General Question 1:

Various Brazilian myths and practices help to instil a sense of respect for and protection of nature. Curupira, for example, appears as a small figure with flaming hair and backward‑turned feet who acts as the forest’s guardian, punishing loggers and hunters who exploit it by causing them to become lost. Another figure, Caipora, protects small game and punishes those who ignore sustainable hunting rules, such as hunting pregnant females or hunting on forbidden days; these stories function as taboos enforcing sustainable hunting. Boitatá, a fiery serpent, frightens those who cause wildfires and symbolises the defence of fields and forests against burning. In the Amazon, legends about the river dolphin (boto) say that killing or eating the animal brings bad luck; it is seen as the guardian of manatees and thus discourages the capture of aquatic mammals.
Indigenous worldviews reinforce these values. Peoples such as the Yanomami view the forest as a living being and maintain a reciprocal relationship with it. Yanomami leader Davi Kopenawa explains that trees hold up the sky; cutting them down would cause the sky to fall and humanity to perish. These communities hold knowledge of sustainable management passed down through generations and resist mining and deforestation on their lands.
In Afro‑Brazilian religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda, nature is sacred; plants and leaves house the orixás. The saying “without leaves there is no orixá” shows the importance of vegetation. Priests lead reforestation, replant what they harvest and promote environmental education. Among quilombolas and other traditional communities, nature is part of identity and survival; community fields, artisanal fishing and forest management preserve biodiversity, and the concept of bem viver guides a harmonious relationship with the environment. Extractive reserves, created by rubber tappers, are another example of communal management; they protect forests, ensure livelihoods and reduce destruction. On the coast, the jangadas used for artisanal fishing reveal the communities’ link to the sea; this way of sailing respects winds and tides and is passed down through generations.
These beliefs and ways of life are also reflected in physical expressions and sports. Capoeira Angola, created in forested quilombos, combines fighting, dance and music; environmental education projects integrate capoeira with agroecology classes, awakening environmental awareness among children and young people. On the coast of Santa Catarina, the community of Guarda do Embaú obtained the status of World Surfing Reserve; the combination of world‑class waves and preserved landscape has created a surf community oriented toward conservation that uses the sport to promote coastal activism. In 2024 a municipality in Espírito Santo legally recognised a wave as a subject of rights, granting it the right to exist, regenerate and retain the natural flow of the river feeding it; this initiative, aligned with the rights‑of‑nature movement, strengthens estuary protection. Even Catholic celebrations, such as Saint Francis of Assis’s feast with blessings of animals, reinforce compassion for living beings and encourage care for fauna. Thus myths, religious practices, communal ways of life and sports show that, in Brazil, protecting nature is not just an ecological necessity but a core element of cultural and spiritual identity.