Meet the Folkloric myths and legends of the southeast region.
We can say that the Brazilian myths and legends they are part of our culture and are not necessarily lies, much less absolute truths.
Some legends are known from north to south of our country, and others are more local and in this post we will bring a little about the main Southeastern folk legends, check out:
Among several Southeastern folk legends, existing in our culture, we can highlight these:
It is a legend from the Southeast, North and Midwest regions, of a jaguar who, when fighting hunters, ended up losing a front paw, but with that she started to have a lot of strength and anger towards the people she met in the Forest. She lives hidden in the woods and is very difficult to see. When she attacks, it's all right! Hardly anyone can escape! It can be an animal, herd or a man, who can't make her retreat and run away.
Cuca is a famous character, also a character from Sítio do Pica-pau Amarelo, but her origin is Portuguese.
According to the legend Cuca would be a grumpy old lady in the shape of an alligator, who falls asleep once every seven years (that's why so bad mood) and feeds on naughty children!
With European origin created in the 16th century, the Werewolf legend depicts a very violent monster that feeds on blood.
Legend had it that if a woman has seven daughters and one man, and he is the last one at birth, he will probably be a WEREWOLF. Of course, this is just one of the versions counted. There is also another very popular one where it was said that children who were not baptized could become the Werewolf.
By day man and on full moon nights Werewolf. So is told this legend folk.
Who doesn't remember the Boggart that sits on top of the roof, as the lullaby says? World-renowned, in every corner of the world he chooses a form of punishment for children naughty: in the Netherlands, Zwart Piet (Black Peter), as he is called, throws children into the Sea Black; in Luxembourg her name is Housecker, who carries the kids in the bag, slapping their butt. Currently, it's not that scary...
It's a ghost who walks dressed all in white and has both hands full of hair, he's one of the big scary ones of children who usually wet the bed.
THE folk legend da caipora has indigenous origin since the time of discovery. Indians and Gesurites called him caiçara (the protector of hunting and animals).
Caipora is a red-haired dwarf with green fur and teeth. As protector of waters and animals, he usually punishes any kind of aggressor of nature and the hunter who kills for pleasure.
Some say that caipora is cousin to curupira.
Short, with red hair and feet turned backwards, the curupira is always confused with hunters with footprints that lead in the wrong direction.
Its origin is Tupi Guarani and has the meaning of (Boy's Body).
Ah… The curupira… Also a strong character from Brazilian folklore. Considered the Forest Demon, it has the oldest record in Brazilian literature, dating back to 1560.
Protector of flora and fauna, the curupira is the warrior of the forest and does not let any man take advantage of it from the forest, he has his feet turned backwards (to disguise his whereabouts from enemies) and red hair fire.
He always travels on top of his Caititu (a species of wild pig) and has the power to resurrect animals with his spear.
The creature is the result of immeasurable human ambition, the pursuit of desires at any cost. The Diabinho da Garrafa is achieved through the demonic pact.
The legend is very old, it was brought to Brazil by the colonizers, with a greater number of records in Minas Gerais and Bahia.
Also known as Famaliá or Cramulhão, it measures an average of 15 cm and looks like a lizard. To achieve this it is necessary to acquire a chicken or rooster egg fertilized by the Devil, which can be found during Lent.
It must be taken to a crossroads on the first Friday following, before midnight, and await the dawn.
Then carry it home under your left arm, and within forty days the egg is hatched, where it must be quickly placed in a bottle and locked up well. Henceforth the little devil will carry out his master's requests until his death, and at that time will take his soul to hell with him.
The legend of Saci is one of the most widespread in Brazil, according to many authors, Saci is a mischievous black boy who has only one leg, wears a helmet or a red cap on his head and he smokes a pipe all the time, he usually chases the animals to scare them away, he likes to ride horses and tie his manes.
Saci Pererê can also appear and disappear mysteriously, he is very restless and does not stop for a single moment, because he keeps jumping from one place to another and every time he gets up to his mischief, he laughs high-pitched, happy laughs and likes to whistle especially when there are no nights of moonlight.
Saci Pererê is attributed to things that go wrong, he enters the houses and puts out the fire, makes the food burn in the pots, dries the water in the bowls, gives a lot of work for people hiding the objects that will hardly be found again, their main fun is to disturb people to get lose. They say that he came from the middle of a whirlpool and to scare him away people throw a knife into the whirlpool and he goes away or else calling him by his name. Although he belongs to the folklore of the southeast and south, he was also introduced to northern folklore as he is a very popular figure in this region of the country.
Another typical legend of Brazilian folklore, therefore the headless mule has no specific region to be counted. Nobody knows for sure its origin.
Some people believe that this story was created by the Catholic Church to scare women.
They were to enter the church and see the priest not as a man but as a divine figure, the woman who had some sort of desire with the priest would be turned into a headless mule.
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