In this blog post, we will examine the formation of Brazilian cultural identity and the significance of the adoption of cannibalistic culture, focusing on Brazil’s national author, Mário de Andrade, and his masterpiece, ‘Macunaima’.
Mario de Andrade and “Macunaima”
Mario de Andrade, the “national writer” who laid the foundation for Brazilian cultural identity through his work across a wide range of fields—including poetry, music, essays, novels, criticism, folklore, photography, and education—was born in São Paulo in 1893. Born into a mixed-race family and raised in affluent circumstances, he showed a talent for the piano from an early age and demonstrated exceptional artistic ability, writing poetry and short stories as early as age ten. While studying at music and theater schools in São Paulo, he majored in music with the goal of becoming a pianist, yet continued to read literary works and write poetry. In 1917, the year he completed his music education, he published his first poetry collection, ‘There Is a Drop of Blood in Every Poem’ (‘Há uma Gota de Sangue em Cada Poema’). This collection was influenced by European modernism while also exploring Brazilian identity.
After completing his music education, he left São Paulo and traveled through Brazil’s Northeast and inland regions. For someone who had lived surrounded by white people in a major city, the lives of the Amazonian indigenous peoples and Black communities came as a great shock and a fresh source of inspiration. From this point on, he frequently traveled throughout Brazil, collecting folklore and writing about it; this knowledge and experience became a vital asset in writing ‘Macunaima’.
In 1917, after visiting an exhibition by Anita Malfatti, Mário de Andrade befriended a group of modernist artists; together, they formed the “Group of Five” and launched the modernist movement. In addition to him and Malfatti, the members of the Group of Five included Oswald de Andrade, Tarsila do Amaral, and Menotti del Picchia. Having lived in or traveled to Europe, they were deeply immersed in the modernist art that was then in vogue there and sought to spark a modernist movement in Brazil as well. Of course, they did not simply import European modernism as is; rather, they sought to develop a form of modernism rooted in Brazil’s own identity.
The members of the Oinhoe group, along with other modernists, organized “Modern Art Week (Semana de Arte Moderna)” in São Paulo from February 13 to 17, 1922, as part of the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of Brazil’s independence. The actual events took place primarily on the 13th, 15th, and 17th, featuring a series of concerts, exhibitions, poetry readings, lectures, and various performances. Mário de Andrade read his own poetry and gave lectures on modernism and Brazilian folk music. These poems, written in a free, colloquial meter, were later published in the poetry collection ‘Paulicéia Desvairada’ that same year. “Modern Art Week” unfolded amid great fanfare, sparking diverse cultural debates and charting a new course for Brazilian culture, which had previously relied on European artistic norms. Today, this event is regarded as a legendary occasion that marked the beginning of the Brazilian modernist movement.
Despite the success of “Modern Art Week,” the modernists continued to grapple with how to capture a Brazilian cultural identity. Mário de Andrade believed the answer lay in Brazilian folklore, and in 1926, he went to Araraquara, where his family’s farm was located, and began writing ‘Macunaíma’. This work was published in 1928. Meanwhile, modernists, including Oswaldo de Andrade, began to advocate “cannibalism” as an ideal concept capable of capturing Brazil’s unique cultural identity, rooted in its distinct historical and geographical circumstances. In short, anthropophagy is the idea that Brazil’s cultural identity is the result of voraciously devouring and assimilating the cultures of other regions—much like Brazil’s history, which is a blend of diverse races, languages, and cultures. In 1928, Anthropophagy gained widespread recognition when Osvaldo de Andradi founded the ‘Revista de Antropofagia’ and published the ‘Manifesto Antropófago’.
