Saga
In the ancient Guaraní land, in the region the wise called the Land Without Evil,
3/7A name of uncertain origin
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Where it livesCerro Kavaju, Atyrá
Variant Colmán places one of his caves there.
HabitatFields and trees
How it movesHe slides through the trees
Fear
Cunning
Speed
Scores made up by this saga, for fun.
- Domain
- Lord of fields, air and birds, protector of theft and mischief
- When
- No set hour
- Watch out
- He hypnotizes birds and steals from villages
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The mini tale
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Saga
Moñái was born of fear and night.
Tradition
He was the third child of Taú and Keraná, the dark couple who gave rise to the seven monsters.
Tradition
He was lord of the air and the fields.
Variant
His body, short and thick as a trunk, ended in two straight horns that shone like antennae.
Variant
With them he hypnotized birds and prey, and slid through the trees to hunt them.
Tradition
But he was also the craftiest. He stole everything he found in the villages and hid his loot in a cave,
Tradition
sowing discord among the people.
Tradition
Until Porãsy, a brave young woman, decided to face him.
Tradition
She pretended to fall in love, asked to meet all his brothers and gathered them in the cave.
Tradition
During the false ceremony, Moñái and the others got drunk.
Tradition
But when Porãsy tried to escape, he caught her with his serpent body and threw her into the dark.
Tradition
Wounded, she gave the signal.
Tradition
The cave was wrapped in fire, and the echo of Moñái and his brothers was lost forever among the flames.
Saga
So ended his misdeeds, though their names still travel the ancient Guaraní land.
Saga
The children of Taú and Keraná did not vanish: they became tales, stories still told by word of mouth.
The end (Opá)
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What is tradition and what is art?
- Tradition
He is the third child, lord of fields, air and birds, and protector of theft.1
- Tradition
Porãsy, sister of Tumê Arandú, pretended to love Moñái and gathered the seven. The brothers got drunk on chicha and the cave was sealed and burned.1
- Tradition
In Colmán, Porãsy dies in the fire and her spirit rises like a firefly to become the morning star, Mbyja Ko'e. This saga ends earlier, with the signal and the fire.1
- Variant
The antenna-like horns and short body come from popular descriptions. Colmán does not describe his body.231
- Variant
Colmán places one cave at Cerro Kavaju in Atyrá and the site of the fire, Moñái Kuare, in Yaguarón.14
- Saga
Setting this story in the Land Without Evil is a license of this saga.5
Sources for this myth
- Narciso R. Colmán (Rosicrán), Ñande Ypy Kuéra / Nuestros antepasados (1929, versión castellana 1937). Texto en Portal Guaraní
- Wikipedia, «Moñái»
- Municipalidad de Yaguarón, «Mitos del Paraguay»
- Última Hora, «Yaguarón: la ciudad de los mitos, el arte y la religiosidad popular»
- Izabela Leal, «Perspectivas sobre a Terra sem Mal na poesia contemporânea», Alea, 2021
