Cabra cabriola

Lore & Background

The cabra cabriola is said to be a man-eating goat that leaps and bucks a thousand times, hence its name from 'cabriolar' (to prance, caper). It is armed with huge jaws and sharp teeth to devour youngsters, breathing fire from its eyes, mouth, and nostrils while bellowing a standard chant, the wording of which varies by version.

In one narrative, a Portuguese mother leaves her three children home at night and tells them not to let anyone in unless they recognize her voice. The cabra cabriola first arrives with its natural thick voice and is turned away. It then hides, learns the mother's speech, has a blacksmith re-forge its tongue to replicate her soft voice, returns, and the children open the door and are devoured.

In another tale from the Algarve region, a poor widow tells her children to hide under the bed and secures the door with a pin. The cabra cabriola enters. The woman returns, peers through the keyhole, and sees the goat. She tells it to jump out, but it refuses in verse. She hires a fox (for a rooster) and then a wolf (for a lamb), but both flee. An ant offers help for soup of honey and oil, stings the goat on the belly, and it flees in pain.

Reader's Guide

The cabra cabriola serves as a classic bogeyman figure in Portuguese and Brazilian folklore, used to frighten children into obedience. Its legend, along with other beings such as the Lupishomens (werewolf), Papa-figo, Mula-sem-cabeça, Curupira, Caapora, and Cuca, forms part of a broader cultural repertoire of cautionary tales. Gilberto Freyre conjectures that the origins of the cabra cabriola may trace back to the lore of the Caprimulgus (nightjar, literally 'goat-milker'), which forays at night to milk nanny-goats and eat children. The creature's name and traits also invite comparison with the Chupacabra, the 'goat-sucker' monster of Latin America. The cabra cabriola remains a notable example of how folklore uses monstrous figures to enforce social norms and caution children against danger, with variations in narrative across regions reflecting local adaptations.

Did You Know?

• The cabra cabriola is said to breathe fire from its eyes, mouth, and nostrils.
• In one tale, the cabra cabriola has its tongue re-forged by a blacksmith to mimic a mother's voice.
• In an Algarve tale, an ant defeats the cabra cabriola by stinging its belly.
• Gilberto Freyre conjectures the cabra cabriola may originate from the lore of the Caprimulgus (nightjar).