‘Macunaima’, published in the same year as the “Manifesto Antropófago,” can be considered the literary expression of that manifesto. Since Mário de Andrade was also interacting with modernist writers and contributing to ‘Revista de Antropofagia’, the concept of anthropophagy is deeply embedded in ‘Macunaima’. However, over time, the work came to be read not merely as a practice of anthropophagy but as an allegory for the birth of the Brazilian nation. In other words, it came to be regarded as “foundational fiction”—the most quintessentially Brazilian literary work that defines the nation’s identity. ‘Macunaima’ was adapted into a film in 1969 by director Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, at the height of the ‘Cinema Novo’ movement, and won several awards at festivals such as the Brasília Film Festival. The film also won the Best Picture Award at the 1970 Mar del Plata International Film Festival. Thanks to the film, the original novel also gained widespread international recognition. In recognition of his contribution to establishing the cultural foundation of Brazilian national identity, Mário de Andrade was posthumously revered as the “National Writer” and had the honor of having his portrait featured on the Brazilian cruzeiro banknote issued in 1990 and the cruzeiro real banknote issued in 1993.
“Macunaima”: An Allegory of Brazilian Identity
“Macunaima,” the masterpiece by Mário de Andrade—a leading figure in the Brazilian Modernist movement of the 1920s—is regarded not only as a masterpiece of Brazilian literature but also as a landmark work that established a milestone in Brazilian cultural identity. In the preface to the first edition of ‘Macunaima’, published in 1928, he states that the creation of this work was an attempt to explore Brazil’s national identity.
“What interested me in ‘Macunaima’ was the task of creating and discovering, as much as possible, the national life of Brazil. I devoted enormous effort to this, but in the end, I realized something that seemed true: that Brazilians have no defining characteristics.”
“Lacking distinctive traits” means they have no stereotypical characteristics and are therefore difficult to define. Thus, the protagonist of ‘Makunaíma’ is born to an Indigenous mother as a Black person but is reborn as a White person, thereby passing through all the representative racial categories that make up Brazilian society. The name Makunaíma is said to derive from Makunaíma (or Makunaimã), a figure from Caribbean indigenous mythology, and is interpreted in the Taulipang language as “the great evil” or “the great evil entity.” Ultimately, the name Makunaíma carries the contradictory meaning of “the great evil.” Just like his name’s contradictory meaning, Makunaíma is an extraordinary character who defies easy classification by the world’s standards of good and evil.
Makunaíma is a far cry from the classic heroes found in the national epic literature of many countries. Although he experiences all sorts of adventures, he is neither brave nor wise; in most cases, he is foolish and cowardly. Driven by one-dimensional impulses, he consistently acts selfishly, pursues only his sexual desires, and betrays his brothers as a matter of course. His habitual exclamation, “Ah, what a hassle (Ai, que preguiça)!” reflects his laziness and apathy.
Having been fond of women since childhood, Macunaima makes love to various women wherever he goes; though this is an exaggerated portrayal, it can be interpreted as reflecting the free-spirited Brazilian attitude toward sex. However, Macunaima shows an exceptional side when it comes to Ci, the Amazonian warrior woman who bore his child. Unable to forget Ci—who ascended to the heavens after their child died from the venom of a poisonous snake—he displays a pure devotion, desperately searching for the muirakitã she left behind.
Meanwhile, the humor and satire found throughout this work are also linked to the uniquely Brazilian optimistic temperament. Macunaima, who is lazy by nature, uses his sly wit to escape crises and solve problems. Of course, whenever Macunaima finds himself in danger, he receives help from shamans of indigenous faiths or from countless species of birds, animals, and plants—all of which symbolize Brazilian traditions and nature. In other words, Macunaima is a national hero protected by Brazilian folklore and nature.
When viewed as a national fable of Brazil, the story of the “Macunaima” brothers—who lived in the Amazon jungle and moved to the city—can be interpreted as representing modernization in Brazilian history. While crossing the Amazon River, the brothers bathe in a small pool of water; Macunaima becomes a blue-eyed, blond-haired handsome man, while his brother, who bathed in the remaining water, turns copper-colored. By the time Manapi enters, there is almost no water left, so his dark skin remains unchanged. In this way, the brothers—who end up with three different skin colors—symbolize the Brazilian people, a mix of races with diverse skin tones. They love coffee, enjoy sleeping, and love soccer. Meanwhile, Bengislau Pietro Pietra, a wealthy tycoon and man-eating giant living in São Paulo, represents the power of foreign forces that swept in with modernization. Ultimately, the narrative in which Makunaima defeats the giant and reclaims Muirakitang signifies Brazil’s symbolic victory over foreign powers.
