Catarina Álvares Paraguaçu,According to Catarina's baptism certificate, her original name was Guaibimpará, and not Paraguaçu. also known as Catarina do Brasil (baptized June 1528 – 1586), was a Brazilian Tupinambá

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

. She was born in what is today the state of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

(dates unknown) and was married to

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

sailor Diogo Álvares Correia, also known as "Caramuru". She and Caramuru became the first Brazilian Christian family. Her father, the cacique of the Tupinambás, offered her as a wife to Correia, since he was a prominent figure to the Indians. Correia travelled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1526, taking his wife with him, and in 1528, in

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

, Catarina was baptized, receiving the name Catarina do Brasil (french: Catherine du Brésil; en, Catherine of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Death and legacy

Paraguaçu died in 1586, and, as per her last will and testament, her possessions were all donated to the

Benedictine monks , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

. She is buried at the Church of Our Lady of Grace (''Igreja da Graça''), in Salvador,

Dreams

A legend says that Catarina dreamed constantly about castaways dying of cold and hunger. In one of those dreams, she saw a woman carrying a baby in her arms. Trusting in the mystic qualities of her dreams, Caramuru told the people to search everywhere around the shores. Many castaways were found, but no woman among them. Days later, Catarina dreamed again with the same woman, who told her to build a house for her in her village. Soon after, a statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

carrying

Child Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

was found. The statue can now be found at the altar of the Igreja da Graça.

In popular culture

* Paraguaçu appears in

Santa Rita Durão José de Santa Rita Durão (1722–1784), known simply as Santa Rita Durão, was a Colonial Brazilian Neoclassic poet, orator and Augustinian friar. He is considered a forerunner of " Indianism" in Brazilian literature, with his epic poem ''Car ...

's 1781

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

Caramuru Caramuru (-1557) was the Tupi name of the Portuguese colonist Diogo Álvares Correia, who is notable for being the first European to establish contact with the native Tupinambá population in modern-day Brazil and was instrumental in the early c ...

'', based on Diogo Correia's life. She is depicted as a seer, able to foresee the Dutch invasions of Brazil. * Paraguaçu was portrayed by

Camila Pitanga Camila Manhães Sampaio (born 14 June 1977), known professionally as Camila Pitanga, is a Brazilian actress and former model. She is internationally renowned for her roles in film and television. In film, she is known for her roles in ''Quilombo ...

in the 2001 film '' Caramuru: A Invenção do Brasil'', a loose, comedic adaptation of Durão's poem.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paraguacu, Catarina Date of birth unknown Year of birth unknown 1586 deaths 16th-century Brazilian people People from Bahia Brazilian Roman Catholics Brazilian people of indigenous peoples descent Indigenous people of Eastern Brazil 16th-century indigenous people of the Americas Tupí people Visions of Jesus and Mary Indigenous women