Here in Brazil all children knows "saci-pererê", that is one of many brazilian folklore legends. Who already saw a "saci-pererê" tells that it is like one little black guy, black, with just one leg. Despite this, he is agile and very smart. He also walks always with one little red hat in the head, that the older ones says to be the fount of his magic power of being able to disappear, for example. But this must be really because he is very fast.

Generally saci lives in the forest, hitching other animals and sometimes transforming himself into one little black bird, called by tupinamba indians as "matita-pererê", which originates the saci-pererê name. Sometimes he likes to appear in homes and close to people. These times, what he likes so much is to make jokes with them.

For example, do you remember that thing that you can swore that have kept in a drawer - and suddenly disappeared? Or the milk that was fresh, in the refrigerator, and suddenly was bad? Or the clothes that fall down disastrously and went by themselves on the soil? All of this has the little saci hands on it.
On villages, old people used to be a little afraid of saci. They found that he gives node in the horsehair, said that he has large teeth, that he smells like sulphur, as the Devil, and that he freeds the animals that were imprisoned in the corral and that had he has into his two hands two holes. As he always walks with one little pipe lighted on, they say that he adores to catch a lighted live coal and pass it over these hand holes at night…



But everything of course has its exaggerating side and what is the certainty. For example, to catch a saci, there is a very correct and known way. It is necessary to prepare a well closed straw bolter, beyond a dark bottle with the cork pressed and marked with a cross. In an afternoon of wind, its necessary to wait very quietly until appears a leaf whirlwind, that seems that it is made by the wind. It is not, it is saci that is there!

From there it is alone to play the bolter very fast that he will appears. When he appears, it is necessary to jump quickly over him, thread him inside the bottle and cover it very well with the cork marked with the cross. Now, if you done everything correctly, you have your own saci. You just must leave him to leave the bottle only if he gives you his red headress, because he will need to carry you a desire to have it back and then can be able to go away.

As you saw, saci is a very serious business. The cut of forests has been a great problem for them, because sacis are loosing places to live. Here in Brazil already exists the ANCSaci, the National Association of Saci Creators, that takes care of sacis to they do not finish and permit them to continue jumping and making jokes around us. They say that there´s another easy way to find sacis too. Its´ necessary to wait for a moon night in the yard, to join a good staff of story tellers, and have a guitar too: ready, soon a lot of sacis starts to approach...

To conclude, an easy way to understand saci-pererê way of live: this text was already totally ready, when the computer suddenly stopped. And it was everything lost in the space! Saci thing...

Ilustrações de Marcos Jardim, em www.jangadabrasil.com.br

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