunters, in defense of animals.
Its high pitched whistling makes hunters panic and lose their way in the woods. It's well known that it's not a benevolent spirit but is misleading and murderous. Its backwards feet fool pursuers, leaving false tracks in the ground. It can, sometimes, help some hunters in exchange for food, giving them weapons and telling them secrets that, if revealed, lead to deadly punishment.”

Iara, a Mãe-d'água

Alguns mitos brasileiros misturaram-se a lendas européias. Como exemplo começamos com uma estória que viajantes portugueses encontravam por aqui. Eles ouviam falar de um fantasma marinho, afogador de índios, que espantava pescadores e lavadeiras, era o “ipupiara”, um monstro meio homem, meio peixe, que para se divertir, saía das águas para matar. Tempos mais tarde o ipupiara tornou-se a “uiara”, uma versão portuguesa da sereia. Depois uiara virou “iara” que “significa senhora das águas”, também conhecida como mãe-d'água. Depois de várias transformações a lenda conta que a mãe-d'água é uma bela mulher de longos cabelos loiros e olhos verdes, que vive em um palácio no fundo das águas, para onde atrai os jovens com quem deseja casar.

Iara, a Mãe-d'Água [The Mother of the Waters]
Some Brazilian myths merge themselves with European legends. As an example, we start with a story that the Portuguese travelers heard here [in Brazil] about a sea ghost, drowner of Indians, that drove away fishermen and laundrywomen called ‘ipupiara‘, a monster that was half-man, half-fish, that came out of the water to kill for fun. Later, the ipupiara became the ‘uiara‘, a Portuguese version of the mermaid. Uiara then became ‘iara‘, that means ‘lady of the waters’, who is also known as the ‘mother of the waters’. After various transformations, the legend recounts how the mother of the waters is a beautiful woman with long blond hair and green eyes, who lives inside a palace beneath the waters, to where she attracts young men whom she wishes to marry.”

Uratau
O uratau é um pássaro solitário e de hábitos noturnos que dificilmente se deixa ver. Pousado na ponta de um galho seco, fitando a lua e estremecendo a calada da noite, emite seu canto tenebroso assemelhado a um lamento humano. Por este motivo, o povo também o chama de “mãe-da-lua”. Seu grito talvez seja o mais assustador de todos, entre as aves. “Meu filho foi, foi, foi…” – interpreta o povo. Por causa de seu grito, o uratau é muitas vezes associado a maus presságios, mas segundo a mitologia tupi-guarani, é uma ave benfazeja.

Segundo a lenda, uma moça guarani chamada Nheambiú, apaixonou-se profundamente por um bravo guerreiro tupi chamado Cuimbaé, que caíra prisioneiro dos guaranis. Nheambiú pediu a seus pais que consentissem o casamento com Cuimbaé. Todos os insistentes pedidos foram negados, com a alegação que os tupis eram inimigos mortais da nação guarani. Não podendo mais suportar o sofrimento, Nheambiú saiu da taba. O cacique mobilizou seus guerreiros na procura da filha e, após uma longa busca, a jovem índia foi encontrada no coração da floresta, paralisada e muda, tal qual uma estátua de pedra, sem dar nenhum tipo de sinal de vida. O feiticeiro da tribo alegou que Nheambiú perdera a fala para sempre, a não ser que uma grande dor a fizesse voltar a ser o que era antes. Então a jovem recebeu todos os tipos de notícias tristes, a morte de seus pais e amigos, mas ela não dava nenhum sinal, até que o pajé falou “Cuimbaé acaba de ser morto”. No mesmo momento a moça, lamentando repetidas vezes, tomou vida e desapareceu dentro da mata. Todos que ali estavam transformaram-se em árvores secas, enquanto que Nheambiú tomou a forma de um uratau e ficou voando, noite após noite, pelos galhos daquelas árvores amigas, chorando a perda de seu grande amor.

Uratau
The uratau is a lonely bird with nocturnal habits that almost never lets other creatures see itself. Perched on the tip of a dried branch, gazing at the moon and shivering in the dead of the night, it sings an appalling song which resembles a human wail. For this reason, common people refer to it as the ‘mãe-de-lua‘ (mother of the moon). Its cries may be the most frightening among all the birds. ‘Meu filho foi, foi, foi…’ [“My son's gone, gone, gone…”] — people hear. Due to its cries, the uratau is commonly associated with bad omens, but according to Tupi-Guarani mythology, it is a benevolent bird.
According to the legend, a Guaraní maiden called Nheambiú fell deeply in love with a brave Tupi warrior called Cuimbaé, who was imprisoned by the Guaraní. Nheambiú asked her parents for consent to marry Cuimbaé. All her insistent pleas were denied, for the Tupi were sworn mortal enemies of the Guaraní nation. Unable to deal with her suffering, Nheambiú left the taba [settlement]. The cacique [indigenous leader] mobilized all his warriors to look for his missing daughter and, after an arduous search, the young Indian was found in the heart of the forest, paralyzed and mute, like a stone statue, without any sign of life. The tribal sorcerer alleged that Nheambiú had lost her voice forever, unless great pain could make her revert to her original state. Then, the young girl was told all kinds of sad things, for example that her parents and friends were dead, but showed no signs of changing state. Then, the pajé [tribal healer and witch-doctor] said ‘Cuimbaé had just been killed’. At this very moment the girl, moaning many times, came back to life and disappeared into the jungle. Everyone there was transformed into dead trees, and Nheambiú took the form of an uratau and kept flying, night after night, among the branches of those friendly trees, crying at the loss of her greatest love.”

