Jaci

Jaci
Jaci art by Bianca Duarte
Goddess of the Moon, protector of the animals, lovers, reproduction, plants, night, moonlight, offerings and maidens.
General Information
Biological sex	Female
Aliases	Yacy
Abodes	Kuarahy
Relationships
Parents	Tupã
Consorts	Guarací
Allegiance	Nhanderuvuçú
Equivalents
Egyptian equivalent	Isis
Hindu equivalent	Chandra
Roman equivalent	Diana

Jaci (of Ya-cy or Ia-cy, from the Tupi, "mother of the animals"), in the Brazilian Mythology, is the moon goddess, protector of the animals, lovers, reproduction, plants, night, moonlight, offerings and maidens. She avoided wars as she is goddess who prefers to observe before saying something.

Mythologically, Jaci is identified with Diana of the Romans, Xochiquetzal of the Aztecs, Chandra of the Hindus and Isis of the ancient Egyptians.

Appearence

She is a kind Goddess and is believed to have a fantastic beauty, having made Tupã himself fall in love with her (or Guarací, depending on the version).

Myths & Legends

Creation Myth

According to tradition, Guaraci, the sun god once got tired of his eternal job and had to sleep. When he closed his eyes the world fell into darkness. To brighten the darkness while sleeping, Tupã created Jaci, the moon, to illuminate the night and bring softness and charm to the world.

Jaci was a goddess so beautiful that when Guaraci awakened by her light, he fell in love with her. And so, enchanted, he went back to sleep so he could see her again. But when the sun opened her eyes to admire the moon, everything lit up and she went to bed, fulfilling her mission. Guaraci then asked Tupã to create Rudá, the love and its messenger. Love knew no light or darkness. It could unite them at dawn. In this version, when an eclipse happens to be solar or lunar, it is the moment in which Jaci and Guaraci are together falling in love more and more.

Family

Jaci and Tupã. Art by Bianca Duarte

Although some versions say that she is married with Guarací, the Sun God, the most famous one is that she is his twin sister and that she is the wife of the God of Thunder, Tupã. As the wife of Tupã, it is said that they were the first couple ever. In the some variations of her stories, she was even created by Guarací, because when he slept, the world was in darkness.

As Tupã created her, she is considered his daughter, but she is also considered his sister as there is a belief that Tupã said "I will not have only children, because all are my brothers, and sisters, even if they come from me". With the help of Jaci, Tupã descended to Earth in a place described as a mountain in the region of Areguá, Paraguay, and from this place created everything on the face of the Earth, including the ocean, forests, animals and the stars were placed in the sky at that time.

Jaci and Guaraci as lovers

At a "party" of the gods, the god Guaraci, who is the god of the sun and the day, fell in love with Jaci, but they can never be together, since when Jaci is in heaven, Guaraci is asleep, and so on.

Jaci as a male and as Guaraci's sibling

The Tale of Naiá

 It is said that Jaci descended from the heavens as a male at times and brought virgin maidens to become stars at his side. But there was an Indigenous girl called Naiá who fell in love with Jaci. Naiá, always "chased" the moon, going to the place where Jaci went to fetch the virgins, but she always fell asleep, unable to see Jaci, and woke up just before dawn, when she saw the moon fading away. She ran through the forest chasing the moon but never reaching it. After some time, Naiá was languishing, becoming increasingly sick, because she refused to eat or drink until she found the moon. One day, she fell asleep in the spring of a lake, and woke up at dawn, seeing the reflection of the moon. Believing the moon was bathing in the lake, she jumped in the water but soon began to drown. Upon seeing that, Jaci decided that she would be a star, not in the heavens, but in the waters. Jaci turned her into an aquatic plant whose appearance resembles a star and to this day Naiá is there, but now she does not wait for her goddess. Naiá today is a beautiful "victoria regia" the star plant, the Jaci plant.

Charía the celetial Jaguar

It is said that since the dawn of time and space, when Guaraci and Jaci still lived on Earth, even before they established themselves in the sky as the sun and moon, they lived many adventures together. One day, the two found Charía fishing in a river and decided to bother him. Guaraci dove into the river and grabbed the hook, pretending to be a hooked fish. When the jaguar reeled in, he fell backward, seeing that he had caught nothing. Guaraci repeated the gesture three times, and each time, Charía fell backward. His younger brother, Jaci, seeing this, also decided to mock the jaguar. However, when Jaci dove toward the hook, Charía hooked him and killed him with a wooden stick, taking him home as if he were a fish, to cook with his wife. While they were cooking, Guaraci arrived and was invited to eat. He thanked them, saying he would only accept some corn broth, but asked them not to throw away the bones of the "fish," as he wanted to take them with him. Later, far away, Guaraci, using his own divinity, resurrects his brother.

The Eclipse

In the Tupi-Guarani mentality, a lunar eclipse would therefore be the god Jaci being completely devoured by Charía, with the reddish color of the lunar eclipse representing Jaci's blood, which conceals it. The phases of the moon would therefore be the process of tearing caused by Charía's devouring. However, after Guaraci resurrects his brother, the moon returns in its entirety as a full moon.

Devoured by the Jaguar

A Tupinambá myth says that the moon is threatened to be eaten by the jaguar, the planet Mars, blood red.

Jaci. Art by Bianca Duarte

"But we who are strong do not fear. So we continue to kill and eat enemies. As long as the jaguar does not eat the moon. " fragment from the myth of the Jaguar devouring the moon, non-official translation from portuguese.

Influence in the water

Because of the lunar influence in the water, she is considered at some extension the goddess of the waters. Not only because of Naiá's story, but also because some versions say that she was responsible for the rebirth of Iara. For when Iara died and her body was thrown on the river, Jaci was responsible for bringing the fierce and beautiful indian warrior back to life as a mermaid and also as a goddess. Some versions also say that she is also Iara's sister.

The Legend of The Muiraquitã

According to legend, the Icamiabas lived isolated from men and were known for their bravery and combat skills.

Every year, they held a grand ceremony in honor of the Moon goddess, called the "Jabutí Festival."

During this ceremony, the Icamiabas dove into the sacred river (Nhamundá River also known as Mirror of the Moon) at midnight to retrieve green clay from the depths of the water.

From this clay, they molded the Muiraquitãs (a frog shaped amulet), which were then offered to the men as gifts during a brief period of coexistence. In other versions is the Goddess herself who give the Muiraquitãs to the Amazons warriors after they bathe in the moon river during the festival. The Muiraquitã amulet was considered to be sacred, today is a good luck charm.

Family Tree

Deity Genealogy in Tupi-Guarani Mythology

Nhanderuvuçú                                           Pindarô                                                                                             Tupã   Guaraci   Jaci   Iara   Pirarucu                                                                                                                                     Rupavé   Sypavé               Ceuci                                                                                                 Jurupari                                       Tumé Arandú   Porâsý   Marangatu   Japeusá                                                                                                                         Kerana   Tau         Angatupry                                                                                                                           Tejú Jaguá   Mboi Tu'i   Moñai   Jaci Jaterê   Kurupi   Ao Ao   Luison

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