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''Iracema'' (in Portuguese: ''Iracema - A Lenda do Ceará'') is one of the three indigenous novels by José de Alencar. It was first published in 1865. The novel has been adapted into several films.


Plot introduction

The story revolves around the relationship between the Tabajara indigenous woman Iracema and the Portuguese
colonist A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...
Martim, who was allied with the Tabajara nation's enemies, the
Pitiguaras The Potiguara (also Potyguara or Pitiguara) are an indigenous people of Brazil. The Potiguara people live in Paraíba, in the municipalities of Marcação, Baía da Traição and Rio Tinto. Their population numbers sixteen thousand individual ...
. Through the novel, Alencar tries to remake the history of the Brazilian colonial state of Ceará, with Moacir, the son of Iracema and Martim, as the first true
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 ...
ian in Ceará. This pure Brazilian is born from the love of the natural, innocence (Iracema), culture and knowledge (Martim), and also represents the mixture ( miscegenation) of the native race with the European race to produce a new caboclo race.


Explanation of the novel's title

''Iracema'' is
Guarani language Guaraní (), specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guarani ( "the people's language"), is a South American language that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani family of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of ...
for ''honey-lips'', from ''ira'' - honey, and ''tembe'' - lips. ''Tembe'' changed to ''ceme'', as in the word ''ceme iba'', according to the author. "Iracema" is also an anagram of "America", noted by critics as befitting the allegorization of colonization of America, the novel's main theme.


Characters in Iracema

*Andira: Araquém's brother. Old warrior and hero of his people. *Araquém: Iracema's father. Spiritual leader of the Tabajara's nation. *Batuireté: Poti's grandfather *Caubi: Iracema's brother *Iracema: Araquém's daughter. She is the beautiful Tabajara woman with ''honey-lips'' and dark hair. *Irapuã: The warrior leader of the Tabajara nation. *Jacaúna: Poti's brother. *Jatobá: Poti's father. He is an important veteran warrior of the Pitiguara's nation. *Martim: Portuguese colonist. Named in honor of
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
, the Roman god of war. *Moacir: The child of Martim and Iracema. *Poti: Martim's friend and the Pitiguara warrior who is brother of the Pitiguara leader.


Iracema and the Indianist novels

''Iracema'', along with the novels '' O Guarani'' and '' Ubirajara'', portrays one of the stages of the formation of the Brazilian ethnic and cultural heritage. Iracema symbolizes the initial meeting between the white man (Europeans) and the natives. "Moacir" means "Son of Pain", which is related to his birth, alone with his mother, who was abandoned by Martim for some time when he had to go and help the Potiguaras in a tribal war against the Tabajaras.


Awards and nominations

*There is a Brazilian stamp in honor of ''Iracemas centennial (1865/1965) and its author. *There is a Brazilian painting by
Antônio Parreiras Antônio Diogo da Silva Parreiras (20 January 1860, Niterói – 17 October 1937, Niterói) was a Brazilian painter, designer and illustrator. Biography He was one of nine children and his father was a goldsmith. In 1882, he enrolled at the Aca ...
. *''Iracema'' is cited in ''Manifesto Antropófago'' ('' Cannibal Manifesto''), which is published in 1928 by
Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born, spent most of his life and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism and a m ...


Adaptations

The novel was adapted in 1917 as a Brazilian silent film directed by Vittorio Capellaro and starring Iracema de Alencar, and in 1949 as a Brazilian film directed by Vittorio Cardineli and Gino Talamo, starring Ilka Soares. In 1956, Adoniran Barbosa composed the popular samba song "Iracema". The 1975 film '' Iracema: Uma Transa Amazônica'' directed by Jorge Bodansky and Orlando Senna, which was screened at the International Critics' Week of the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.


Statues

At Fortaleza, Beira Mar, it has two Statues, representing the Figure, one at Coordinates 3°43'22.99"S, 38°29'3.60"W, the other at Iracema Beach at Coordinates 3°43'14.04"S, 38°30'34.43"W. This second, made by Zenon Barreto (1918-2002) was idealized in 1960, for 100th Anniversary years of writer, constructed in 1996, commemorative Iracema Beach Development, and destroyed on 3 May 2022, felt down by unknown reasons, probably due fatigue of Steel Structure inside the
Fiberglass Fiberglass ( American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...
, painted outside in
Ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
, windy hit frequency vibration stress corrosion internal
resonance Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscil ...
and
weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs '' in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement ...
sea air.


References

*Alencar, José de. ''Iracema'' (1865) Rio de Janeiro: B. L. Garnier. (in Portuguese) *Alencar, José de. ''Iracema, the honey lips: a legend of Brasil'' (1886) translated by Lady Isabel Burton. London: Bickers & Son. *Alencar, José de. ''Iracema'' (2000) translated by Clifford Landers. New York: Oxford University Press. *Burns, E. Bradford. ''A Working Bibliography for the Study of Brazilian History'' ''The Americas'', Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jul., 1965), pp. 54–88


External links


Academia Brasileira de Letras

Brazilian literature


(translated by Richard F. and Isabel Burton.) * {{Authority control 1865 novels Novels by José de Alencar Portuguese-language novels Fictional indigenous people of the Americas Fictional Brazilian people Novels set in Brazil Ceará bpy:ইরাসেমা war:Iracema