Normally, that is filled with reading websites on mythology, bloggers discussing the differences between sensuality and sexuality or reading about what our brains do when we watch Horror movies. Today it took an odd turn though.
I was researching Brazilian mythology, looking over a little bit of the history, reading what sort of tales they tell their kids, seeing what sort of monsters in the dark exist in their little corner of our globe. Today, it meant finding an odd reference to a story that took me in a completely different direction than I expected.
Salamanca do Jarau
I wanted to know what a Teiniagua was, so I took that name and found it connected with "The Moorish Princess". Now I was really confused. Unable to find an English translation of the myth or a description of the creature other than "magical gecko" I did what anybody else would do and got creative.A legend of southern Brazil, the Salamanca is a cave full of treasures, looked after by a magical lizard called teiniaguá.
First, this meant going to the wikipedia entry for this story and realizing that the computer I was on didn't offer immediately translate the page for me. So I copied the story and did a search for Google Translate. Let me mention here that I do not generally suggest Google Translate. If you're looking for a single word, you'll probably find it. If you want more... well, lets just say they are not particularly clear about language. Google Translate Sings is a thing for a reason, no?
Anyways, I translated it and found out that it was really disjointed. So disjointed that I couldn't really understand what it was trying to say. So I got creative again. Knowing a tiny bit of Spanish and a lot more about mythologies, how they are constructed and what tropes are usually found in them, I decided that despite starting from a very flawed case, that I would try and translate the translated document into something resembling a complete story.
I'm certain I am missing some very important parts of this story and that entire sections of it may be incorrect. Still, please, let me know how well you think I did working just from the Google Translate . If you read Portugal or happen to recall the tale, please let me know.
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Original Tale from Wikipedia
Ícone da cultura gaúcha, a
Teiniaguá, é uma Princesa Moura, transformada em lagartixa pelo Diabo
Vermelho dos índios, Anhangá-Pitã. Séculos atrás, quando caiu o último reduto
árabe na Espanha, veio fugida e transfigurada em uma velha; para que não
fosse reconhecida e aprisionada.
Corpo de lagartixa (ou
salamandra), encontra-se no lugar de sua cabeça uma pedra preciosa
cintilante, cor de rubi, que fascina os homens e os atrai, destinada a viver
em uma lagoa no Cerro do Jarau.
Mas um dia o sacristão da igreja
da aldeia próxima, assolado pelo calor, foi até a lagoa refrescar-se. Ao se
aproximar percebeu que a lagoa fervia e na sua frente a Teiniaguá surgiu,
rapidamente ele a agarrou, a aprisionou em uma guampa, e foi para seus
aposentos atrás da igreja. Durante a noite, ao abrir a guampa, ocorre uma
mágica, ela volta a ser mulher e lhe pede vinho. Sabendo que o único vinho
que podia oferecer era o do padre, não hesitou em buscá-lo. Todas as noites o
fato se repetia, e os padres começaram a desconfiar; uma noite entraram no
quarto do sacristão, a Teiniaguá, rapidamente se transformou em lagartixa e
fugiu para as barrancas do Uruguai, ele foi preso.
O sacristão foi condenado a
morte, e no dia da aplicação da sentença, sua amada sentiu um mau
pressentimento e voltou à aldeia para resgatá-lo. Utilizando magia, o
encontrou e nesse momento houve um grande estrondo, que produziu fogo e
fumaça e tudo afundou.
Ficaram confinados após isso,
em uma caverna profunda, chamada de Salamanca do Jarau. De onde só sairiam
quando surgisse algém capaz de cumprir as sete provas: as espadas ocultas na
sombra, a arremetida de jaguares e pumas furiosos, a dança dos esqueletos, o
jogo das línguas de fogo e das águas ferventes, a ameaça da boicininga
amaldiçoada (única que não está presente na literatura épica, é um
proveitamento folclórico), o convite das donzelas cativas, o cerco dos anões.
Com os desafios superados,
seria concedido ao valente vencedor um desejo, o qual, ele deveria depois
renegar. Após duzentos anos, chega à furna um gaúcho chamado Blau, que
conheceu a lenda através de sua avó charrua. Sem hesitar ele cumpriu as
provas, pórem, não desejou nada. A princesa ficou triste, pois assim não
conseguiriam, ela e seu amado sacristão, libertarem-se do encanto. Quando o
gaúcho montava em seu cavalo para ir embora, o sacristão lhe deu uma moeda de
ouro, como lembrança de sua estada; sem poder recusar, colocou a moeda no
bolso e foi embora.
Alguns dias depois ficou
sabendo que um amigo seu desistira de ser criador de gado, lembrou da moeda e
foi comprar um boi, mas ao retirá-la para pagar foram surgindo novas moedas e
ele conseguiu comprar todos. Admirado com a riqueza de Blau, o amigo espalhou
a notícia, e todos ficaram espantados com ela. Acreditando que ele havia
feito um pacto com o demônio, ninguém mais quis lhe vender nem comprar nada.
Sentindo saudade da vida de antes, voltou à gruta para devolver a moeda
mágica. Chegando lá, contou a história ao sacristão e lhe devolveu a moeda.
Ao colocá-la em sua mão, o feitiço foi quebrado com uma grande explosão. Da
furna saíram os dois condenados, transformados em um belo casal de jovens.
Casaram-se e trouxeram a descendência indigeno-ibérica aos povoados do Rio
Grande do Sul.
