Saci-Pererê, or Saci, is perhaps Brazil’s best known character in folklore. His story started in the south of the country with the indigenous Guarani people. Their stories told of a little boy with brown skin and flaming red hair who pulled all kinds of pranks. As his stories continued across Brazil, they came under the influence of African slaves brought to South America. And, during that process, Saci turned into a black or mulatto boy, with a red hat, who still causes all kinds of trouble.
There is a long list of pranks that this little boy is blamed for. Basically, if something goes wrong in Brazil, everyone knows who to blame. Saci will spill sugar or salt, burn the beans, stop your popcorn from popping, hide your sewing thimble, misplace toys, mess up beds, put out fires, tie knots in a horse’s tail, tease dogs, curse chickens, drop flies in your soup, scare oxen, hide your keys, terrorize travelers, sour your milk, and wreak havoc on anything and anybody inside or outside of your home. He’s one busy little pest and he does this all on one leg. Legend has it that he lost his leg in a capoeira fight. And, if you aren’t sure what that is, it’s a Brazilian martial arts form that includes amazing dance, acrobatics and music.
This little guy gets around by traveling in a dust devil. If he happens to be chasing you, you can escape by crossing a stream. Saci will not come after you because he could lose his powers. No stream around? Well, drop a string full of knots. Saci must stop and undo every knot. That’ll give you time to find water. However, some people chase after him because they want his magical cap. Saci isn’t so easy to catch. But, you can capture him if you throw a rosary with specially blessed beads into his dust devil or you can pounce on the dust devil with a sieve. Then, and only then, you might coax Saci into a bottle. He’ll grant your wishes if that happens. But, be warned, if you ever do lay your hands on his magical cap, you’ll find out it has a terrible smell. It’s a smell so bad that it can never be washed away.
Saci also finds his way to birthday parties. And, my friend Geremias happened to celebrate his birthday while I was in Brazil. Most of the party was what you would expect anywhere. There was an abundance of sugary, sweet treats. (All delicioso!) There were balloons. In America, your fiftieth birthday might have black balloons, but these Brazilians were much kinder with a blue theme. And, friends gathered from far and near for the celebration.
There is a long list of pranks that this little boy is blamed for. Basically, if something goes wrong in Brazil, everyone knows who to blame. Saci will spill sugar or salt, burn the beans, stop your popcorn from popping, hide your sewing thimble, misplace toys, mess up beds, put out fires, tie knots in a horse’s tail, tease dogs, curse chickens, drop flies in your soup, scare oxen, hide your keys, terrorize travelers, sour your milk, and wreak havoc on anything and anybody inside or outside of your home. He’s one busy little pest and he does this all on one leg. Legend has it that he lost his leg in a capoeira fight. And, if you aren’t sure what that is, it’s a Brazilian martial arts form that includes amazing dance, acrobatics and music.
This little guy gets around by traveling in a dust devil. If he happens to be chasing you, you can escape by crossing a stream. Saci will not come after you because he could lose his powers. No stream around? Well, drop a string full of knots. Saci must stop and undo every knot. That’ll give you time to find water. However, some people chase after him because they want his magical cap. Saci isn’t so easy to catch. But, you can capture him if you throw a rosary with specially blessed beads into his dust devil or you can pounce on the dust devil with a sieve. Then, and only then, you might coax Saci into a bottle. He’ll grant your wishes if that happens. But, be warned, if you ever do lay your hands on his magical cap, you’ll find out it has a terrible smell. It’s a smell so bad that it can never be washed away.
Saci also finds his way to birthday parties. And, my friend Geremias happened to celebrate his birthday while I was in Brazil. Most of the party was what you would expect anywhere. There was an abundance of sugary, sweet treats. (All delicioso!) There were balloons. In America, your fiftieth birthday might have black balloons, but these Brazilians were much kinder with a blue theme. And, friends gathered from far and near for the celebration.
The party even had a piñata, but it wasn’t the paper donkey or star that you might find in Mexico. The piñata in Brazil was a large balloon. It was still stuffed with plastic jewelry, candy bars, gum and a variety of other delicious goodies. But, sometime during the preparations, Saci must have showed up on the scene. That little balloon had something else for Geremias. And, it must be a rather common occurrence because everyone knew what to expect, even my friend.
Geremias stood underneath the balloon and took one whack with a stick. It’s much easier to pop a balloon than one of those sturdy Mexican piñatas. Pop, plop and drop! Candy flew out is all directions. However, the flour and corn meal also stuffed into that balloon fell straight down on Geremias’ head. It never fully came out of his hair for the rest of the evening.
My birthday is next month. I’m hopeful that I won’t meet up with Saci.
Geremias stood underneath the balloon and took one whack with a stick. It’s much easier to pop a balloon than one of those sturdy Mexican piñatas. Pop, plop and drop! Candy flew out is all directions. However, the flour and corn meal also stuffed into that balloon fell straight down on Geremias’ head. It never fully came out of his hair for the rest of the evening.
My birthday is next month. I’m hopeful that I won’t meet up with Saci.