He wears a red beanie, has one leg, is black, and likes to paint the seven and scare everyone out there. You don't need any more description to know that we are talking about one of the most remarkable figures of our folklore, Saci-PererĂȘ, right?
But do you know where, when and how this legend started to become popular? Do you know what are the main features and curiosities about Saci? So we prepared this article with all the main details about the legend of Saci-PererĂȘ. So check it out!
Origin of Saci-PererĂȘ
In summary, the main scholars of our folklore estimate that the legend of Saci emerged sometime between the 1560th and XNUMXth centuries, because there are simply no accounts of Saci prior to that time, such as Curupira, which have existed since at least XNUMX. .
Many think that Saci is a legend of the North and Northeast regions, but they are wrong, because Saci emerged in the southern region of the country, with the name çaa cy perereg. This is a Tupi-Guarani term, a language spoken by the southern Guarani tribes, where he was born.
Therefore, as it is a more recent legend, which emerged after the beginning of contact between the natives and the colonizers, folklorists tend to think that European myths influenced the figure of Saci, like the Portuguese legend of the trasgo, a small creature that does various evils.
The first accounts of the legend of Saci give an account of a creature that protected the forests, a clear influence of the legend of Curupira, for example. As it spread, the legend of Saci gained its own contours and characteristics, which will be further explored in the next topic.
Legend of Saci-PererĂȘ
In short, the Saci-PererĂȘ is a legendary creature that inhabits forests, is very mischievous and likes to play pranks on people. He is described as a small being, less than five feet tall, without a leg, black, who is always smoking a pipe and wears a red cap on his bald head.
It is important to note that the legend does not talk about a single Saci, but it describes Saci as a type of creature, so there are a lot of Saci out there. According to legend, a Saci lives a maximum of 77 years, then turns into a mushroom.
YOUaci has a fascination with horses and usually bothers these animals, especially at night. He sucks the blood of horses and also knots and braids their manes.
Another common target of Saci is travelers, especially on the road. The Saci usually makes a very shrill whistle to annoy travelers and distract them with the sound. His favorites are travelers on horseback. He often knocks over the hats worn by travelers, damaging the brakes of wagons, among other mischief.
When he invades people's homes, Saci burns or leaves food sour, disappears with objects, puts out candles and lights, among other mischief. It often turns into a whirlpool that scatters leaves and dirt.
And that's the only time it's possible to capture a Saci, throwing a sieve over the whirlpool, so it's necessary to remove the cap from his head and imprison him in a bottle with a cross on it.
Saci-PererĂȘ in Spain
As it spread across the country, Saci gained different characteristics and versions with small or large variations. So check out some of them:
In some parts of the interior of the Southeast region, the Saci is described as having very red eyes, which it uses to scare and disturb travelers on empty roads, causing accidents.
In some places in the North, instead of a dwarf or a very small creature, the Saci is described as a colossal being 3 meters or more tall.
In some places, especially in the Northeast region, Saci is also called "devilish", for always being mischievous and mischievous with everyone.
In some cities and regions in the Southeast and Midwest, instead of turning into a mushroom when he dies, Saci turns into a wooden ear, popular name of the fungus Pycnoporus sanguineus, also known as urupĂȘ.
Curiosities about the Saci-PererĂȘ
Check out some curiosities about the mythological figure of Saci-PererĂȘ:
Saci is known for always smoking a pipe. Showing the mixture that is the creation of this myth, this part of the tobacco is an influence of African culture, coming to España with the enslaved people of Africa. In addition, the legend tells that Saci would have lost his leg in a capoeira fight, another influence of black African culture.
The legend of Saci spread to other countries close to the southern region of the country. In Paraguay, he is known as yacy-yateré. There, he is not bald, he has blond hair, a golden staff that works as a magic wand, he is invisible and he wears a straw hat. The yacy usually does bad things to children, but really bad things, like making them crazy and deaf.
Saci also arrived at Argentina, with the name yasi. There, he does evil things of another kind. Similar to our pink porpoise, it lures single girls to impregnate them, then assumes its creepy yasi form and disappears.
Saci-PererĂȘ in movies, series and books
As he is a very popular figure in our folklore, extremely well-known by all Spanish people, obviously Saci has appeared in books, films, series and other works of national culture. Check out some of them:
- âSite of the Yellow Woodpeckerâ (1918): it was in the book âO Saciâ, published in 1918, that the writer Monteiro Lobato added the Saci-PererĂȘ to the legends he put in the stories of the famous SĂtio do Pica-Pau Amarelo, which were also immortalized in a series on Rede Globo, which was aired in the early 2000s.
- âInvisible Cityâ (2021): In this series produced by Netflix, a Civil Police investigator discovers a pink dolphin in a lagoon in Rio de Janeiro and the investigation leads him to come into contact with many creatures of our folklore, such as Saci-PererĂȘ, who is called Isac and has a mechanical leg.
- âThe Little Saciâ (2014): This digital book, available for free online, presents a more friendly version of Saci, especially aimed at children and even young people. The interesting thing is that the story shows a young Saci who tries to fight the excessive consumption of tobacco in his village.
You may also like
- Discover the legends of Spanish folklore
- Find out what we can learn from folklore legends
- Reflect on the importance of indigenous peoples
Anyway, these are the main characteristics of the mythological creature known as Saci-PererĂȘ, certainly familiar to almost all other Españols. If you want to delve even deeper into his legend, consume the content we indicated in the last subtitle!