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Google Translate Version
Icon of the gaucho culture, teiniagud, is a Moorish Princess , turned into gecko by the Red Devil Indians , Anhangá - Pita . Centuries ago , when he fell the last Arab stronghold in Spain, came fleeing and transfigured into an old ; that was not recognized and imprisoned .
grenadier body ( or stove ) , is the place of his head a sparkling gemstone, ruby color, which fascinates men and draws them, destined to live in a pond in the Cerro Jarau .
But one day the sexton of the nearby village church, plagued by heat, went to the pond freshen up . When approaching realized that the lake was boiling and in front of the teiniagud came quickly he grabbed her, imprisoned her in a guampa , and went to his quarters behind the church. During the night, opening the guampa, there is a magic, she goes back to being a woman and asks her wine. Knowing that the only wine that
could offer was the priest did not hesitate to pick it up. Every night the
fact is repeated , and the priests began to suspect ; one night entered the sexton of the room, the teiniagud, quickly turned into lizard and fled to
the banks of the Uruguay, he was arrested
The sacristan was sentenced to death, and the sentence of
the day of application, his beloved felt a bad feeling and returned to the
village to rescue him. Using magic, and found that time there was a big bang, which produced fire and smoke and everything sank.
They were confined after that, in a deep cave, called
Jarau Salamanca. Where only get out when emerge algem able to meet the seven
events: the hidden swords in the shade, the rush Jaguars and furious
cougars, dancing skeletons , the game of tongues of fire and boiling water,
the threat of cursed boicininga ( one that is not present in the epic
literature, is a folkloric proveitamento ), the invitation of captive
maidens, the siege of the dwarves .
The challenges overcome, be granted to the brave winner one
wish, which he would later disown. After two hundred years, reaches the
cave a gaucho named Blau, who met the legend through his plow grandmother.
Without hesitation he fulfilled the evidence, however, did not want
anything. The princess was sad, because then they could not , she and her
beloved sexton, freeing up the charm. When the gaucho riding his horse to
leave, the sexton gave him a gold coin as a souvenir of their stay; without
being able to refuse, put the coin in his pocket and left.
A few days later he learned that a friend of his had given up being cattleman, remembered the currency and bought an ox, but to pull it to pay were emerging new coins and he was able to buy all. Amazed at the wealth of Blau, the friend spread the news, and everyone was amazed with her. Believing that he had made a pact with the devil, no one wanted
to sell it or buy anything. Feeling homesick before life returned to the cave to return the magic coin. Once there, he told the story to the sacristan and handed him the coin. To put it in your hand, the spell was broken with a big explosion. The cave came the two convicts, turned into a beautiful young couple. They married and brought the indigenous Iberian descent to the villages of Rio Grande do Sul
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My Version
The following story is an icon
of the gaucho culture. It is the story of Teiniagua, the Moorish Princess,
who was turned into a gecko by the Red Devil Indians, Anhangá-Pita.
Centuries ago, when the last
Arab stronghold in Spain fell, the Moorish princess fled the destruction and
was transformed into an old gecko with a thickset body. On her forehead was a
sparkling Ruby gemstone that fascinated men. Eventually she came to live in a
pond in Cerro Jarau.
One day the sexton of the
nearby village church, plagued by heat, went to the pond freshen up. When he
arrived, he saw that the lake was boiling and standing in front was the gecko.
The priest imprisioned Teiniagua in a guampa (horn) and took her to his quarters
behind the church.
At night, he opened the horn
and found that the gecko he had captured had changed into a woman. He offered
her wine and she, believing that a priest could mean her no harm, accepted.
When she became drunk, he seduced her. He did this every night until the
other priests began to suspect that something was up.
One night, the other priests
burst in to catch him in the act. Teiniagua turned back into a gecko and fled
to the banks of the Uruguay. The priest was sentenced to death. However, Teiniagua
was bereft without the priest, whom she had come to love. She decided to
rescue him. Using powerful magic, she created a huge explosion that shook the
town, filling it with bad-smelling smoke and eventually sank the town deep
into a cave called the Jaau Salmanca.
Stuck in the cave, Teiniagua
and her lover found they could only leave when a hero had completed seven
quests: the hidden swords in the shade, the rush Jaguars and furious cougars,
dancing skeletons, the game of tongues of fire and boiling water, the threat
of cursed boicininga (a type of snake), the invitation of captive maidens and
the siege of the dwarves.
Since they could not fulfill
the conditions on their own, Teiniagua offered anyone who could overcome the
challenges a single wish. After two hundred years, a gaucho(South American
cowboy) named Blau, was told of the legend by his grandmother. Without
hesitation, he searched for the cave and completed the quests. However, when
he was offered his wish, he declined, saying he needed nothing. The princess was
saddened that he would refuse her gift since it meant that she and her love would
remain in the cave, their curse unbroken.
But Teiniagua and the priest
came up with a plan. When the gaucho tried to leave, the priest offered him a
single gold coin as a souvenir of his stay. The gaucho decided that a souvenir
wasn’t the same thing as a wish and accepted the coin, putting it in his
pocket before he left.
A few days later he learned
that a friend of his had decided to give up being cattleman. The guacho
wanted to buy all his friend’s stock and settle down. However, even with all
his savings he was still short a single coin to buy even a single ox. Remembering
his souvenir, the gaucho pulled it out of his pocket. However, new coins
continued to emerge, falling to ground around him huge pile. By the time it
stopped, he had enough money to buy all of the stock his friend was selling
with money to spare. His friend was amazed at Blau’s new wealth and told
everyone what had happened. Everyone agreed that this was unnatural and that
the Blau must have made a deal with a devil to have such a thing happen. They
shunned him, buying nothing from him and selling him nothing, not wanting to
associate with one so cursed.
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