Maracanã

Nickname of the city of Rio de Janeiro's iconic stadium, Maracanã is one of the best-known words in Brazil and abroad. Belgrade's main stadium, in Serbia, is known as Marakana. There is also a stadium with that name in Panama. Brazilians and football fans around the world know what happened on that field in 1950, as do Germans, who celebrated at the Maracanã in 2014 when, once again, they became world champions. It is Rio locals' second home, with crowds gathering there every Sunday. However, incredible as it may seem, few know the origin and meaning of the stadium's nickname.

Some may — correctly — object to the name of the river that flows silently in front of the building, in the open air, but what would be the meaning of this name in Tupi and why did it prevail in this area? Cariocas grow up, attend, and cheer at the games in their coliseum, but haven't they wondered what this name means?

Image description: This is a photograph of an urban drainage canal. On the left, we see trees with vibrant green foliage, casting shadows over the canal. On the right, there is a series of concrete pillars forming the canal's barrier. In the background, we see parked cars and a few people walking. The canal is filled with water, reflecting the sunlight.

Maracanã is the name of a bird. The most representative of an entire land, and one that in the 1500s was as numerous as pigeons are today. Every adventurer who came to the Brazilian coast or to Guanabara made sure to take a maracanã with him. The indigenous people gave them away freely, unconcerned, because there were many, countless. Maracanã is a type of parrot. The “ajurus” are endemic to the entire Southeast region, with many of them raised by the Tupi as pets. Preferred especially by women, they were taught to “talk,” answer questions, and obey commands.

Image description: The image is an illustration of a parrot, likely in an engraving style. The parrot is perched on a wooden branch. From left to right, we see the parrot's body, which is predominantly green with blue and yellow details on the wings and tail. The parrot's face features blue tones and yellow eyes. The wooden branch is light-colored and positioned at the center of the image. At the top of the image, there is black text on a white background, but the details cannot be fully read. In the background, the paper is beige in color.

The Frenchman Jean de Léry met, in 1558, a Tupinambá woman who walked around with her "ajuru" on her shoulder and who enchanted Europeans with the tricks of her pet parrot. He wrote that it was the "greatest marvel" to observe the bird, which "understood what its owner said to it." In exchange for a comb or a gift, she would have it jump, dance, talk, and even sing. Asked how much she would want in exchange for that parrot, she replied that only for a large cannon, since it was very beloved. It was Léry who recorded the earliest mention of the word "maracanã," having stated that there existed a species of parrot in Guanabara as abundant as pigeons: "The second species of parrots is that of the ones called marganaz," which were as numerous "as pigeons in France". For this reason, maracanãs were traded with the Europeans, who "commonly bring it back here (to Europe) as travelers."

Image description: The image is a black-and-white engraving. At the top, it reads "DE L'AMERIQUE". The scene shows three human figures. At the top, a man is holding a long, curved object, while below him, two women are seated, appearing to be talking or reading something together.

It is precisely from this bird's vocal characteristic that the meaning of the word "maracanã" comes ("maraká" + "nã"). The maracá rattle is the main invocation instrument in religious ceremonies, dances, and rituals; and the suffix "nã" was the way they said something was "similar to, alike, the same as." In other words, the maracanã parakeet was so named because it was able to reproduce the sound of the maracás' rattling and because it was noisy when in a flock.

Maracanã pays tribute to the Tupi indigenous culture of Rio de Janeiro, reminding us of local fauna through the most common parrot of our ecosystem, as well as one of the main objects of Tupi mystical worship. The maracá — which represented the link with the afterlife and whose best players were respected by the indigenous people — was essential to the festivities, celebrations, and spectacles of the most ancient Guanabara.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white engraving. It shows two human figures in a natural setting. On the left side, there is a parrot perched on a horizontal bar. In the center, a man stands, holding a cylindrical object in one hand and resting his other hand on a pedestal. He is wearing loose trousers and a hat adorned with feathers. Beside him, a monkey sits on the ground. At the top of the image are the number "246" and the word "HISTOIRE."

However, it is possible to infer that the name of the river baptized as "Maracanã" should have been different, since it does not have the particle "y", which characterizes river names in Tupi, as in Piraí or Andaraí. It is likely that the name of this river was incorporated during colonial times, when contact between colonizers and indigenous peoples was frequent.

Now vanished from Rio's urban environment, but so common in the 1500s and 1600s, the maracanãs were a daily sight in the skies of what is now Tijuca, just like the macaws and other bird species. Parrots have a habit of nesting in tall trees, in the palm trees of the mountains. During the day, they would head to the river lowlands in search of water, seeds, and fruit.

The most plausible hypothesis for this Tijuca river having received such a name is due to, on the other floodplain, the current stadium being located – a place of shoals and swamps where, at a short distance, maracanãs could also be spotted, sought after for capture and trade. Thus, the river came to be known by residents as the place where the maracanãs were found; over time, the name was incorporated as the Rio "dos Maracanãs." As for the parakeet, unfortunately, no one sees or remembers it anymore.