
Saci ( ) is a character in
Brazilian folklore. He is a one-legged
black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
man, 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
dirt devil). Considered an annoying
prankster in most parts of Brazil, and a potentially dangerous and malicious creature in others, he nevertheless grants wishes to anyone who manages to trap him or steal his magic cap. Legend says that a person can trap a Saci inside a bottle when he is in the form of a
dust devil
A dust devil (also known regionally as a dirt devil) is a strong, well-formed, and relatively short-lived whirlwind. Its size ranges from small (18 in/half a metre wide and a few yards/metres tall) to large (more than 30 ft/10 m ...
(see Fig. right where he is portrayed in the center of the whirlwind).
The Saci legend is seen as a combination of native Tupi lore with African-Brazilian and European myth or superstition combined into it. Also, much of the currently told folklore about the Saci is traceable to what write
Monteiro Lobato
José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato (; 18 April 1882 – 4 July 1948) was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (Yellow Woodpecker Farm) but he had been previous ...
collected and published in 1917–1918, and the children's book version he created and published in 1921.
According to present-day folklore, this genie can be captured and trapped inside a corked bottle to grant the wishes of its master, or its magic can be acquired by stealing its cap (), and the sulfuric smell about the black genie is emphasized, leading to criticism of racism.
Etymology
The term derives from meaning "sick eye", or rather "
evil eye
The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago.
It is found in many cultures i ...
".
The suffixed - also derives from Tupinambá meaning "bouncy, jumpy".
The Saci-pererê of myth originally referred to a
Cuculiformes (cuckoo family) bird, more specifically the
striped cuckoo.
German ethnologist Horst H. Figge, who sees extensive influence of African
Umbanda
Umbanda () is a religion that emerged in Brazil during the 1920s. Deriving largely from Kardecist spiritism, Spiritism, it also combines elements from African diasporic religions, Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catho ...
religion in Brazilian culture, has argued that ''Saci-Cerere'' can be explained as deriving from
Ewe language
Ewe (''Eʋe'' or ''Eʋegbe'' ) is a language spoken by approximately 5 million people in West Africa, mainly in Ghana and Togo. Ewe is part of a group of related languages commonly called the Gbe languages. The other major Gbe language is F ...
"one hand", while the form Matimpererê was even more amenable to interpretation as Ewe "without one foot".
Saci-pererê is also known variously as ; ; , etc. Eventually the name became fully Portuguesized to , later even earned surnames and called Matinta-Pereira da Silva or -da Matta.
Description
The saci legend as currently known is a composite of folklore and superstition from native
Amerindian
In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
,
Black Brazilian
Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...
, and European myth and superstitio
(cf. )
One informant spoke of three subtypes, the Saci-pererê (), the stereotypical one-legged black man with red cap and pipe; Saci-trique (), bi-racial and a more benign prankster, playing tricks like tying up the tails of animals; and Saci-saçurá (), with red eyes.
Physical appearance
While the Saci often takes the form of the namesake bird (cuckoo, the ''matiaperê'') and remains unspotted.
He makes whistling noises by day or night, which sounds like "Maty-taperê", while others say he sings his melancholy song
(cf. on how this deceives people)
He can also appear as a one-legged young boy with red hair (lore of
Pará
Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...
), which has been changed to his wearing a red cap by the influence of civilization. The one-legged boy is always accompanied either by his mother, or an old woman of
tapuya
The Pira-tapuya, or variations like Pira-Tapuia, Piratapuyo, etc., or Tapuya () for short, are an indigenous people of the Amazon regions. They live along the Vaupés River in Colombia and in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
Languages
The Pira-t ...
or black descent called ''tatámanha'', dressed in rags (Pará).
Certain details as the smoking the clay
pipe, and the ability to create whirlwind and to dance and twirl inside it, were part of the folklore solicited in 1917 from the readership of
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
and its periphery by newspaper contributor
Monteiro Lobato
José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato (; 18 April 1882 – 4 July 1948) was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (Yellow Woodpecker Farm) but he had been previous ...
, subsequently published in book form in 1918.
