erva

I’m Erva, I live in Brazil and I was born in Belém - PA, but I’ve lived in São Paulo - SP since I was 1 year old. Even so, I’ve always traveled to my hometown, which is in the north of Brazil, a place very rich in Indigenous culture, full of legends (which I personally believe in wholeheartedly).

So today, I’m going to tell you one of my favorite legends, called Vitória-Régia. It explains the origin of the aquatic plant Vitória-Régia, which is a symbol of the Amazon.

Many years ago, in an Indigenous village, people used to say that Jaci (the Moon) was a goddess who, when she rose at night, kissed and filled with light the faces of the most beautiful maidens of the tribe, called cunhantãs.

Whenever she hid behind the mountains, she took with her the girls she liked the most and turned them into stars.

A beautiful young maiden, the warrior Naiá, dreamed about this encounter and couldn’t wait for the great day when she would be chosen by Jaci.

The elders of the tribe warned Naiá: after meeting the seductive goddess, the maidens would lose their blood and flesh, becoming pure light, stars in the sky.

But who could stop her? Naiá deeply wanted to be taken by the Moon.

At night, she wandered through the mountains following her, but could never reach her.

Every night was the same, and the young girl, tirelessly dreaming, became obsessed with this union (without eating or drinking anything), and there was no shaman who could convince her otherwise.

One day, after stopping to rest by the edge of a lake, she saw on its surface the image of her beloved goddess: the Moon reflected in the water.

Enchanted by her dream, she threw herself into the lake and drowned.

The Moon, moved by compassion, decided to reward Naiá’s sacrifice and turned her into a star different from all the others in the sky, transforming her into a “star of the waters”, unique and perfect: the Vitória-Régia.

And so, was born the plant whose white, fragrant flowers open only at night and, at sunrise, turn pink.