A carranca (

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 ...

, literally "

scowl A frown (also known as a scowl) is a facial expression in which the eyebrows are brought together, and the forehead is wrinkled, usually indicating displeasure, sadness or worry, or less often confusion or concentration. The appearance of a fro ...

" with another definition as "figurehead"; ) is a type of

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

attached to river craft which is attributed with power to protect the boatmen from the river's evil spirits. The culture in Brazil incorporated elements of the indigenous culture, so that the idea of river spirits and forest spirits can help or hinder a crossing is also natural of the Amerindian imaginary. They were once commonly found on the lower Rio São Francisco in Brazil's Northeast Region (''Nordeste''). The carranca is most commonly a figure of a human or an animal. They were used to identify traders operating on the São Francisco and, as with ancient figureheads, serve the superstitious as guardians on the river. Today most authentic carrancas and early folk art revivals are only found in museums with some being subject of a Rio exhibition in 2002
Four historic examples
are featured on the front of the home of

Roberto Burle Marx Roberto Burle Marx (August 4, 1909 – June 4, 1994) was a Brazilian landscape architect (as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist and musician) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is accredited ...

, now the National Monument, Sítio Roberto Burle Marx

Modern, more stylized versions are sometimes seen as decorations in restaurants or homes and commonly seen in tourist shops of the states 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-larges ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the ...

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. ...

and

Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...

where the historic use was found on the lower Rio São Francisco. These range from key chain figures up to very large ones a meter or more in height and made from large tree trunks. Many, if not most of those are in the carranca-vampiro style rather than the classic boat figurehead styles of the past. The difference may be seen by comparing th
photos of classic styles
compared to the tourist versions pictured on this page. Classic figurehead versions, dating from the early 19th or even late 18th centuries, were painted, frequently chalk white with black hair, gaping red mouths and white fangs. The most common tourist versions follow similar schemes. A more modern, decorative unpainted version is often in natural wood and even polished. While most of the modern tourist versions are produced quickly in quantity using one of several patterns a few are made by more artistic wood workers and show unique design or interpretations of "functional" carrancas from history. A very few of these are "museum quality" folk art displayed in folk art museums of Brazil.

References

External links

Carrancas de Mestre Guarani e outros
* ttp://www.overmundo.com.br/overblog/carrancas-a-cara-do-sao-francisco Carrancas: A Cara do São Franciscobr>Pictorial page showing folk art obtained by "secretaria de cultura da prefeitura de petrolina" (Secretariat of culture for prefecture of Petrolina) that includes modern carrancas in more traditional and artistic styles.
{{Superstitions Brazilian sculpture Objects believed to protect from evil Superstitions of the Americas Brazilian folklore Brazilian mythology

See also

References

External links