WHY TIE A RIBBON AROUND THE WRIST?

The wish ribbons tied to the gate of the Bonfim Church and sold by the dozen in front of the church to be tied around one's wrist are a famous symbol of Bahia, ubiquitous in art and fashion - and yet another manifestation of Afro-Brazilian syncretism.

Wish Ribbons at Bonfim Church

At first made of silk and worn around the neck, at times with little votive charms, as a sign of gratefulness for a grace received, they gradually took on the colors symbolically related to orixás and became wish ribbons, or simply one of the most popular souvenirs from Salvador, produced industrially with the inscription "Lembrança do Senhor do Bonfim da Bahia" (lembrança means "memento").

The wish is supposed to be made while the ribbon is tied with three knots; if tied around the wrist, the ribbon is supposed to have been received as a gift, not tied on by the wearer, and to be left on until it falls off by itself, which can take several months.

Vendors, inevitably stationed outside the church, swarm around tourists offering a single ribbon as a gift and trying to sell their bundles, usually with a dozen ribbons in assorted colors, for about R$2.

SOURCE: About.com

The famous fitas have been used by Brazilian designers locally and nationally in many different ways. Aside from their fashion statement, the user must have three knots tied and if the ribbon falls off naturally, the wishes will be granted. 

MEET OUR BRAZILIAN LEPRECHAUN

Saci (pronounced: [saˈsi] or [sɐˈsi]) is a character commonly regarded to be the best known character in Brazilian folklore. He is a one-legged black or mulatto youngster with holes in the palms of his hands, who smokes a pipe and wears a magical red cap that enables him to disappear and reappear wherever he wishes (usually in the middle of a dust devil). Considered an annoying prankster in most parts of Brazil, and a potentially dangerous and malicious creature in others, he will nevertheless grant wishes to anyone who manages to trap him or steal his magic cap. However his cap is often depicted as having a bad smell, most people who claimed to have stolen this cap often say they can never wash the smell away.

An incorrigible prankster, the Saci will not cause major harm, but there is no little harm that he won't do. He will hide children's toys, set farm animals loose, tease dogs, and curse chicken eggs preventing them from hatching. In the kitchen, the Saci would spill all salt, sour the milk, burn the bean stew, and drop flies into the soup. If a popcorn kernel fails to pop, it is because the Saci cursed it. Given half a chance, he will dull the seamstress's needles, hide her thimbles, and tangle her sewing threads. If he sees a nail lying on the ground, he will turn it with the point up. In short, anything that goes wrong — in the house, or outside it — may be blamed on the Saci.

Besides disappearing or becoming invisible (often with only his red cap and the red glow of his pipe still showing), the Saci can transform himself into a Matitaperê or Matita Pereira, an elusive bird whose melancholic song seems to come from nowhere. One can escape a pursuing Saci by crossing a waterstream: the Saci will not dare to cross, for then he will lose all his powers. Another way is to drop ropes full of knots; the Saci will then be compelled to stop and undo the knots. One can also try to appease him by leaving behind some cachaça, or some tobacco for his pipe. 

Every dust devil, says the legend, is caused by the spin-dance of an invisible Saci. One can capture him by throwing into the dust devil a rosary made of separately blessed prayer beads, or by pouncing on it with a sieve. With care, the captured Saci can be coaxed to enter a dark glass bottle, where he can be imprisoned by a cork with a cross marked on it. He can also be enslaved by stealing his cap, which is the source of his power. However, depending on the treatment he gets from his master, an enslaved Saci who regains his freedom may become either a trustworthy guardian and friend, or a devious and terrible enemy.

In order not to let this folklore die, the city of Botucatu, in the state of São Paulo, holds a Festival  in the month of October to pay hommage to this prankster. Some city dwellers claim to raise some of them, and sacis are allegedly seen in the woods close to the city. 

Source: Wikipedia

HAVE YOU EVER COME ACROSS ANY OF THESE?:

 

A carranca (Portuguese, literally "scowl"; pronounced cah-han-ka) is a type of figurehead attached to river craft which is attributed with power to protect the boatmen from the river's evil spirits. They were once commonly found on the lower Rio São Francisco in the river's Northeast region of Brazil. The carranca is most commonly a figure of a human or an animal.

Rio São Francisco (São Francisco River)

Today most authentic carrancas are only found in museums. Modern, more stylized versions are sometimes seen as decorations in restaurants or homes and commonly seen in tourist shops of the states of Bahia, Pernambuco, Sergipe and Alagoas where the historic use was found on the lower Rio São Francisco. These range from key chain figures up to very large ones a meter or more in height and made from large tree trunks. Many, if not most of those are in the carranca-vampiro style rather than the classic boat figurehead styles of the past. The difference may be seen by comparing the photos of classic styles compared to the tourist versions pictured here.

Classic versions were painted, frequently chalk white with black hair, gaping red mouths and white fangs. The most common tourist versions follow similar schemes. A more modern, decorative unpainted version is often in natural wood and even polished.
While most of the modern tourist versions are produced quickly in quantity using one of several patterns a few are made by more artistic wood workers and show unique design or interpretations of "functional" carrancas from history. A few of these are "museum quality" art.

http://obviousmag.org/sphere/2013/02/carranca.html

http://triocurima.blogspot.com/2009/05/carrancas-do-rio-sao-francisco-as.html 

http://planetaterra2010.wordpress.com/2008/03/02/rio-sao-francisco-ii/ 

Cavalhadas de Pirenópolis / Goiás

A Cavalhada foi trazida para Pirenópolis (GO), no século XVIII, pelo padre Manuel Amâncio da Luz – época em que os escravos construíram a Igreja Matriz, localizada no centro da cidade.

 

A história diz que durante a dinastia carolíngia no século VI d.C, Carlos Magno, de religião cristã, lutou contra os sarracenos de religião islâmica e os impediu de conquistar o centro norte da Europa. Assim, seu feito ficou conhecido como "A Batalha de Carlos Magno e os 12 pares da França" e foi divulgada pelos trovadores que viajavam por toda Europa como demonstração de bravura e lealdade cristã.
Por ter sido colonizada pelos portugueses – oriundos do norte de Portugal, onde se resistiu à invasão moura – e por tratar-se de um significativo espetáculo religioso e de beleza incontestável, Pirenópolis manteve as tradições e tem atraido pessoas de todas as classes e idade ao longo dos anos. Sua realização está ligada à Festa do Divino Espírito Santo, que tem origem na tradição portuguesa e leva em conta o calendário da Igreja Católica. É um ritual de três dias seguidos, cujos preparativos começam uma semana antes, justamente no início da Festa do Divino. Segundo a liturgia religiosa, é o dia de Pentecostes, exatamente 50 dias após a Páscoa.

 http://www.pirenopolis.com.br/ExibeChamadas.jsp?pkLink=27

Carnival in the Amazon

Carnival in the Amazon is in June - it epitomizes the voices and colors of the jungle. Here, there are only two contestants, represented by blue and red colored bulls, namely Caprichoso and Garantido. It´s a must see of the Brazilian folklore.