Brazilian Dancing Turtles

Eli Whitney Museum

Show Menu
Thumbnail of Brazilian Dancing Turtles project

Turtles have an intricate history in many indigenous cultures. In fact some cultures believe that the earth rose from the back of a turtle’s shell. In one folktale from Brazil, a flute playing, dancing turtle is caught by a hungry man and escapes by tricking his children into letting him out to demonstrate his dancing skills. The turtle escapes and the children paint a rock as a turtle in order to deceive their father and hide the fact that they allowed the turtle to get away.

The Dancing Turtle: a folktale from Brazil by Pleasant DeSpain, illustrated by David Boston. August House Publishers, Inc. Little Rock, Ark. 1998.

Jabuti the Tortiose: a trickster from the Amazon by Gerald McDermott. Harcourt, Inc. NY. 2001.


Back to Top