Papa-Figo

spirit · Brazil · South America

Papa-Figo (Papão) is a Brazilian bogeyman: a liver-eating demon that possesses those who eat pork, especially on Fridays or during Lent. Used to frighten children into obedience. Syncretic: African (Quimbanda) pork taboos merged with European 'bogeyman' and Catholic dietary rules. 'Figo' may derive from 'fig' (slang for liver) or be a corruption of 'Papão.'

Open in the interactive archive →