# Abaporu
## Portuguese
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Classical Guaraní abaporu (literally “man-eating man”), itself from abá (“man”) +‎ poru (“man-eating”).
Compare Old Tupi abá and poru, both with the same meanings.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /aˌba.poˈɾu/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ɐˌba.puˈɾu/ [ɐˌβa.puˈɾu]
* Rhymes: -u
* Hyphenation: A‧ba‧po‧ru

### Proper noun

Abaporu m or f
* A painting by Tarsila do Amaral, the most valuable Brazilian canvas in the global art market.
** 2019 April 3, Edison Veiga, Abaporu: a história do quadro mais valioso da arte brasileira‎:Mas o que é, afinal, o Abaporu? A leitura de Oswald de Andrade e Raul Bopp acabou dominando o imaginário: aquela criatura canibal simbolizaria o brasileiro devorando a cultura europeia e refazendo-a ao seu modo. "Era um grupo maluco que falava que a gente pode comer o europeu e depois criar uma coisa nova", diz Iabutti.But what is Abaporu, after all? The interpretation by Oswald de Andrade and Raul Bopp has shaped the collective imagination: that cannibalistic figure would symbolize Brazilians devouring European culture and reshaping it in their own way. "It was a crazy group that said we could eat the European and then create something new", says Iabutti.
** 2021 March 25, Maíra Campos, Internauta diz que Abaporu ‘não é arte’ e Twitter entra em guerra‎:Abaporu é a tela brasileira mais valorizada no mercado mundial das artes, com valor estimado de US$ 40 milhões, sendo comprada pelo colecionador argentino Eduardo Costantini por US$ 2,5 milhões, em 1995, em um leilão realizado na Christies. Criador do Museu de arte latino-americana de Buenos Aires (MALBA), Costantini doou sua coleção para o museu, incluindo a Abaporu.Abaporu is the most valuable Brazilian painting in the global art market, with an estimated worth of $40 million. It was purchased by Argentine collector Eduardo Costantini for $2.5 million in a 1995 auction at Christie's. Founder of the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (MALBA), Costantini donated his collection to the museum, including Abaporu.
** 2023 April 29, Franciely Gomes, Melody exibe novo jatinho e tamanho do pé impressiona: “é a Abaporu?”‎:“Você vai comprar duas pranchas de surf para botar no pé, né? Acertei”, comentou um. “Gente, é a Abaporu?”, brincou outro, fazendo referência à obra de arte de Tarsila do Amaral. “Fiquei sabendo que quando a Melody era bebê, os médicos fizeram o teste do pezinho numa cartolina”, ironizou um terceiro.“You’re going to buy two surfboards to put on your feet, right? Nailed it”, one person commented. “Guys, is that Abaporu?”, joked another, referencing Tarsila do Amaral’s artwork. “I heard that when Melody was a baby, the doctors did the heel prick test on a poster board”, quipped a third.

#### Derived terms

* abaporu

### References

* ↑ Felipe Fortuna (2011 April) Abaporu em trânsito‎ (in Portuguese):Ele explicou que, de fato, o quadro foi oferecido por Tarsila do Amaral, em 11 de janeiro de 1928, a seu marido, Oswald de Andrade, que completava 38 anos. Impressionado com a tela, o escritor chamou o poeta Raul Bopp a sua casa, e lhe disse que a imagem parecia “o homem plantado na terra”. Envolvidos pelos temas nacionais, buscaram no dicionário do padre Ruiz de Montoya um título indígena que pudesse servir à obra. E encontraram abaporu. Assim, o quadro não nasceu antropófago; ele se fez antropófago.He explained that, in fact, the painting was given by Tarsila do Amaral on 11 January 1928, to her husband, Oswald de Andrade, who was turning 38. Impressed by the canvas, the writer invited the poet Raul Bopp to his house and told him that the image looked like “a man planted in the earth”. Engaged with national themes, they searched Father Ruiz de Montoya’s dictionary for an Indigenous title that could suit the work. And they found abaporu. Thus, the painting was not born anthropophagic; it became anthropophagic.

### Further reading

* Antonio Ruiz de Montoya (1640) “Vocabulario de la lengua guarani”, in Arte, y bocabulario de la lengua guarani‎ (in Spanish), page 238: “Caribe, Abaporú. ― Cannibal, Abaporú.”