Our folklore is one of the richest in the world, based on the beliefs of the indigenous people who inhabited our territory long before the arrival of the white man from Portugal. And one of the most famous legends is that of the fire snake called boitatá. In this article you will learn all about this scary creature!

Origin of Boitatá

The boitatá is a Brazilian folkloric creature that has its origins in the beliefs of the indigenous people who inhabited our country before the arrival of the Portuguese colonizers. One of the first records of the boitatá dates back to 1560, made by priest José de Anchieta:

"There are also others (ghosts) that live most of the time by the sea and rivers, and are called baetatá, which means 'thing of fire,' which is the same as if one were to say what is all of fire. One sees nothing but a flickering torch running that way; it quickly strikes the Indians and kills them," he wrote.

Contrary to what the priest reported, the most correct translation for the term "boitatá" is "cobra de fogo" or "snake fire", because "mboî" means "snake" in Tupi-Guarani, while "tatá" means "fire".

The most widespread explanation among specialists is that the boitatá legend arose from the indigenous people's observation of a phenomenon known as fogo-fátuo (also called fogo foolo, fogo corridor, or joão-galafoice in some places in Brazil).

Nneirda from Getty Images / Canva

The most accepted scientific explanation is that the phenomenon is an effect caused by the oxidation of phosphine (PH3), diphosphane (P2H4), and methane (CH4) together with the ionization of their molecules, forming plasma.

As they saw this phenomenon that resembles fire moving through lakes, swamps and marshes, the natives associated it with this gigantic fire snake that killed human beings.

Boitatá Legend

According to legend, boitatá is a gigantic fire snake that protects the fields This huge serpent lives in the waters and, if necessary, can also transform itself into a burning log to set fire to the people who are harming the ecosystem.

There are some variations of the legend that present Boitatá not as an entity that protects the environment, but as a simple cruel animal that kills people walking unaccompanied in forests or other biomes.

Most legends describe the boitatá as having glowing eyes that are lit up like two headlights, and transparent leather, which shimmers when it is night and also helps him to sneak around the places where he stays.

In another variation, more common in the South of Brazil, the boitatá has its origin in a kind of endless night The story of an anaconda (known in the South as a boiguaçu) that takes advantage of its ability to see well in the dark to attack defenseless animals, always focusing on their eyes.

Boitatá in Brazil

Because it is a legend, a belief of indigenous tribes, in a time when traditions were told orally, without being recorded in writing, there are variations in the boitatá legend from region to region in Brazil. Understand some of them:

Southeast: In Rio Grande do Sul, in the South region, and in the states of the Southeast region, the boitatá became better known as a simply cruel creature that killed without motivation, for the simple pleasure of killing human beings.

South: The biggest variation is in Santa Catarina, where, instead of a fire serpent, the boitatá is actually a huge bull with a giant eye on its forehead.

Hedestad, CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons / Canva / Me Without Borders

North and Northeast: In these regions, the animal is also known as batatão, and the most common legends tell that it protected the regions of woods and forests, especially against the white men who wanted to exploit the natural resources.

Midwest: In this region, the boitatá is widely recognized as a protector of the Pantanal biome, especially against those who wish to harm the region's ecosystem.

Curiosities about the boitatá

As it settled in Brazil, the Catholicism of the Portuguese took advantage of some legends of the indigenous people to scare them, with the objective of converting them to religion. The boitatá was one of the legends appropriated by the priests, who began to explain that the animal fed only on the souls of those who had not been baptized.

Another curiosity is that in some places in the Northeast region, boitatá is called "the soul of compadres and comadres The belief is that this creature is crawling through the woods to pay for all the sins of the evil souls it feeds on, and the hatred is so great that it burns in flames.

To scare away the boitatá, according to the main legends, The person who sees it needs to stop immediately, close his eyes, and hold his breath; otherwise he may go blind or insane, if not devoured.

Boitatá in movies, series and books

The boitatá was present in many adaptations of the original legend for fiction and also as an object of study in researchers who have written about the legends Check out some materials that can serve to explore this legend a little further:

ijeab from Getty Images Pro / Canva

"Brazilian Folklore Anthology" (1943) e "Geography of Brazilian Myths" (1947), by Luís da Câmara Cascudo - Câmara Cascudo is to this day considered one of the greatest researchers of the myths and legends of our folklore, having recorded many of them in the books he has published, such as these two, in which he details legends such as boitatá, saci, caipora, and cuca, among others.

"Sítio do Picapau Amarelo" (1920-1947), by Monteiro Lobato - the boitatá appeared as a character both in the Brazilian writer's book series and in the adaptation of the work for television, broadcast by Rede Globo (2001).

"Turma da Mônica: Brazilian Legends - This folkloric being has appeared several times and in various forms in the stories of the Papa-Capim character, created by the cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa. He has been portrayed as an evil creature, but also as a defender of the forests and an ally of the young Indian's tribe.

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In short, the boitatá is one of the most popular legends in our country's folklore, known by many people - and feared by many others. Since it derives from a natural phenomenon that is difficult to explain, some people still believe that the existence of this folkloric animal is real, because its myth is so popular.