Upon returning to their hometown, the three brothers find their village in ruins, transformed into a wasteland. Starving and struggling to survive, the brothers turn against one another, fight, and eventually fall ill and die. Makunaima’s life—marked by adventure, love, deception, hardship, and heroism—cannot last forever either; he eventually ascends to the heavens and becomes the constellation Ursa Major. Thus, Makunaima has become a presence that will forever accompany the lives of Brazilians.
Cannibalism and “Macunaima”
This novel tells the story of Macunaima, an antihero from the Tapajumas jungle, who leaves the jungle for the city, defeats a cannibal giant to reclaim an object symbolizing Brazil’s national identity, returns to his homeland, and ascends to the heavens to become a star. Since this work can be viewed as a literary portrayal of cannibalism, when Mario began writing the novel, he lamented that Oswaldo de Andrade’s “Manifesto of the Cannibals” had already been published, remarking, “It came out at the very moment I had assimilated into cannibalism.” ‘Macunaima’ was published in 1928, and Oswaldo de Andrade’s “Manifesto of the Cannibals” appeared in the inaugural issue of ‘Cannibal Magazine’ in May of the same year. Mario argued that ‘Macunaima’ was written first because he feared readers might view his work as a copy of the “Manifesto of the Cannibals.” In any case, readers would later come to regard the “Cannibal Manifesto” and “Macunaima” as a single set.
“Macunaima” already puts “cannibalism” into practice, starting with its very form. As the author himself described this work as a “rhapsody,” “Macunaima” vigorously draws upon a wide variety of myths, songs, rituals, and texts from indigenous peoples, Africa, Portugal, and Brazil. Furthermore, much of the central narrative was borrowed from the book ‘From Roraima to the Orinoco’ (‘Von Roraima zum Orinoco’), in which the German folklorist Theodor Koch-Grünberg compiled and published traditional Brazilian folktales. Koch-Grünberg traveled through Brazil between 1911 and 1913, and two of his books—which introduced the myths and legends of the Taulipang and Arekuna tribes in particular—were drawn upon in ‘Macunaima’. The name of the protagonist, Makunaima, also appeared in this book; according to Kochgrünberg, he is a hero and creator of the Taulipang people. It can be argued that Mário de Andrade “devoured” Kochgrünberg’s book—using the concept of cannibalism—to recreate ‘Macuanaima’. He describes his motivation for writing ‘Macuanaima’ as follows:
“While reading Kochgrünberg, I was overcome by a lyrical shock when I realized that Makunaima was a hero devoid of any distinctive traits—whether moral or psychological—and I decided to write this novel. I found Makunaima’s story deeply moving because I believed it was not only very special but also highly relevant to our times.”
From a linguistic perspective, this work also practices “cannibalism” by incorporating various indigenous languages and dialects commonly used among the Brazilian people into Portuguese. To write this work, Mário de Andrade gathered a vast amount of material on the languages, cultures, folklore, and music of Brazil’s indigenous peoples, and based on this, he sought to create a work that could fully encompass the hybrid nature of Brazilian culture. Furthermore, from a genre perspective, the work interweaves various types of texts—such as folktales, letters, songs, and prayers—and Mário de Andrade himself referred to his work as a “rhapsody,” emphasizing that it is an omnivorous work that belongs to no single genre.
Cannibalism serves as a key motif not only in the work’s external form but also in its narrative. The frequent episodes of cannibalism and descriptions of the human body in this work correspond remarkably well with the “grotesque body” described by the Russian critic Mikhail Bakhtin in ‘The Works of François Rabelais and the Folk Culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance’. Despite a 400-year time gap, François Rabelais’s ‘Gargantua and Pantagruel’ and Andraji’s ‘Makunaima’ share such a strong connection in their depictions of the human body and their perspectives on the world that they could almost be considered part of the same series. The medieval European Carnival literature described in “The Works of François Rabelais and Medieval and Renaissance Folk Culture” relies heavily on the expression of the “grotesque body”—that is, the “lower strata of the material body.” According to Bakhtin, in the works of François Rabelais—which can be considered paradigmatic examples of medieval Carnival literature—the most important aspect of the body is its ability to grow on its own and transcend its own limits. In this way, it breaks down the boundaries between separate bodies and transcends the limits between the body and the world.
