Brazilian Mythology - Prominent Figures

Prominent Figures

• Alemoa — the ghost of a blond (German-like) woman that is connected to the island of Fernando de Noronha. She is said to seduce imprudent men and carrying them to death. Alemoa is a wrong way to pronounce "alemã" ("german female" in Portuguese).
• Anhangá — the Indian devil.
• Besta-fera — a centaur-like creature, thought to be the Devil.
• Bernunça — strange beast of the folk tales of the state of Santa Catarina (state).
• Boi-Bumbá (see Bumba-meu-boi).
• Boitatá — a headless giant snake with bull horns and enormous fiery eyes that crawls over the open fields at night. Sometimes described as a giant fire snake. Looking at its eyes blinds people.
• Boiúna ("Black snake") — a gigantic, nocturnal serpent that is the personification of the Amazonian rivers and feared by many fishers who live in that area. As part of the TV show The River as a sacred area and no one is to enter.
• Boto — an enchanted dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) that shapeshifts into a handsome man to seduce young women (Amazon).
• Bumba-meu-Boi — an ox that is part of strange folk tale celebrated with dance and music by the peoples of the Brazilian north (states of Maranhão and Amazonas, where it is known as Boi-Bumbá).
• Caipora — jungle spirits that lived in trees but came out at night to haunt those who were astray.
• Ci — Tupian primeval goddess (the name means simply "mother").
• Corpo-Seco ("Dry Corpse") — a man so evil that the earth would not rot its flesh and the devil would return his soul. Condemned to wander fruitlessly the earth until the judgment day.
• Cuca — menacing, supernatural, old hag that does evil things to small children who do not go to bed early.
• Curupira — a (male) jungle genie that protects the animals and the trees of the forests. It has red hair and backwards feet to confuse hunters. Hates hunters and lumberjacks.
• Cobra-Encantada (Enchanted snake) — a beautiful woman shapeshifted into a hideous snake to guard an immense treasure. One who breaks the spell will have the gold and marry the maiden.
• Cobra-Grande (see Boiúna).
• Encantado — someone who is magically trapped into another dimension, living an eternal, but unfruitful life (usually a punishment for pursuing riches at any cost or doing some wrong).
• Exu — a demonic, trickster or simply mischievous (depending on the tradition) supernatural being of African origin that is worshipped by the Quimbanda, banished by Umbanda, exorcised by Catholics or ignored by Kardecists.
• Iara — a type of freshwater mermaid (Centre, South-East, North).
• Iemanjá — the Afro-Brazilian sea goddess.
• Jurupari — another Amazonian jungle devil.
• Lady in White — the most widespread type of ghost seen in Brazil. Urban legend.
• Lobisomem — the Brazilian version of the Werewolf.
• Mother of the Gold — a powerful and lethal being that protects gold ores. Nobody has survived seeing it, so no description exists. It is usually seen from afar as a globe of fire that flies from mountain to mountain (South-East).
• Mapinguari — a large, bipedal, furry animal that wanders the Amazon jungle. Considered the Brazilian version of the Yeti or the last memory of the now extinct giant sloths passed through generations by the Indians.
• Maní — the name of an Indian girl with very fair complexion. The legend is connected to Manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America.
• Matinta Pereira — a malevolent hag with supernatural powers whose legend is very well known in the state of Pará.
• Muiraquitã — a greenish amulet of suprenatural qualities.
• Mula sem cabeça — the shape taken by the woman accursed for having sex with a priest (South-East, North-East, Centre, South).
• Negrinho do Pastoreio — a slave boy that died an awful death (similar to Candyman's) for not keeping his owner's horses. He helps people who are looking for lost things.
• Pisadeira — An old hag that wears sneakers and stomps over people's stomachs at night making them breathless. Usually appears when people go to bed on a full stomach.
• Saci Pererê — a mischievous single-legged black elf-like creature who is blamed as the culprit of anything that goes wrong at a farm (Centre, South-East) and is the mascot of Sport Club Internacional (South). The Saci is known as a trickster and usually appears in farms inside wind swirls. If someone steals its red cap he'll exchange it for a favour.
• Cabeça Satânica — The wandering head is a widespread Brazilian ghost story of European origin. Appears to people that wander alone in the night as a stranger with its back turned to the victim. Its body melts to the ground and only the head with long hair, wide eyes and a large mischievous smile remains, hopping or rolling towards the victim.