The MYTHENOR encyclopedia

Tupi-Guarani Mythology and Brazilian Folklore

Who they were

When Europeans arrived in 1500, Tupi-Guarani-speaking peoples lived along the entire Brazilian coast and across large areas of the interior, from the mouth of the Amazon to the Río de la Plata. They farmed cassava and maize, fished, and navigated rivers and seas. They are not a people of the past: the Guarani Mbya, Kaiowá and Ñandeva, the Tupinambá of Olivença, the Tenetehara and many others live today in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia, with their languages, prayers and stories. This region of the Codex also gathers Brazilian folklore, born where Indigenous knowledge, Iberian traditions and African heritage met. Part of it was recorded by Jesuits and colonial chroniclers such as Anchieta and Gândavo, always through European eyes; another part by folklorists such as Câmara Cascudo and Monteiro Lobato. That is why each entry says where each figure comes from: Indigenous tradition, mestizo folklore, or the imagination of MYTHENOR.

Cosmology

There is no single Tupi cosmology: each people has its own. Among the Guarani Mbya, Nhanderu, the first father, emerges in the primal darkness, fed by the hummingbird, and creates the earth; other divinities keep the cardinal directions, and Tupã, lord of waters and thunder, dwells in the west. The Apapocuva-Guarani narratives recorded by Curt Nimuendajú in 1914 speak of a world already destroyed by a flood and of the search for the land without evil, yvy marã e'ỹ, which drove great migrations. In many accounts the Sun and the Moon are twin brothers whose mother was killed by celestial jaguars. The sky is also a calendar: constellations such as the Rhea, the Tapir and the Old Man mark the seasons of rain and drought, planting and harvest. In Brazilian folklore, the forest and rivers have masters, such as the Caipora and the Curupira, and enchanted beings live in cities beneath the waters.

Pantheon

Nhanderu is the creator of the Guarani Mbya. Tupã, whose name means thunder, rules rain and lightning; the Jesuits used his name to translate the Christian God. The Sun, kûarasy or Kuaray, and the Moon, îasy or Jasy, are in many narratives twin brothers, both male; the names Guaraci, Jaci and Rudá as a trinity come mainly from Couto de Magalhães in 1876 and are debated. Anhangá protects hunted animals and was turned into a demon by missionaries. The Curupira and Caipora guard the forest; the Iara, the Boiúna and the Boto reign in the waters. From the colonial encounter came the Saci, the Headless Mule, the werewolf, the Corpo-Seco and many rural hauntings.

In MYTHENOR

In MYTHENOR this is the Heart of the Forest region, under the Sky of Jaci, woven from songs, fireside tales and respect for the encantados. Asking the forest's permission is law. The guardian Jaci-Miri keeps the moon thread in the Mother Kapok, and the playable heroine is Potira Emberbow. The silence is coming: the encantados fall quiet, the river forgets its course, and even the Headless Mule weeps because no one fears her anymore. The region's ancient rhymes create the Boitatá and the Mapinguari, and the Deep Forest Under Jaci's Moon field strengthens Spirits and Beasts against fire.

A note on respect

The Tupi, Guarani and many other Indigenous peoples of Brazil are alive, and so are their traditions. Pajés, prayers, songs, the maracá, tobacco and body painting are sacred and belong to each people, with their own rules; in the game they appear as a tribute and never as a description of real rituals. Many cards are MYTHENOR creations inspired by animals, places and customs, and each entry says so clearly. Colonial and nineteenth-century records, such as those of Jesuits and Couto de Magalhães, carry European views and should be read with care. To go further, listen to Indigenous peoples themselves, their organizations, schools and artists.

Sources

Tupí-Guaraní — Encyclopaedia Britannica
Guarani Mbya — Povos Indígenas no Brasil — Maria Inês Ladeira / Instituto Socioambiental
As lendas da criação e destruição do mundo como fundamentos da religião dos Apapocúva-Guarani — Curt Nimuendajú
A religião dos Tupinambás e suas relações com a das demais tribos tupi-guaranis — Alfred Métraux
Dicionário do Folclore Brasileiro — Luís da Câmara Cascudo
Constelações indígenas: o céu Tupi-Guarani — Invivo — Museu da Vida, Fiocruz