Saci has a hole in both palms of his hands. A favorite pastime of Saci is passing a lit match through these holes.
Trickster
Usually an incorrigible prankster, the Saci causes no major harm, but there is no little harm that he won't do. In the barn, he sets farm animals loose,
sours the milk,
chases horses in the meadow and sucks their blood (in vampiric fashion
), torments the chicks, tramples the hens, and spoils the eggs.
[According to the fictional Tio Barnabé in the children's story, , ] Besides drinking blood, the Saci tangles the horses' manes. This braiding of
elflocks and souring of milk resembles the lore about German
kobold
A kobold (; ''kobolt'', ''kobolde'', cobold) is a general or generic name for the household spirit (''hausgeist'') in German folklore.
It may invisibly make noises (i.e., be a poltergeist), or helpfully perform kitchen chores or stable work. ...
s (cf.
schrat
The ''Schrat'' () or ''Schratt'', also ''Schraz'' or ''Waldschrat'' (forest ''Schrat''), is a rather diverse German folklore, German and Slavic mythology, Slavic legendary creature with aspects of either a wild man, wood sprite, Household deity ...
), as Monteiro Lobato (1927) had noted.
In the kitchen, he causes soup to burn,
or the bean to burn, or drops flies into the soup
If
popcorn
Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...
kernels from popping properly, Saci has been interfering.
Given half a chance, he dulls or breaks the tip of the
seamstress
A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician.
Notable d ...
's needles, makes her
thimble
A thimble is a small pitted cup worn on the finger that protects it from being pricked or poked by a needle while sewing. The Old English word , the ancestor of thimble, is derived from Old English , the ancestor of the English word ''thumb''.
...
roll into a hole, and tangles her sewing threads.
He will hides nail scissors
and children's toys.
Anything turned upside-down (e.g. nail lying on the ground turned point up.), inside the house or outside on the farmstead, is blamed on the Saci.
Saci can disappear or turn invisible, but all his powers including invisibility is vested in the hat.
Also in order to do his deeds unseen, the Saci can transform himself into a bird, the ''
striped cuckoo'' (called Matitaperê, ''Matita Pereira'', or ''saci'' in Brazilian Portuguese), whose melancholic song seems to come from nowhere: that is to say, the bird uses high-pitched and low-pitched calls to falsely simulate the closeness/lowness or distance/height of its perch, thus confusing travelers and making them lose the way.
He is fond of juggling
ember
An ember, also called a hot coal, is a hot lump of smouldering solid fuel, typically glowing, composed of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material. Embers (hot coals) can exist within, remain after, or sometimes precede, a ...
s or other small objects and letting them fall through the holes on his palms.
An exceedingly nimble fellow, the lack of his right leg does not prevent him from bareback-riding a horse, and sitting cross-legged while puffing on his pipe (a feat comparable to the
Headless Mule
The Headless Mule (, ) is a mythical character in Brazilian folklore.
Origins and occurrence
The term "Headless Mule" was first recorded in the 1940s. Though the myth is believed to have a medieval origin (around the 12th century), and to have ...
's gushing fire from the nostrils).
Punisher
However, if offended, Saci is wont to murder the human by tickling or beating.
Counteraction and protection
As aforementioned, the Saci can raise the dust devil (dusty
whirlwind
A whirlwind is a phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow ( current) gradients. Whirlwinds can vary in size and last from a cou ...
) and spin-dance inside it, according to folk belief. It is believed the Saci's whirlwind can be diverted and broken up by casting a
rosary
The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...
of white
beads
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...
or a straw cross from Palm Sunday.
The Saci prefers dryness, or is a dessicated being, and dares not cross a water
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
,
fearing it will lead to loss of all his powers. Thus one can escape a pursuing Saci by crossing a stream. Another way is to drop ropes full of knots. The Saci is compelled to stop and undo the knots.
One can also try to appease him by leaving behind some
cachaça
''Cachaça'' () is a Liquor, distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice. Also known as ''pinga'', ''caninha'', and other names, it is the most popular spirit in Brazil.Cavalcante, Messias Soares. Todos os nomes da cachaça. São Pau ...
