The Pipe in Modern Mythology

Country Squire Radio

What is the pipe's role in modern mythology? Have we lost the narrative entirely? And what responsibility does the modern pipe community have in telling our own stories? Get ready from some major soapboxing this episode.

Pipe Question:

• Jeremy Dukes - pipe cleaners. They come in “soft’n’fluffy” and “hard’n’bristly”. I’ve always tended towards the hard cleaners because I refurbished so many pipes and used those bristles to really get the gunk out, but some swear soft is the only way to avoid damaging the stem. What are the two different cleaners intended to be used for? Is it preference or do they actually have separate functions?

Listener Feedback:

• Hi Beau and Master Jon David, Gerson here. I am writing you guys to share with you and all Country Squire Radio community a bit of a special Brazilian folklore character deeply connected with pipe and pipe smoking called Saci Pererê. The Saci Pererê is considered one of the main characters in Brazilian folklore. Of course, there are many versions of his lore, but he is commonly depicted as a young one-legged black kid who wears a red hat and is always smoking his pipe. There are a few stories to explain how he lost his leg, but the most common one is that he lost it fighting capoeira (a Brazilian type of martial art with African roots) or had it chopped off by slavers when he was enslaved himself. It is believed that Saci moves around as a wind swirl and there are ‘techniques’ to capture and imprison him in glass bottles. He likes to play tricks (usually harmless) on people wherever he goes, such as topping people’s hats, spoiling food, and scaring horses. It is believed that he lives up to 77 years of age and then he is transformed into a poisonous mushroom. There are other versions of this mystical being in other South American countries, such as Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. However, in Brazil, his lore originated in the southern region during the 18th century among the indigenous people know as the Guarani but throughout time, it incorporated European and African influences. But let us get to the point. As I mentioned, Saci Pererê is always depicted smoking his pipe. Of course, there is no way of knowing what he smoked in it, but I guess it was some type of cured twisted tobacco (or “rope tobacco” as we call it here in Brazil), very common among pipe smokers of the past who lived in small towns, villages and farms on the Brazilian countryside. Symbolically, the smoke represents the connection between physical and the spiritual worlds, as it does in many African-based religious ceremonies. The smoking element originates from its indigenous roots but is also influenced by the African culture. Some versions of Saci depict him as having a through-and-through hole in his hand which has the purpose, among other things, of facilitating the emptying of his bowl by knocking the pipe on his hand. Some say the hole is where he keeps the cinder used to light his pipe. I included below a few illustrations o this amazing Brazilian folklore character. - Gerson Fernandino de A. Neto

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