Tatuapé, Sapopemba, Anhangabaú, Aricanduva, Cambuci… São Paulo is full of neighborhoods and districts named after words of indigenous origin. This is also true of Moema, whose name refers to a character in the classic poem “Caramuru”, written in 1781 by Santa Rita Durão.
About the work ‘Moema’
In the poem, Moema is an indigenous Tupinambá woman who lives in a village in what is now Bahia, close to the time when the first Portuguese arrived in Brazil. The character is always accompanied by her sister, Paraguaçu.
One day, the two meet a Portuguese man called Diogo Álvares Correia, whom they nickname Caramuru. The young man falls in love and marries Paraguaçu, while also having sex with his sister-in-law.
Moema ends up falling in love with her sister’s husband, and they end up living in a love triangle for years. However, after much trading in brazilwood, Diogo and Paraguaçu decide to move to France.
Seeing the ship leave with her sister and the love of her life, Moema and other indigenous women try to follow the vessel. However, her efforts are in vain and she ends up drowning.
Lying love
The tragic story, in turn, uses ancient Tupi to name the girl: mo’ema means “lie”, an allusion to the false love that Moema, the lover, received from Caramuru. Meanwhile, his true feelings were completely placed in Paraguaçu, his real wife.