, or some
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
for his pipe.
Capturing and subjugating

One can even capture him by throwing into the dust devil the beads of a rosary seed (or rosary made of grass or sedge), or by pouncing on it using a
sieve
A sieve (), fine mesh strainer, or sift is a tool used for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a woven mesh or net or perforated sheet m ...
with a cross-shape on it.
(see Voltolino's painting on right).
The captured Saci can be imprisoned inside a bottle, and be forced to grant wishes in exchange for freedom,
just like
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp in
Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...
.
But this how the character Pedrinho captures the Saci (lure it inside a dark glass bottle, stoppered by a cork with a cross marked on it) in Monteiro Lobato's children's story (originally published 1921),
and the understanding here is that "tales of Saci
hich
Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
abound in Brazil and .. traced in more recent history to
onteiro Lobtato's 1921 children's book.
If one can steal the Saci's cap, this is another way one will have dominion over him, and make him do your bidding.
In the children's story, Pedrinho is instructed to capture and conceal the Saci's hat (endued with all of the Saci's supernatural powers
), with which it can regain its power and escape.
This is also part of the general present-day folklore, where the magic power transfers to the captor who takes the Saci's cap, but there will be a "lingering odor" on that person for having touched it.
Origin theories

The Saci as it developed in the 19th century and onward, is a composite of Tupi spirit and other layers, partly from African slave culture, and partly from European influence. It has optimistically been characterized as a sort of
melting pot
A melting pot is a Monoculturalism, monocultural metaphor for a wiktionary:heterogeneous, heterogeneous society becoming more wiktionary:homogeneous, homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative bei ...
lore of three races by Alceu Maynard Araújo (1964)
[; , p. 509; ''apud ''] But different socio-ethnic groups had differing views; the Saci was basically considered to be African or dark-skinned, and certain negative stereotypes about the blacks as held by wealthy landowners and those in power have been reflected into the image of the Saci from those quarters of the population (cf. ).
Just as ''saci'' is also the name of a bird, the "striped cuckoo", Saci was probably originally an avian myth, as
Luís da Câmara Cascudo
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...
(1976) has argued. A bird will often perch on just one standing leg, and this can easily lead to the legend that the Saci in human form was one-legged. There is also a myth which casts the Moon and Saci the
curassow () bird as former siblings in
incestuous love before their transformations, which would explain such names as Jaci-Taperê (, "ruin or abandoned house of the moon").
However, a more anthropomorphic type of Saci (dubbed "Saci-moleque" or "Saci-imp" by Queiroz), nocturnal and shy, was introduced to Southern Brazil in the late 18th century, from further down south from the Tupi-Gurani population in
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, and the Saci underwent further modification in the 19th century. The original Paraguayan ''
Yací-Yateré'' has been described by Cascudo as a red ''
duende
A duende is a humanoid figure of folklore, with variations from Iberian Peninsula, Iberian, Ibero-America, Ibero American, and Culture of Latin America, Latin American cultures, comparable to Dwarf (folklore), dwarves, gnomes, or leprechauns. ...
'' about the size of a 7 year-old child, who stole camp fire, having no knowledge how to strike fire. In the name Yací-Yateré, ''yací'' () indeed means "Moon" in
Old Tupi
Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi () is a classical Tupian language which was spoken by the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. In the words of Brazilian tupinol ...
.
Couto de Magalhães (1876) also held the view that although he knew Saci Cerêrê to be a red capped, small-sized ''tapuio'' like figure, lame in one foot bearing wound marks on each knee, he thought the lore was too contaminated with Christian superstition to know the genuine indigenous lore at the heart of it. Thus the exact role of the Saci Cerêrê in the stewardship of plants was unclear to him, though it must have been assigned one, being a subservient spirit to who was the supreme mother of all vegetation as well as being a lunar goddess.
