Brazilian Indians Legends

Work for the NATIVE AMERICANS class, taught by Duane Big Eagle (Osage Tribe)at College of Marin, 2005.


The Brazilian Indian universe is as rich and full of stories as the North American, but rather forgotten. The memory of such oral traditions has been suffering in a country where traditions are quickly forgotten and where the new is always more “valuable”. Add to this the fact that the Indians in Brazil for many years, were stigmatized by the stereotype and until recently, had not even the basic rights of citizenship, being considered smaller beings and immature creatures, unable to take care of themselves.
I looked for bringing to us, translating from Portuguese, some legends from the vast imaginary of such rich people. I chose legends of the same tribe, Tupi-Guarani, because as USA, Brazil is a very large country with Indians divided in several Nations and Tupi-Guarani was the biggest language group and most influential tribe in the Brazilian culture the way we know today.
THE LEGEND OF THE ERVA-MATE TEA
Centuries ago, the tribes Tupi and Guarani used to live each in different bank of the Paraná River. The legend tells us that in the Tupi side, used to live Iara, one of the chief’s daughters. She was the tribe’s nurse, elder and children’s protector, she lived to take care of others. She used to go daily in the Salt Santa MARIA, in Iguaçu Falls to take a nice bath and be thankful to Tupã (God) for all the goods given to the tribe. In those occasions, she asks Tupã for medicines to help others. One day, she had a vision: a light illumining a tree, the caá, and the mate tea tree. On top of this tree, there were several araras (colorful birds) telling her a Tupã’s message: that tree had a powerful healing herb, which would be revealed when the man able to destroy the bad things would appear.
In the Guarani side lived Gupi, a young warrior, hero of the tribe. In wars, he wouldn’t kill the enemies with his arrows, just wound them. The same day, in which Iara had the vision, a lightning bolt set fire in a very important tree for that tribe, where they would save lots of provisions. But the fabulous Gupi was able to control the fire, jumping from branch to branch. Exhausted, he laid to rest. IN this moment a bird landed in his chest and said that the fire burnt all the bad things. He was impressed with all these weird things happening and slept.
When eh was returning back to the tribe, he noticed an ocelot ready to kill a capivara (South-American rodent), which was drinking from the river. He ran to save the capivara, slipped and fell into the river and the current carried him away to the other bank, in a beautiful little beach. The Tupi tribe rescued him and carried him to the pajé (medicine man), but he said he was going to die, so weak and worn out he was. But Iara remembered of the tree in the vision and asked the pajé to used its leaves to cure Gupi. But the pajé didn’t know anyone who knew. Gupi opened his eyes and Iara asked if he knew how to use such herb. Gupi remembered the message he had heard from the bird and said, in a whisper, that the fire would burn all the bad things. Iara quickly collected lots of leaves, set fire on them and after that, prepared a tea, which restored the strength to Gupi. The Indians celebrated such magic plant. Gupi fell in love with Iara, and negotiate the peace against the tribes and consolidate the peace marrying Iara. The tribes reunited, formed a new one, the tupi-guarani tribe, the biggest in Brasil.

LEGEND OF VITÓRIA-RÉGIA (AMAZON WATER LILI)

The Tupi-Guarani used to say that in the beginning of the world, every time the moon disappeared in the horizon, looking like it was hiding behind the sea and the mountains, the moon was going to live with his favorites virgins in the other side. They also used to say that if the moon liked a girl would transform her in a star in the sky. Naiá, a chief’s daughter, was very impressed with this story. Every night, when the others were asleep, Naiá would sneak out the oca (home) and run through mountains, chasing the moon in a hope to become a star.
So she did it for a long time, but the moon seemed not to see her and anyone could listen her cry from far distance.
One night, Naiá saw in the calm waters of a lake, the figure of the moon. The poor girl, imagining the moon had come to take her, jumped into the waters and was never seen again.
The moon took pity of the beautiful girl and decided to transform her into a different star, not those who shines in the sky: she transformed Naiá into a “water Star”, which became known as the vitória-régia, a water lily of gigantic proportions in the Amazon region. Its flowers, white was the moon, open up at night and when the sun rises, become pinky and die.


LEGEND OF THE MANIOC (TUPI)

Mani was a beautiful Tupi curumin (Indian child), with blue eyes, and straight black hair, daughter of a single woman in the tribe. Mani became very sick when she was 03 years old and was buried in the floor of his own oca (home), as it was the tradition in the tribe. Everyday her mom would water the tomb and cry over it for hours. Soon, an unknown plant grew, with flowers and fruits. The birds would eat from this fruits and become a little drowsy. Curious, the Indians dig the dirty and found a big white root, with Mani’s body format. Judging that the plant would give them strength and vigor, they ate the delicious root and so it was. The Tupi tribe learned about the root this way and to pay homage to the child, they named it Mani-Oca, which means House of Mani.
LEGEND OF IARA (MOTHER OF WATERS)
Yara – means mother of waters, lady of waters. “Y” is water and “ara” mother, lady. Other spellings: ioara, gauara, oioara.
Yara, a Tupi tribe young lady, was the most beautiful woman who inhabited the villages throughout the Amazon. All the animals and plants would love her because of her kindness. But she didn’t care about any of the many warriors who would die to marry her.
In a summer afternoon, after the sunset, Yara was still bathing in the river waters, when she was taken by a group of strange men. Without possibility of escaping, she passed out. She was also raped and thrown into the river.
The Water Spirit, full of pity, transformed the body of Yara into a double being: she would be human from the waist up and became a fish in the rest of the body. Her voice, when singing, would attract men in an irresistible way: they would fall in love with her, approach; she embraces them and carries them to the river depths, from where they would never return.