Macunaíma

Style

Macunaíma was an attempt on the part of Andrade to write a novel that represented pan-Brazilian culture and language.. The author desired to write the novel in the spoken language of Brazil. Macunaíma's catch phrase "Ai, que preguiça!" is a pun in both Tupi language and Portuguese, as "Ai" is a Tupi word for sloth and "preguiça" is Portuguese for sloth. This is an example of Andrade using a fused language to write this text, which begins with a simple description: "In the depths of the virgin jungle was born Macunaíma, hero of our people. He was jet black and son of the fear of the night."

Considered a "rhapsody" by Andrade himself, Macunaíma is a melding of the cultures of Brazil. Most of the folklore contained within the text is taken directly from native stories; Lucia Sá has shown that Andrade's novel draws heavily on the narratives of the Pemon people that were collected and recorded by Theodor Koch-Grünberg.

Plot

This novel follows an unconventional hero, Macunaíma, who was born in the Amazon Rainforest and is called "the hero with no character" in the novel's subtitle. He is of indigenous origin and possesses magical powers which help guide him on his journey from the Amazon to the city of São Paulo and back. He encounters various different creatures from Brazilian mythology along the way, taking him on a quest to retrieve his stolen amulet, a muiraquitã, who was given to him from his love interest, Ci. When arriving in São Paulo our hero is confronted with industrialization and begins to try and understand this new innovation by making connections between nature. His adventures in the city highlights social critique, exploring class differences, racial issues, and the cultural clash between urban and rural, using satire and folklore. The author uses a blend of mixed languages to represent the cultural mix that is happening throughout the story mirroring Brazil's diverse cultural makeup. After the city adventures our hero, Macunaíma, returns back home to the jungle where he eventually ends up turning into a constellation.

Cinematic adaptation

In 1969, the Brazilian production company Filmes do Serro made a film based on the novel, but with a substantially different storyline. The 1969 film was directed by Brazilian film director, Joaquim Pedro de Andrade. While the storyline differs from the 1928 version, the film retains the original narrative structure. Pedro de Andrade simplified the magical elements of the book in order to relate to Brazil's social, economic, and political state. Additionally, the story takes place in Rio de Janeiro rather than São Paulo, and is set at more or less the time the film was made.

Characters

Macunaíma: The main protagonist and Tapanhumas's youngest child. A shapeshifting anti-hero born in the fictional indigenous tribe of Tapanhumas (that has the same name of his mother), who is well known for his hedonism, self-centredness and general laziness (his most recurring feature). After he accidentally slays his mother Tapanhumas, he, along with his brothers Jiquê and Maanape, leave their tribe in shame, but he soon finds his true love Cí, who gives him a child. Unfortunately, the child dies of poisoning, and a grief-stricken Cí gives him an amulet before she literally ascends to heaven. However, Macunaíma loses this amulet in a fight against a supernatural snake and has to travel to São Paulo, as the giant who stole it (Piaimã) lives there. After several misadventures in São Paulo, Macunaíma eventually slays the giant and retrieves the amulet before he and his brothers return to their tribe. However, in an argument with his brother Jiguê, Macunaíma literally curses him, but his spell backfires as he himself becomes ill and both his brothers become a shadow-like monster that eventually bonds with the king vulture. To make matters worse, Macunaíma has previously angered the sun goddess, "Vei" when he rejects her daughters sometime before (or a little after) he retrieves his amulet, and in revenge, she tricks him into making out with a monstrous Iara who steals his amulet again and literally tears him apart. He survives, but knowing that he has no true reason to live without his amulet (and that his chance to find it again is slim at best), Macunaíma also ascends to heaven and becomes the constellation Ursa Major. For most of the rhapsody, Macunaíma is a figure of fun and, despite being described as ugly, he's a quite successful ladies' man, which is evident by the relative ease with which he dates (and makes out) with almost all women that he encounters. Macunaíma's character was based on a description found in Vom Roroima zum Orinoco by Theodor Koch-Grünberg.

Jiguê: Macunaíma's older brother, Maanape younger brother and Tapanhumas's second child. Described as loyal and hard-working, Jiguê despises his younger brother's immature and selfish nature as he makes no effort to help his family. Worse, Macunaíma frequently causes some sort of hard-time or humiliation for Jiguê himself in both direct and indirect ways, having for example, stolen Jiguê's dates and girlfriends even since he was a six-year-old child (indeed, a recurring gag in the book is that any woman who express the slightest sign of romance or attraction towards Jiguê almost invariably ends up having sex with Macunaíma, much to Jiguê's chagrin). For the most, Jiguê is loyal to his family and makes his best to help his brothers, but grows increasingly annoyed at Macunaíma's antics, and after he twice lost magical objects that Jiguê stole to help to find food, Jiguê gets mad at him and refuses to bring any food to their house. Macunaíma, in response, curses Jiguê so potently that he, his Brother Maanape and another lover of Macunaíma, jaguataci, are turned into a kind of Shadow-like demon that decides to get revenge on Macunaíma by eating anything before Macunaíma himself can, but he eventually bonds with the king vulture and becomes his fearsome shadow.

Themes

Andrade wrote the character Macunaíma to represent the idea that Brazil had no national character. Macunaíma became a symbol of Brazil's national identity. In order to make Macunaíma this symbol, Andrade strategically created the character as a conglomeration of various cultures. Additionally, within the story there is references to a variety of myths and cultures. The tale was heavily based on the Taulipang myth, Makunaima, which gave the tale its mythical structure.

Additionally, and equally central to the provocative tone and intent of the book, "character" (in Portuguese "caráter") usually means "integrity", not "personality"/"identity", so the "o heroi sem nenhum caráter" of the title could better be translated as "the totally unprincipled heroe" – which is the unyielding theme throughout all the episodes in the story. In this sense, Macunaíma is an allegory of a people whose values include traits seen as counter-values in most Western societies: cunning, trickery, unbridled sexual drive, to the point of remorseless insensitivity.

One of the story's central points is the incorporation of the three main races that make up Brazilian culture: Indigenous, Portuguese, and African. Macunaíma was born a black Indian man and then goes through a racial transformation where he becomes a white man. The confluence of Indian, Black, and White ethnicities is central to the conceptualization of Brazil.

Macunaíma's character also represents a migrant experiencing the new changes and developments occurring in society. His character and the experiences he goes through represents the theme of modernization in Brazil.