Once upon a
time, in an area of Brazil now known as Belem, a local Indian tribe was
devastated by famine. While the food diminished, the tribe continued to grow.
To save his people, the Indian Chief decreed that going forward any children
born would be killed, as there was not enough food to feed them. Soon
thereafter, the Chief’s daughter, Iaça, gave birth to a beautiful girl.
Unfortunately, not even his granddaughter could escape the Chief’s somber
decree.
Iaça cried
for months, grieving the loss of her beautiful daughter. One night, as she
walked in mourning under a full moon, Iaça heard the cry of a child. She
hurried towards the sound and came upon a tall, slender palm tree. At the top
of the tree, Iaça could see clusters of dark fruit and at the bottom of the tree,
she saw her daughter waiting for her with open arms. Iaça ran toward the
vision, but as she reached out to embrace her child, she was overcome with joy
and died happily beneath the tree.
The next
day, the Chief found his daughter under the tree. She had a smile across her
face and she was looking up to the sky. He followed her gaze up the tree and
saw the dark, purple fruit. The Chief immediately ordered these fruits to be
harvested by his people, who soon discovered that a juice could be extracted
from the berries that would satisfy the hunger of the whole tribe. The Chief’s
decree was lifted, and out of gratitude to Iaça, from that day on, the fruit of
the palm tree that saved the tribe was known as Açaí (Iaça backwards).