Speaking of Brazilian culture, the world famous Brazilian collaborative website Overmundo [Pt], winner of the 2007 Golden Nica at the Prix Ars Electronica award in the Digital Communities category, has a lot of very interesting articles about Brazilian myths and legends. One that stood out and took my fancy is about the work of a group of southern Brazilian writers and illustrators who are making a graphic novel named “Um Outro Pastoreio” [“Another Pastoreio” in Portuguese] which mixes drawing, photography, collage, prose and poetry to tell anew the old myth of Negrinho do Pastoreio [Pt]:

Fazemos uma releitura da lenda do Negrinho do Pastoreio, mais conhecida pela versão do escritor regionalista João Simões Lopes Neto, publicado no livro “Lendas do Sul”, em 1913. A esta trama inicial costuramos elementos da religiosidade afro-brasileira, lendas africanas e pencas de referências das histórias em quadrinhos.

Uma curiosidade: o livro Lendas do Sul foi a primeira obra literária em português publicada pelo Projeto Gutenberg, instituto que distribui gratuitamente livros e e-books na internet.

“We are telling anew the Negrinho do Pastoreio legend, whose most famous version was told by the regional writer João Simões Lopes Neto and published in his book ‘Lendas do Sul’ [‘Southern Legends’ in Portuguese] in 1913. We have stitched elements of the African-Brazilian religions, African legends and many references to the comic universe into this tale.
Some curious trivia: The Lendas do Sul [Pt] book was the first literary work in Portuguese to be published by Project Gutemberg, an institute that publishes books and e-books to be downloaded for free from the internet.”

According to the post authors, who are also the graphic novel project authors, “the project has changed a lot” and its progress can be followed at the project's blog [Pt] and site [Pt].

“Um Outro Pastoreio” page 7, published at the graphic novel website.

The amount of popular stories, myths, legends and haunts in the Brazilian imagination — either from urban periferies or vast rural regions — is as huge and vast as the country that craddles them. These mythic beings, and the ones that will follow them in the next two articles, are only some of the thousands that live in the Brazilian imagination, and that therefore inhabit sites, blogs and online forums on the Brazilian internet. If for some people modern times represent the death of the popular imagination, others say that the Internet is a new frontier, a new space for the curation and difusion of these legends, even if they are dislodged from their traditional places of birth and dwellings. We, at Global Voices, keep observing the wanderings of these beings in the Brazilian Lusosphere. But we keep the lights on as we observe them, just in case…

This post's thumbnail is based on img_8055-1_edited-1-cropped by visionshare on Flickr. The image was used according to the Creative Commons BY-NC 2.0 US Licence.

8 comments

  • […] Posted by John Hummel on October 16, 2008 I so dig mythology, the odd myths and legends that the world create. So the series at Global voices about Brazilian myths and the web sites devoted to talking about them. […]

  • […] the first article of this series, we searched Brazilian websites that could tell us some stories about the haunts and the mythical […]

  • I loved the “A loira do banheiro” tale. At school we had one of those, she was called Bloody Mary and you would summon her by sprinkling water on the mirror and calling her name 3 times while turning counter-clockwise. I never tried it to see if it would work, so no idea if there was any sense in it.

    At the university we had the Mechuda, a secretary who hung herself back when the building was an office-warehouse. This one I did “meet”: on those days when we had rehearsals and we had the keys to the building, and no-one else was around she would bang on doors, slam them, move chairs in other classrooms and ring the doorbell insistently, and when one looked outside the window at the door to see who was there, it was obviously empty. All you had to do to make sure she didn’t bother you was ask loudly for permission to come in as you opened the door. Quite a stickler on politeness!

  • Hey! Thank you for the feedback about the Bloody Mary and the Mechuda, Jules.

    I had contact with the Loira do Banheiro myth when I was a schoolboy at a Christian school in Brasilia. I remember I could barely go near the womens toilet, that was very close to the schools library (a place I always loved!). I used to take a longer way, going up a floor and then going down the stairs to walk from my classroom to the library, just to keep away from the women’s toilet.

    In terms of being polite to the supernatural beings, I know a lot of people that “ask for permission” before walking into any patch of woodland or overgrown area. They don’t say who they are asking permission to. Maybe to the jungle, or Mother Nature… or maybe the Curupira. Maybe to all of them.

    The second part of this lusophone series is already up, here:
    http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/10/23/brazilian-myths-and-haunts-on-the-lusosphere-part-2/

    I hope you like it too.

    Best,
    D.D.

  • […] than Saci Pererê. After being introduced to mythic beings like Cuca, Boitatá and Curupira in the first article, and reading the intriguing narratives about Cabeça de Cuia and Caboclo D'Água, among others, […]

  • […] Ir aos comentários A novela gráfica foi citada no portal Global Voices Online no artigo “Brazilian myths and haunts on the Lusosphere – Part 1” escrito por Daniel Duende, tradutor e blogueiro brasiliense. Há também uma versão do […]

  • […] agora mesmo terminando de formatar a tradução para o português da primeira parte da matéria (em 3 partes) que publiquei no Global Voices Online sobre mitos, lendas e assombrações do…l. A matéria não levantou muito interesse por lá. Vamos ver o que o público lusófono vai achar […]

  • Pingback: Iara

    […] This article has a nice overview of several Brazilian myths. […]

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