The characters in ‘Macunaima’, who exemplify the grotesque body as described by Bakhtin, consistently eat, drink, have sex, give birth, and excrete. Rabelais’s focus—namely, the joy of endless gluttony, creative obscenity, and tireless sexual desire—implies a subversive message. Viewed in this context, the characters in ‘Makunaima’ are faithfully living out the life of the grotesque body. First, the transformation from an ugly mulatto child into a handsome white prince is a classic example of the imagination of the grotesque body. Makunaima engages in pleasurable sexual acts with every woman he meets—whether she is his sister-in-law or anyone else—and feels no guilt whatsoever about this indiscriminate sexual behavior. Scatology is also a significant image in this work; at one point, Makunaima is buried in excrement as punishment but manages to escape. Makunaima and the other characters frequently vomit and defecate.
Although it does not appear in the works of the masters of medieval European carnival literature identified by Bakhtin—such as Rabelais, Shakespeare, and Cervantes—the cannibalism that frequently appears in ‘Makunaima’ is precisely what most dramatically illustrates the cultural metaphor of the “grotesque body.” If the actions of the grotesque body are given meaning and praised as acts that “transcend its own boundaries and embrace another body,” then cannibalism—the act of consuming and absorbing another body—perfectly aligns with the significance of the grotesque body. Makunaima, wandering the forest in a state of starvation, encounters Kurupira, a cannibalistic monster of the woods, and eats a piece of his thigh meat. When Kurupira follows him to devour Makunaima, the pieces of meat inside Makunaima’s stomach cry out, asking what is happening. On one occasion, tricked by a monkey, Makunaima struck himself with a rock in an attempt to eat his own testicles, which resulted in the hero’s death. However, much like the “joyful death” of the carnival, he is brought back to life by Manapi’s magic.
Of course, the most iconic cannibalism episode in this work is the scene featuring the cannibal giant Bengislau Pietru Pietra. While his cannibalistic tendencies serve to highlight his grotesqueness, as in other cannibalism episodes in this work, cannibalism is portrayed in a comical and lighthearted manner. The giant attempts to throw Makunaima into a giant pot of macaroni but ends up falling in and drowning himself; even in his final moments, he complains, “Not enough cheese!”
Furthermore, there are many scenes in this work where sexual acts are also linked to cannibalism. For example, during his time in his hometown, when Sopara—Jige’s wife—takes the young Makunaima into the forest, Makunaima instantly transforms into a handsome prince. They engage in intense sexual acts each time; on one occasion, Sopara bites off one of Makunaima’s toes and swallows it. Thus, in ‘Makunaima’, cannibalism is depicted as a grotesque physical act involving eating, excreting, and having sex. Although cannibalism is accompanied by death, ‘Makunaima’ treats violence, limb amputation, and even death itself as subjects of humor. Makunaima either crushes his own testicles or is captured by a cannibal giant, only to be chopped up and turned into stew, but he is repeatedly brought back to life thanks to his brother Manapi, a magician. In this way, death is associated with the concept of the natural cycle of resurrection and rebirth, thereby being imbued with a pan-cosmic vitality.
Ultimately, ‘Macunaima’ not only puts into practice the “cannibalism” advocated by Brazilian modernists in terms of creative method and form, but also, in terms of content, the work’s cannibalistic motif is closely linked to the grotesque physicality of Carnival. In this regard, ‘Macunaima’ is a work that embodies the essence of carnival literature to such an extent that it could be called the 20th-century equivalent of ‘Gargantua and Pantagruel’. By crafting ‘Macunaima’ as a work that synthesizes Brazilian identity, the author ultimately asserts that Brazil’s cultural identity lies in cannibalism and “Carnivalism.”
