Character title

# Saci

O **saci**, também conhecido como **saci-pererê**, **saci-cererê**, **matimpererê**, **matita perê**, **saci-saçurá** e **saci-trique**, é um personagem bastante conhecido do folclore brasileiro. Tem sua origem presumida entre os indígenas da Região das Missões, no Sul do país, de onde teria se espalhado por todo o território brasileiro.

A figura do saci surge como um ser maléfico, como somente brincalhão ou como gracioso, conforme as versões comuns ao sul.

## Etymology

Three terms are important: "saci" comes from the Tupi term "sa'si". "Matimpererê" comes from the Tupi term "matintape're". The term "pererê" comes from the Tupi term "pererek-a", which means "to jump".

## Historical Influences

### Indigenous

The protective entities of the forest Jaci Jaterê from Guarani cosmology and Kambaí from Caingangue cosmology are possible influences on the conception of Saci.

### African

A Yoruba legend describes Aroni, a one-legged gnome who teaches Oçânhim about the use of medicinal herbs, which may have influenced Saci's conception. Others report Oçânhim and Anoni as the same entity.

### Portuguese

From Portuguese mythology, the saci inherited the pileus, a red cap worn by the legendary troll. Trasgo is an enchanted being from the folklore of northern Portugal, especially from the region of Trás-os-Montes. Rebellious, small in stature, goblins wear red caps and possess supernatural powers.

From Portugal to Brazil came the belief of the supernatural explanation about whirlpools, that they would be guided by a "bad thing" and that they could throw people.[4] This belief has been documented in Brazil, alongside the belief in the connection between Saci and whirlpools.

## In contemporary mediaIn contemporary media

Historical Influences
**Indigenous**

The protective entities of the forest Jaci Jaterê from Guarani cosmology and Kambaí from Caingangue cosmology are possible influences on the conception of Saci.

**African**

A Yoruba legend describes Aroni, a one-legged gnome who teaches Oçânhim about the use of medicinal herbs, which may have influenced Saci's conception. Others report Oçânhim and Anoni as the same entity.

**Portuguese**

From Portuguese mythology, the saci inherited the pileus, a red cap worn by the legendary troll. Trasgo is an enchanted being from the folklore of northern Portugal, especially from the region of Trás-os-Montes. Rebellious, small in stature, goblins wear red caps and possess supernatural powers.

From Portugal to Brazil came the belief of the supernatural explanation about whirlpools, that they would be guided by a "bad thing" and that they could throw people. This belief has been documented in Brazil, alongside the belief in the connection between Saci and whirlpools.Em 2005, foi instituído o Dia do Saci no Estado de São Paulo, a data também é celebrado em Vitória (Espírito Santo); Poços de Caldas e Uberaba (Minas Gerais); Fortaleza e Independência (Ceará) comemorado no dia 31 de outubro, a fim de restaurar as figuras do folclore brasileiro, em contraposição a influências folclóricas estrangeiras, como o Dia das Bruxas.

### Música

In 1912, Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos wrote the march "Saci", the fifth part of his piano suite "Petizada" (W048). The composition, like the others in the same piece, is inspired by Brazilian musical folklore.

Francisco Mignone also gave the name "Saci" to the sixth part of his "Estudos Transcendentais" for piano, from 1931.

Conductor Edmundo Villani-Cortes brought it back to life in works such as "First sheet of the diary of the saci" (for piano, 1994), "Third sheet of the diary of a saci" (for flute, 1992) and "Seventh sheet of the diary de um saci" (for double bass, 1992).

"Portrait of Saci-pererê" (2007) by J. Marconi

In popular music, the first reference to the character dates back to 1909, the year of composition of "Saci-Pererê", by Chiquinha Gonzaga, recorded by the duo Os Geraldos. In 1913, it was the turn of "Saci", a polka by J.B. Birth recorded by the Sextet da Casa. Gastão Formenti also recorded two songs entitled "Saci-Pererê": a tune by Joubert de Carvalho, in 1918 and a song by J. Aimberê and Bide, in 1929.

In the following decades, other artists resorted to the theme, such as Arnaldo Pescuma ("Your gaze is a Saci", by Cipó Jurandi and Décio Abramo, 1930; Conjunto Tupy ("Saci-Pererê", by J.B. Carvalho, 1932; Mário Genari Filho ( the polka "Saci-Pererê", 1948); Zé Pagão & Nhô Rosa ("Saci-Pererê", by Ivani, 1949); Inhana ("Saci", baião by Antônio Bruno and Ernesto Ianhaen, 1956);

In 1974, to accompany the television series "Sítio do Picapau Amarelo", Guto Graça Mello composed and recorded "Saci". In the special "Pirlimpimpim" (1982), the song for the character was written by Jorge Benjor ("Saci Pererê". The third version of Sítio for TV included, in its soundtrack, "Pererê Peralta (saci)", by Carlinhos Brown (2001) and "I saw Saci", by Marcos Sacramento and Izak Dahora (2006).

In instrumental music, the main references are the guitarist Carlinhos Antunes ("Saci-Pererê", 1996), the band Terreno Baldio (Saci-Pererê, 1977), Guilherme Lamounier ("Saci-Pererê", 1978) and the Pererê Quartet ( "Polka do Sacy" and "Liberdade Pererê", both on the album "Balaio", 2010). The Pererê Quartet had already presented, in 2005, the show Saci Armorial, in which it fused the legend with the literary universe of the Pernambuco writer Ariano Suassuna.

### Games

In the RPG O Desafio dos Bandeirantes, the saci is one of the mythological figures that can challenge players.

## Name use in science

"Saci avoids entering the water", by Renato Bender.
In 2013, a new species of anuran amphibian (Adenomera saci) was described from the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, in the state of Goiás. The name given to the species alludes to the vocalization of the species, which is a short and intermittent whistle, and to the difficulty of observing individuals of the species singing, which can be elusive, as attributed to the saci in popular culture: "...he whistles to frighten and confuse nocturnal travelers, the source of the whistles impossible to trace...".

In 2001, a new species of ornithischian dinosaur was discovered in Agudo, in Rio Grande do Sul. As the fossil was found without the left femur, it was named Sacisaurus acuteensis

Saci Last Common Ancestor Hypothesis ("saci hypothesis as the last common ancestor") was a term used in a primatological discussion to explain why animals of the Hominidae family do not instinctively know how to swim. This hypothesis makes reference to the mythology of the Saci Pererê as a creature that avoids entering the water.

In 1997, the National Space Research Institute developed a microsatellite for launch on the Chinese Long March 4 rocket. It was named the Scientific Applications Satellite and the acronym SACI-1. The experience, however, failed, because the satellite, even entering orbit, did not work. Its successor, the SACI-2, was supposed to launch in 1998, but the VLS-2 rocket exploded on launch.

## Saci's Day

In 2005, Saci Day was instituted in the State of São Paulo, the date is also celebrated in Vitória (Espírito Santo); Poços de Caldas and Uberaba (Minas Gerais); Fortaleza e Independência (Ceará) celebrated on October 31st, in order to restore Brazilian folklore figures, as opposed to foreign folkloric influences, such as Halloween.

## Use in sport

O Saci é mascote dos clubes: Sport Club Internacional e Social Futebol Clube.