There have been various origin theories emphasizing the influenced of various ethnic groups, as collated in the studies by Renato da Silva Queiroz (1995a, 1995b). A different picture from Cascudo's on the origins of Saci contended that it was based on the Brazilian-African (
Bantu) myth of , a one-legged, one-eyed black boy or man, proposed by Antônio Joaquim de Souza Carneiro (1937). But Europe also spoke of the race of the one-legged
Sciapod or Monopod goes which might have been a source, since this legend goes back to Classical times, later to be prominently illustrated in printed books.
His red cap is a trait shared by the ''
trasgo'' or "
goblin
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monster, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearan ...
", and (while the red cap is common in
household spirits all over Europe), the ''trasgo'' in Portuguese lore has all its supernatural powers concentrated in the cap.
[ (children's story): ""]
The Saci-Pererê concept shows some
syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...
with
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
elements: he bolts away when faced with crosses, leaving behind a sulphurous smell – classical attributes of the
devil
A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
in Christian folklore. It has been argued by Queiroz that Saci's sulfur smell, devilishness, thievery, sorcery, etc., are things that the "rural dominant class" among the
Paulistas had ascribed black laboring population, while the common rural folk were free of such bigotry.
Monteiro Lobato
José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato (; 18 April 1882 – 4 July 1948) was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (Yellow Woodpecker Farm) but he had been previous ...
was not the inventor of the sulfur legend, having only collected it from readers. But Monteiro Lobato's children's book (1921) made Saci familiar to the urban populace, as a heroic figure black color, nevertheless retained the negative stigma of the sulfuric smell and capturability, resulting the modern media subsequently censuring and downplaying those aspects (thus "taming" the Saci from the wild) .
Parallel
A similar creature of lore is
Romãozinho, a mythic black boy who hit his mother and was condemned to roam the fields and forests.
Saci day
*
State of São Paulo
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
in 2004 designated that October 31 be celebrated not as
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
(aka "Dia das Bruxas") but as Saci Day. The nation of Brazil followed suit and made this official in 2010.
In popular culture
* The character remains quite popular in present-day Brazilian urban culture, mainly due to the immensely popular children's book ''O Saci'' by Monteiro Lobato (1921).
Saci also has appearances in other films and TV series adaptations of ''
Sítio do Picapau Amarelo''.
* In the 1960s, the one-legged gnome – by now "domesticated" into a prankish but inoffensive and lovable creature – was chosen by premier Brazilian cartoonist
Ziraldo as the leading character of his comics magazine ''
Turma do Pererê''.
This original publication, the first of its genre to feature entirely "national" characters, was short-lived, but paved the way for other Brazilian cartoonists like
Angeli,
Laerte, and
Mauricio de Sousa
Mauricio Araújo de Sousa (; born October 27, 1935), known artistically as Mauricio de Sousa or mononymously just as Mauricio, is a Brazilian cartoonist and businessman who has created over 200 characters for his popular series of children's co ...
.
* The Saci-Perrere appears as Akuman-kun's 11th disciple in
Shigeru Mizuki
, also known as , was a Japanese manga artist and historian. He was known for his ''yōkai'' manga such as ''GeGeGe no Kitarō'' and '' Akuma-kun'', as well as for his war stories based on his own war manga such as '' Shōwa-shi''.
He was born i ...
's manga ''
Akuma-kun'' ("devil boy", aka "Shingo Umoregi" version, serialized 1988- and printed in 3 volume set, 1995)
*
Tom Jobim
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name.
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film
* ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...
's song "
Águas de Março Águas or Aguas may refer to:
Places
* Dos Aguas, a municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain
* Aguas, municipality in Aragon, Spain
* Palace of the Marqués de Dos Aguas, a Rococo palace in Valencia, Spain
People
People with this surname i ...
" mentions the ''Matinta Pereira'', and
Nei Lopes's samba song entitled "Fumo de Rolo" tells a tale of a fisherman being accosted by the saci while collecting reeds in the forest. The Saci demands some tobacco for his pipe, but the poor fellow has lost his.
* In the 2012 video game ''
Max Payne 3
''Max Payne 3'' is a 2012 third-person shooter game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sequel to '' Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne'' and the third entry in the ''Max Payne'' series. ''Max Payne 3'' is played from a third-p ...
