Moñái is the third son of

Tau Tau (; uppercase Τ, lowercase τ or \boldsymbol\tau; ) is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless alveolar plosive, voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300 ...

and Kerana and one of the seven legendary monsters of Guaraní

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. This creature has an enormous serpent-like body with two straight, colorful horns over his head, which serve as antennae.

Myths and functions

His dominions are the open fields. He can climb trees with ease and slide down to hunt the birds on whom he feeds and dominates with the hypnotic power of his antennas. Because of this he is called "the lord of the air". Moñái is fond of stealing and hiding the products of his misdeeds in a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

. His continuous robbing and raiding in the villages provoked great discord among the people as they all accuse each other for the robberies and mysterious "disappearances" of their belongings. The townspeople joined to put an end to Moñái's misdeeds and those of his brothers. The beautiful Porâsý offered herself to carry out this mission. She convinced Moñái that she had fallen in

love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

with him and that before they celebrated their

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

she wanted to meet his brothers. Moñái left her in the care of Teju Jagua and left to search for the rest of his brothers: Mbói Tu'i, Yasy Yateré, Kurupí, Luisón, and Ao Ao. When he finally brought them all they began the wedding

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

s. The brothers exchanged the drinks freely and quickly became completely drunk. It was in this moment that Porâsý attempted to escape from the cave which was closed off by a huge

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. Moñái prevented her from leaving and threw her back into the cave. Porâsý screamed to alarm the people who were waiting outside. Knowing that she was lost she ordered the people to burn the cave, even with her inside. While this killed Porasy herself, it also successfully destroyed Tau and Kerana's cursed descendants, including Moñai himself. In return for the

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

of Porâsý, the gods lifted her

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and changed it into a small but intense point of

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

. Since then, the gods destined the spirit of Porasy to light up the aurora as the morning star.

Bibliography

* Narciso R. Coleman (Rosicrán): ''Ñande Ypy Kuéra'' (''Nuestros antepasados''), 1929 Guaraní legendary creatures Guaraní deities Dragons Legendary serpents {{SouthAm-myth-stub