10 Brazilian legends based on the history of its cultures.

Several stories about tribes, gods and folklore elements of Brazil, a country rich in cultures.

Brazil is a beautiful land, with a rich history and culture that blends the heritage of pre-Columbian and indigenous peoples with the influence of European cultures. There are many Brazilian myths and legends that have arisen over time, which seek to explain the world, reality and the different phenomena and events that worried or amazed its inhabitants.

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

A dozen of Brazilian legends

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

1. The birth of the night

One of the phenomena that has always called the attention of all cultures and about which they have always sought an explanation is the coming of the night, and the pre-Columbian legends of the tribes that populated Brazil are no exception.

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

The Great Cobra decided to satisfy the will of his daughter, giving his employees a coconut of Tucuman in which he sheltered her, but warning them not to open it or else everything would go dark. However, on the return trip, curiosity got the better of them and they failed to comply with the god's recommendation, opening the coconut and causing the darkness to appear..

Along with it would appear the creatures of the night and various animals. Only the daughter of the Great Cobra would understand what had happened, deciding to put an end to the darkness by pulling out a hair and passing it through the middle of it: this action would separate the light from the dark and would make the day return, but having as a result that from now on half the time would be day and the other half night, giving birth to the current succession between the two moments. In addition, the employees were punished, being transformed into monkeys.

2. The Iguazu Falls

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

This legend tells us that the gigantic Boi snake inhabited the Iguazu River, to which the Guarani natives offered a young girl as a sacrifice and threw her into the river. However, on one occasion a man named Tarobá fell in love with the young Naipí, who was to be that year's sacrifice.

Tarobá, who had previously tried to convince the village elders not to sacrifice her, decided to take a canoe and kidnap the young girl to save her. The great serpent, furious at the abduction of the one who was to be his sacrifice, chased them and ended up striking the river, dividing it in two in such a way that Tarobá and Naipí were trapped and creating with them the Iguazú Falls. The waters that fall from them are the hair of the young girl, while Tarobá would end up being transformed into a tree.. The great serpent watches them from the bottom, but when the rainbow is formed in the falls, both young people are reunited.

3. The legend of Ajuricaba

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

Legend has it that Ajuricaba was born in front of the Negro River, 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 one day the large ships of the first Europeans arrived on the coasts of Brazil. arrived on the coasts of Brazil, commanded by Belchior Mendes and with a far superior armament. Soon conflicts broke out between the two peoples, which lasted for years.

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

4. The legend of the Amazon River

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

The legend says that at a time when animals could not yet speak, the Sun and the Moon fell in love with each other. However, soon both became aware that their love was impossibleTheir closeness caused the destruction of the other: while the Moon extinguished the Sun, the Sun 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. Their tears reached the planet, but the fact that they were fresh water would cause them to be rejected by the sea, so that they would end up becoming a gigantic river: the Amazon.

5. Curupira, the guardian of the forest

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

This powerful being is small in size but has great strength and speed.He is usually described as bald or red-haired and big-eared and one of his most distinctive characteristics is the fact that his feet are inverted (i.e., facing backwards instead of forwards).

It is a protector of trees, animals and nature, often causing those who trespass and harm it to get lost and forget their way back as punishment.

Hunters and loggers are usually their enemies, interrupting their activities (although tolerating hunting in those who hunt for hunger). Due to the inversion of his feet, his tracks are also tremendously confusing, which makes it difficult to find him. It is also said to sometimes take children into the forests to teach them to love them, returning them to their families when they are seven years old.

6. The Pisadeira

One of Brazil's legends tells of the creature known as the Pisadeira, which is considered the physical representation of the pests. is considered the physical representation of nightmares..

This creature has the body of a skeletal old woman, with long, yellowish nails, a hawk-like nose, and an open mouth from which only horrible guffaws emerge that only those she chooses can hear. It is said that this creature stalks people from rooftopsThey jump on the chests of sleeping people (especially after drowsiness following dinner) and generate an asphyxia that paralyzes their victim.

