Saci-Pererê /sassy-perere/ is a type of Saci. Yes, there are many types of Sacis out there. The “Pererê” specimen is usually a boy with very dark skin and one leg, who smokes a pipe, wears a red hood, and travels in a mini hurricane. This description can change sometimes, and Saci-Pererê can also be described as an old man instead of a boy. Nevertheless, he is always one-legged and dark-skinned. Some say his name comes from the Tupi Guarani language: çaa cy means “evil eye” and pérérég means “leaping”, so Saci-Pererê could be interpreted like “The
Photo: www.shutterstock.com/Imageticoleaping evil eye”.
Although his name suggests something malevolent, Saci-Pererê is not a monster and most of the time is not evil either. In some of his stories, we can consider that he behaves like a spoiled child who wants everything to be done his way; otherwise, he becomes aggressive. Saci-Pererê may appear to you asking for something. If you refuse to give it to him, then you will face the consequences – just like “trick or treat” on Halloween.
Moreover, if we delve deep into the archetype of Saci-Pererê, we can conclude that he is the trickster of Brazilian folklore.
Powers, Weaknesses, and His Habits
An incorrigible prankster, he hides toys from children, releases farm animals, provokes dogs – and curses chicken eggs, preventing them from hatching. In the kitchen, Saci spills salt, sours milk, burns the bean stew, and throws flies into the soup.
If a kernel of popcorn doesn’t pop, it’s because Saci cursed it. Given half a chance, he dulls the seamstress’s needles, hides her thimbles, and tangles her sewing threads. If he sees a nail on the ground, he turns the point up. People blame anything that goes wrong – inside or outside the house – on Saci.
Besides disappearing or becoming invisible (often with only his red cap and the red glow of his pipe still visible), Saci can transform into a Matitaperê or Matita Pereira, a elusive bird whose melancholic song seems to come from nowhere. You can escape a pursuing Saci by crossing a stream. The Saci dares not cross, for then he loses all his powers. Another way is to untie knotted ropes. The Saci is compelled to stop and untie the knots. You can also try to appease him by leaving cachaça or tobacco for his pipe.
He enjoys juggling embers or other small objects and letting them fall through the holes in his palms. An extremely agile fellow, the lack of his right leg does not prevent him from riding a horse without a saddle and sitting cross-legged while smoking his pipe (a feat comparable to the fire spouting from the nostrils of the Headless Mule).
Every whirlwind of dust, legend has it, is caused by the spinning dance of an invisible Saci. You can capture him by throwing a rosary made of separately blessed prayer beads into the whirlwind, or by jumping over it with a sieve. With care, the captured Saci can be convinced to enter a dark glass bottle, where he can be imprisoned with a cork marked with a cross. He can also be enslaved by stealing his cap, which is the source of his power. However, depending on the treatment he receives from his master, a enslaved Saci who regains his freedom can become a reliable guardian and friend or a treacherous and terrible enemy. In any case, I don’t know anyone who has ever captured a Saci-Pererê; he is too quick in his hurricane.
Origins of the Legend
Photo: www.shutterstock.com/ImageticoThe myth of Saci likely derives from Ŷaci-ŷaterê of Tupi-Guarani mythology, a magical child with one leg and bright red hair who hypnotized people and broke the silence of the forest with his loud screams and whistles. He was originally a creature of the night, and indeed the ŷaci (jaˈsi) means “Moon” in Old Tupi.
This indigenous character was appropriated and transformed in the 18th century by African slaves brought to Brazil. Slaves on the farms told stories of Saci to entertain and scare children. In this process, the creature became black, his red hair metamorphosed into a red cap, and, like the African elders who usually told the stories, he began to always smoke his clay and cane pipe.
In Popular Culture
What made Saci-Pererê so famous among all the other well-known names and beings? The answer is Monteiro Lobato, a Brazilian writer.
In 1918, Monteiro Lobato published a book called Saci-Pererê: Resultado de um Inquérito (Saci-Pererê: The Result of an Inquiry) in which he presented a compilation of Sacis he collected from all over the country by mail. There were many variations and descriptions.
He was such a fan of Saci-Pererê that he included Saci as a character in Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo (The Yellow Woodpecker Farm), released in 1920, among other characters from Brazilian folklore.
Although Saci-Pererê was not one of the main protagonists of the chronicles, he played a special role causing mischief, playing tricks, and more.
In the 1960s, the one-legged gnome – now “domesticated” into a playful but harmless and kind creature – was chosen by the leading Brazilian cartoonist Ziraldo as the main character of his comic book Turma do Pererê.
The character also appears in the manga Akumakun (1963-1964) by Shigeru Mizuki.
The song “Águas de Março” by Tom Jobim mentions Matinta Pereira, and the samba “Fumo de Rolo” by Nei Lopes tells the story of a fisherman being approached by the Saci while collecting canes in the forest.
Sport Club Internacional has the figure of Saci as its mascot, due to the club’s popular roots, the red color of his outfit, and the fans’ hope that the team could play tricks on their opponents.
In an effort to combat the growing trend of adopting Anglo-Celtic Halloween in Brazil, Saci Day was created in 2005 and is celebrated equally on October 31.
In the 2012 video game Max Payne 3, set mainly in São Paulo, Brazil, a trickster Saci makes an appearance as a villain in the game’s cartoon show The Adventures of Captain Baseball Bat Boy.
Saci appears in AdventureQuest Worlds. This version has a human appearance, wields a spoon, and has a tornado where his legs should be, while performing wind attacks.
Saci appears in the film Invisible City (2021), played by Wesley Guimarães.
Photo: www.shutterstock.com/Mirt Alexander.A new species of dinosauromorph, discovered in 2001 in Agudo (southern Brazil), was named Sacisaurus because the fossil skeleton was missing a leg.
The names of the Brazilian satellites SACI-1 and SACI-2 were retroacronyms of the character’s name, just as four retrotransposons in the DNA of schistosomiasis Schistosoma mansoni were named Saci-1, Saci-2, Saci-3, and Perere.
As the physiology of Saci’s one leg reminds us of people with physical disabilities, a social network called SACI (acronym for Solidarity, Support, Communication, and Information) was created at the University of São Paulo with the purpose of promoting these four efforts towards the social and medical rehabilitation of people with physical disabilities.
The Guardian of the Forest (Orishas)
The roots of Saci-Pererê may vary, but an important reference that should be considered is that we have Arôni, a guardian of the forest who works for the Orisha Ossain in Yoruba mythology.
Ossain is the Orisha of healing, the one who knows all the secrets of the forests, the powers of herbs, and all sorts of natural magic. Arôni is his messenger and wears a hood and carries a pipe in which he burns herbs to release their magical properties.
By making this association, we can point out a “hidden” ability of Saci-Pererê: Could he be able to use the magical powers of herbs? Could he be able to use magic in general?
Source: www.folklorethursday.com by Daniel Faria & www.wikipedia.org