szkoła-i-dom: Saci (folklore)

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

Saci (pronounced [saˈsi]) is a character in Tupi and Guarani folklore. He is a one-legged black boy, 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 (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…