Saci-Pererê
Also called Saci, Saci Pererê, Sací.
In Brazilian folklore, the Saci-Pererê is a one-legged, pipe-smoking trickster spirit who rides whirlwinds and plagues households and travelers with mischief, arguably Brazil's single most iconic folk creature.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Brazilian folklore
- Trait family
- The Waking Things
Near this figure
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- Legs bears image-domain Legs denote upright support and the individual journey of a life, answering the Sphinx's riddle by their number, and hobbled to signify conquest.
why
In some tellings he is described as having originally had two legs and losing one in the course of some mishap or punishment, though the details of that loss are not consistently told across regions.
- tobacco bears Tobacco denotes a major Indigenous American ritual plant used for offerings and consumption; other associations include brief pleasure, forgetfulness, Mars, and diabolism.
why
Accounts vary as to whether he can be bargained with in exchange for tobacco or cachaça, or whether he must simply be endured and outwitted; either way, the Saci is broadly remembered as an exasperating but not truly dangerous spirit, and by the 20th century, especially through Monteiro Lobato's widely read children's books, he became a beloved national mascot of Brazilian folklore rather than a figure of dread.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Hops on single leg
why
He is depicted as a small Black or Black-Brazilian boy who is missing one leg, hopping rather than walking, and who wears a red magic cap alongside a lit pipe that is rarely out of his mouth.
Behaviour
- Cap or object stolen grants power over owner
why
The red cap itself is treated as the source of his power, granting invisibility or the ability to appear and disappear at will, and in some tellings whoever manages to steal it can compel the Saci to do their bidding or can use it themselves for luck.
- Trapped by object thrown into whirlwind
why
people are traditionally advised to throw an object, such as a rope tied in knots or a rosary, into the whirlwind to trap him and force him to grant a wish or hand over his cap before being released.
Utility powers
- Invisibility
why
The red cap itself is treated as the source of his power, granting invisibility or the ability to appear and disappear at will, and in some tellings whoever manages to steal it can compel the Saci to do their bidding or can use it themselves for luck.
- Trickery and cunning
why
The Saci-Pererê is a trickster figure of Brazilian folklore whose roots are usually traced to Indigenous Tupi tradition and to Afro-Brazilian folk belief.
Curses
- Mischief pranks
why
His mischief is characteristically petty rather than malicious: souring milk, tangling horses' manes into stubborn knots, hiding household tools, spooking animals, misdirecting travelers, and setting small kitchen or household disasters in motion, all delivered with a whistle or laugh rather than any real intent to cause lasting harm.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.
- Trickster carries both readings
2 citations
- Carol Rose, Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins, s.v. "Saci."
- Maria Leach, editor, Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, s.v. "Saci."