Manticore vs Saci (Brazilian folklore)

The manticore or mantichore (Early Middle Persian: merthykhuwar; Persian: مردخوار‎ mardykhor) is a Persian legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx that proliferated in western European medieval art as well. It has the head of a human, the body of a lion and a tail of venomous spines similar to porcupine quills, while other depictions have it with the tail of a scorpion. There are some accounts that the spines can be shot like arrows, thus making the manticore a lethal predator. It devours its prey whole, using its triple rows of teeth, leaving no traces of its victims (including bones) behind. Some sources identify the manticore with the mantyger, while others regard the mantyger as a quite different creature.

See statistics

Saci (pronounced [saˈsi] or [sɐˈsi]) is a character in Brazilian folklore. He is a one-legged black or mulatto youngster, who smokes a pipe and wears a magical red cap that enables him to disappear and reappear wherever he wishes (usually in the middle of a dust devil). Considered an annoying prankster in most parts of Brazil, and a potentially dangerous and malicious creature in others, he nevertheless grants wishes to anyone who manages to trap him or steal his magic cap. However, his cap is often depicted as having a bad smell. Most people who claimed to have stolen this cap say they can never wash the smell away. The legend says that a person can trap a Saci inside a bottle when he is in the form of a dust devil. There are several variants of the myth, including: Saci-pererê (pronounced [sɐˈsi pe̞ɾeˈɾe]), black as coal; Saci-trique (pronounced [sɐˈsi ˈtɾikɪ]), mulatto and more benign; Saci-saçurá (pronounced [sɐˈsi sɐsuˈɾa]), with red eyes. Saci-pererê is also the name of a Brazilian cocktail consisting of 60 millilitres (2.1 imp fl oz; 2.0 US fl oz) of cachaça and 45 millilitres (1.6 imp fl oz; 1.5 US fl oz) of honey, which is a home remedy said to be useful in treating the common cold.

See statistics