It is a Monster with fire eyes, enormous, of day he is almost blind, at night it sees everything. It says the legend that the Boitatá was a species of snake andwas the only survivor of a great dilúvio that covered the land. To escape it entered in a hole and there he was in the dark one, thus, its eyes had grown.
Since then it walks for the fields in search of remaining portions of animals. Some times, assume the form of a snake with the flaming eyes of the size of its head and pursue the nocturnal travellers. To the times it is seen as fire a sparkling torch running of a side for another one of the bush. North-eastern Brazil he is called “Cumadre Fulôzinha”. For the indians it is “Mbaê-Tata”, or Fire Thing, and deferred payment in the deep one of the rivers.
They say despite it is the spirit of bad people or punished souls, and for where passes, it goes touching fire in the fields. Others say that it protects the bushes against fires.
Science says that a called phenomenon Fire exists, that is the inflammable gases that emanate of the quagmires, sepultures and carcasses of great died animals, and that seen of far they seem great torches in movement.
Common names: In the South; Baitatá, Potato, Bitatá (São Paulo). North-eastern; Batatão and Biatatá (Bahia). Between the indians; Mbaê-Tata.
Probable origin: It is of Aboriginal origin. In 1560, the Anchieta Priest already told the presence of this myth. He said that he enters the indians was the most frightful assombração. Already the African blacks, had also brought the myth of a being that inhabited deep waters, and that it left the night to hunt, its name was Biatatá.
It is a myth that suffers to great modifications in agreement the region. In some regions for example, it is a species of protective genius of the forests against the forest fires. Already in others, it is .causing of fires in the bush. The version of the dilúvio had origin in the Rio Grande the South.
A version counts that its eyes had grown for better if adapting to the blackout of the cave where the dilúvio was imprisoned after, another version, counts that it, looks remaining portions of dead animals and eats only its eyes, absorbing the light and the volume of the same ones, reason for which has the so great and incandescent eyes.