A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A hunter lost in the forest takes shelter inside a large hollow tree. At dawn a giant serpent orders him to move, but he says he has nowhere to go. The serpent then releases a smell so powerful that the man’s hair falls out. When he hears Uacauan calling, he addresses the bird as his grandfather. The serpent asks whether that bird is indeed his grandfather, then lets him go on the condition that he will not reveal its location.
The hunter goes straight to Uacauan and reports a large tarayra there. This fish-name is the hunter’s description in his speech; the narration identifies the adversary as the giant serpent. Uacauan follows him, they cut wood and roast the serpent, and the bird takes the man back to his own country. The tale does not report a human transformation for the bird or establish actual biological descent from either of the beings whom the hunter calls grandfather.
Rodrigues’s footnote identifies Uacauan as a snake-eating bird and treats its cry as an omen in the communities he discusses. He also quotes his earlier Rio Yamundá report concerning an associated illness-name and a plant said to be sought by an injured bird. Those are the collector’s separate natural-history and belief reports; they are not actions performed in the rescue episode or medical evidence.
Origins & earliest records
Rodrigues1890, animal tale XIV, Uacauan, labelled Rio Solimões,pp.187–189;190blank. No individual narrator is named.
Records & interpretation
Complete187–189 visually inspected, including interlinear Portuguese glosses, full separate Portuguese narrative and the long188 footnote. Address as grandfather is not converted into a genealogical claim.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Poranduba amazonense, ou Kochiyma-uara porandub
Complete XIV Uacauan (Rio Solimões),187–189, including188 editorial footnote and complete189 Portuguese rendering.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textUFPE: Barbosa Rodrigues1890 original scanResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
