Our Gods have never left us!
They are the forest. They are the clouds, and the air, and the water.
They are in the songs we sing, and the tales we tell. They are in our blood and our bones.
The Gods of Brazil are deities worshiped in the past and present mainly by native populations of Brazil and other parts of South America. They are the pantheon worshipped by the Amazons of the Amazon and have as their champion Yara Flor, the Wonder Girl and future Wonder Woman.
History
The best known among the Gods of Brazil are those of the religions of the Tupi-Guarani people, ancient and current (including that of the Brazilian Amazons), distributed from the Amazon Rainforest to the Río de la Plata Basin passing through the entire Brazilian coast, mainly in territories of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia.
Native Brazilian myths often emphasize the importance of Nature and people's relationship with it. Thus, deities are generally personifications of natural elements and phenomena, such as celestial bodies and the mysteries of the forests and waters, where the presence of guardian spirits, assistants of the deities, plays an important role. It is not uncommon for the same natural elements to have different personifications among the different Tupi-Guarani peoples, as is the case of the Moon, whose main deity is the goddess Yacy, but can also be presented as the god Iae, among others.
The miscegenation between the three main elements that make up the Brazilian people — the native indigenous Americans, the black Africans and the white Europeans — led to the evolution of hybrid entities, such as the Cuca — a dragon of Portuguese origin transformed into an alligator witch —, the Lobisomem — the Brazilian werewolf — and the Saci — the main Brazilian mythical figure who mixes indigenous, black and white elements in his formation.[1]
Christianity brought by the Portuguese also greatly influenced native Brazilian mythology: Tupã, originally just the name the people gave to the sound of thunder as the voice of the creator god Nhamandu/Nhanderuvuçu (Tupi) or Ñamandu/Ñanderuvusu (Guarani), was appropriated by European Jesuits as the Christian God to convert the indigenous people, while at the same time teaching that the most popular native Brazilian god, Jurupari, son of the Sun, was in fact the Devil. Currently, the name of the Christian god in the Tupi and Guarani languages is Tupã (and, with a lowercase initial, tupã, refers to any deity in general), and many non-Christian native peoples today, especially among the Guarani, consider Tupã the creator god and supreme deity of their polytheistic pantheon.
Future State
A long time ago and on opposite sides of the globe, the thunder gods Zeus and Tupã each sat on their respective thrones. Domains and duties were claimed by spouses, siblings, and children. The Earth was populated not only by the Gods but by all manner of creature: demigods, sprites, nymphs, monsters, dragons, demons and spirits. And they saw fit to meddle in the lives of humankind.
Some befriended them, some coupled with them, and a few, giving in to their evil natures, punished and tortured them. As time went on the intensity of the interactions diminished — humans became occupied with their strifes and toils, sex, childbirth, and death. They no longer held to worship and superstition and they lost their relationship with the land. Even still, they remained, immortal and active.
An interference was needed. Someone to navigate the world between Gods and humanity, so that each might flourish. A hero was needed. Yara Flor, the Wonder Woman, just happened to be the right person.[2] And thanks to her, humanity began to believe in the Gods of Brazil again.[3]
The origin of the day
According to the myth, in the beginning of time all was darkness because the sky was black with the wings of great birds and humanity crept through the world, easy prey for predators that they could not see. The hero Kuat then tricked the King of the Birds by luring him down to earth and then capturing him. Kuat then made with him a compromise: half the day the sky would be clear, and so day and night were born. Humanity saw the Sun for the first time, and Kuat was made its god, becoming the Sun itself, and his twin brother, Iae, became the Moon.[3]
Prime Earth
The mother goddess of the Brazilian Amazons is Yacy, the goddess of the moon. The stories of the origin of these Amazons tells that it came as a whisper carried on the wind by Gaia to Yacy. Inspired then, and drawing upon The Well, she created these divine women of the sacred waters,[4] whose deity is Iara, once a beautiful warrior transformed into a mermaid goddess. It was Iara who granted the Amazon hero Yara Flor her signature weapon, the Golden Boleadoras.[5]
Anhanga is the god of death and the Underworld and the protective spirit of the forest. He rules his domains with his wife Tice, goddess of evil, at his side. He is responsible for the creation of Cuca, the greatest enemy of the Brazilian Amazons.[6]
The Amazon Rainforest itself can manifest as a supernatural entity — whether divine or not is uncertain — which the superheroine Ya'Wara calls the Forest Mother.[7]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Godly Physiology
- Immortality
- Power Distribution: The Brazilian gods can grant powers to others.[6]
- Additionally, the Gods have some power related to his/her individual sphere of influence.
Weaknesses
- Power Loss: Similar to other pantheons, the Brazilian gods draw greater power from the act of worship. When the number of worshippers diminishes, these gods, along with their power, gradually decline as well.[3]
Miscellaneous
Representatives:
- Tupã, the chief deity, god of thunder and light
- Anhanga, god of the underworld
- Iae, god of the moon, twin brother of Kuat
- Iara, goddess of the sacred waters
- Kuat, god of the sun, twin brother of Iae
- Tice, goddess of all that is wicked
- Yacy, goddess of the moon
- Unnamed river god (Yara Flor's father)
- Forest Mother, embodiment of the Amazon rainforest[7]
Demigods
Associates
Notes
- These characters are an adaptation of Gods of Brazil, characters in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.
See Also
- Appearances of Gods of Brazil
- Race Gallery: Gods of Brazil
- Images of Gods of Brazil