'', set mainly in
São Paulo, Brazil
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of Yu ...
, a trickster Saci makes a cameo as a villain in the
in-game cartoon show ''The Adventures of Captain Baseball Bat Boy''. In it Saci has his trademark pipe, red cap and shorts, and is missing his right leg. However, his skin is green.
* The Saci appears in ''
AdventureQuest Worlds
''AdventureQuest Worlds'' is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released by Artix Entertainment in 2008.
Synopsis
The player character, referred to as 'the Hero', arrives in the midst of a war pitting the fo ...
''. This version has a human-like appearance, wields a spoon, and has a tornado where his legs should be while also performing wind attacks.
* The Saci appears in ''
Invisible City'' (2021), played by
Wesley Guimarães.
* In 2024, the indie horror game "Saci: The Cursed Hunt" by Marcos Silva reimagines Saci as a terrifying figure rooted in Brazilian folklore. Set in the Amazon rainforest, the game challenges players to survive his relentless pursuit.
In science
A novel species of
dinosauromorph
Dinosauromorpha is a clade of Avemetatarsalia, avemetatarsalians (archosaurs closer to birds than to crocodilians) that includes the Dinosauria (dinosaurs) and some of their close relatives. It was originally defined to include Dinosauriformes, d ...
, discovered in 2001 at
Agudo (southern Brazil), was named ''
Sacisaurus
''Sacisaurus'' (" Saci lizard") is a silesaurid dinosauriform from the Late Triassic (Norian) Caturrita Formation of southern Brazil. The scientific name, ''Sacisaurus agudoensis'', refers to the city where the species was found, Agudo in the ...
'' because the
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...
was missing one leg.
The names of the Brazilian
satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
s
SACI-1 and
SACI-2
The SACI-2 was a Brazilian experimental satellite, designed and built by the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE). It was launched on 11 December 1999 from the INPE base in Alcântara, Maranhão, by the Brazilian VLS-1 V02 rocket. Due to ...
were
backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
s on the character's name, as well as four
retrotransposon
Retrotransposons (also called Class I transposable elements) are mobile elements which move in the host genome by converting their transcribed RNA into DNA through reverse transcription. Thus, they differ from Class II transposable elements, or ...
s in the
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
of the
fluke ''
Schistosoma mansoni'' were named Saci-1, Saci-2, Saci-3, and Perere, for their ability to jump around in the parasite's
genome
A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...
.
Since the Saci's one-legged physique reminds us of people with a
physical disability
A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epilepsy ...
, a
social network
A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...
named SACI (an acronym of ''Solidariedade, Apoio, Comunicação e Informação'', meaning "
Solidarity
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
, Support,
Communication
Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...
, and Information") was created at the
University of São Paulo
The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil.
The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...
with the purpose of stimulating these four efforts towards the social and medical
rehabilitation of physically disabled people.
Rede SACI: Solidariedade, Apoio, Comunicação e Informação - Índice » A SACI
As a mascot
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional, Inter de Porto Alegre, a cidade do Grêmio or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Campeonato Bras ...
(and Social Futebol Clube) has the figure of Saci as its mascot, owing to the club's popular roots, the red color of his clothing and the fans' hope that the team could pull tricks on their opponents. When Wason Rentería played for the club, in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, he would often celebrate his goals by doing an impersonation
An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone:
*Living history: After close study of some historical figure, a performer may dress and speak "as" that ...
of Saci.
See also
*
*
*
*
*
* Romãozinho - myth of a black boy who hit his mother and was condemned to roam the wilderness
Explanatory notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
* ;
**
**
*
**
*
*
repository
External links
, chapter re capture of Saci, excerpted from Monteiro Lobato's ''O Saci'' (in Portuguese)
The Ziraldo's version of Saci
*
The legend of Saci
See the doc. Saci
Documentary made in 2005
Saci-Pererê
Saci-Pererê: The Mischievous Legend of Brazilian Folklore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saci (Brazilian Folklore)
Brazilian folklore
Brazilian legendary creatures
Mythic humanoids
Pipe smoking
Supernatural legends
Legendary creatures with absent body parts