Açai legend and myths.

​

​

The legend of the Acai berry.  Legend has it that a long time ago, when the city of Belém did not exist, a very large indigenous tribe lived in this place.  As food was scarce, it was very difficult to get food for all the Indians in the tribe.  So Chief Itaki made a very cruel decision.  He decided that from that day forward all the newborn children would be sacrificed to prevent the population of his tribe from increasing.  Until one day the chief's daughter, called laçã, gave birth to a beautiful girl, who also had to be sacrificed.  laçã was desperate, she cried every night, missing her little girl.  She stayed for several days locked in her tent and asked Tupã to show her father another way to help her people, without the sacrifice of children.  On a moonlit night, laçã heard a child's cry.  She approached the door of her hut and saw her beautiful little girl smiling at the foot of a palm tree.  She initially stood still, but soon after, launched herself towards her daughter, hugging her.  However mysteriously her daughter disappeared.  laçã, inconsolable, cried a lot until she fainted.  The next day her body was found hugging the trunk of the palm tree, but on her face she still had a happy smile and her black eyes stared at the top of the palm tree, which was laden with small dark berries.  Itaki then ordered them to pick the berries, from which a reddish juice was obtained, which he named AÇAÍ, in honour of his daughter (inverted laçã).  She fed her people and, from that day, suspended the order for the sacrifice of the children.