LEGENDS OF BRAZIL

Long before the arrival of the Portuguese in the lands of present-day Brazil, this vast territory was home to more than fifteen hundred indigenous nations and tribes, each with its own languages, traditions, and religious customs.

With the advent of colonization, European legends and the traditions and myths of enslaved Africans merged with the animistic rituals and deities worshiped by the natives of that time. These factors contributed to a vast diversity of legends and religious rites.

In this modest work, organized alphabetically—and which does not include Amerindian deities, a task reserved for a future book—we have sought to gather some of the most well-known legendary figures, such as Saci-Pererê, Boitatá, Caipora, and Curupira, alongside lesser-known ones, such as the Xapiris—the spirits of ancestors from ancient times. Furthermore, other fabulous entities have been included, all of which constitute only a small fraction of Brazil’s incredibly rich mythology.

Some legends originate from the same figure, who may be known by different names and even be considered ill-natured by some and well-regarded by others. Thus, we have sought to adopt the most common criteria and, when in doubt, decided upon what is most benign for us humans or useful from an ecological standpoint, particularly when they defend the forests and animals.