The victim is aware of what is happening, but is unable to move or react and will often have the sensation of drowning and near death upon awakening. Pisadeira may find the situation more amusing the more fearful the person is, and may prolong and repeat its attack.

7. The legend of Guaraná

Among the many myths and legends existing in Brazil, we can find many that make reference to the origin of foods typical of these lands. One of them is the one that speaks of Guaraná.

Legend has it that an indigenous couple of the Maués tribe had been living together for years and wished to have children, but had not been able to have them.and had not been able to have children. On one occasion they asked the god Tupá to grant them this grace, to which the god responded by giving them a healthy and good son who, as time went by, grew up.

But the god of darkness Jurupari began to envy the child and his strength, peace and happiness, deciding to kill him.At a moment when the little boy went to gather fruit, the god turned into a snake and bit him, killing him with his venom. The parents were devastated, but the god Tupá sent a storm that the mother understood as an indication that she should plant his eyes: from them would be born a plant capable of giving strength and vigor. In doing so, the afflicted parents discovered that from their son's eyes would be born the guaraná, whose seeds in fact resemble those of human eyes.

8. The legend of the Açaí

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

The legend tells us how a long time ago a tribe located in the Pará River suffered a time of great scarcity, so that the continued growth of the population posed a serious threat to survival. Due to the critical situation the leader, named Itaki, agreed with the tribal council that henceforth every baby born in the tribe would be sacrificed.. However, one day his daughter Iaçá became pregnant and would give birth to a girl. The council demanded that the agreement be fulfilled, something to which Itaki would agree despite Iaçá's pleas.

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

However, the next day the woman woke up, still hugging her, dead but joyful as she looked at the leaves of the palm tree. Upon seeing the body and the direction of her gaze, her father Itaki discovered small fruits, the açaí, from which wine could be obtained. The birth of these fruits caused that his people could have food, something that in turn would cause the sacrifices to cease to be unnecessary. The fruits received the inverse 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 native peoples of Brazil is the uirapurú. This bird of beautiful song was considered to be a magical and supernatural being, to the point that its feathers are an amuletIts feathers are even considered a lucky charm when it comes to love.

According to the legend that tells us its origin, there was once a tribe in which two women had fallen in love with the same chieftain, who had to choose one to become his wife. The cacique decided that the chosen one would be the one with the best aim, establishing an archery test in which one of them was the winner. The other woman, named Oribici, wept disconsolately and prayed to the god Tupá to prayed to the god Tupá to transform her into a tree so that she would so that she could continue to see her beloved without his knowledge.

The god did so, which made it possible for Oribici to witness little by little how her beloved was happy and deeply in love with his wife. The young woman decided to leave for the north, where Tupá, seeing her sadness, made her small and gave her the gift of song to help her alleviate her pain. Thus, he transformed her into the uirapurú.

10. Iasá and the origin of the rainbow

This legend tells how a young girl of the Cashinahua tribe, Iasá, was so beautiful that the god Tupá fell in love with her, which she reciprocated.She reciprocated and the two became a happy couple in love. However, the demon Anhangá would also come to notice the girl, who in order to prevent her from committing herself to Tupá and get his love would go to the woman's mother with the purpose of asking for her hand, offering in exchange all the food she would need for the rest of her life if it was granted. The mother agreed to the deal, and Iasá had to marry the Anhangá and separate from Tupa.

Iasá asked her future husband to grant her the wish to see her beloved Tupa again before agreeing to marry and live in the underworld. The demon accepted but would set one condition: he would cut his arm so that the Blood would 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, blue sky and blue sea respectively) that would make the demon 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 to be reunited with her beloved. The mixture of his blood and the dust of the sand that would emerge from his collision with the ground would also form orange, violet and green traces. All these traces together would form the first rainbow.