Bâdâ

Bâdâ, the Sun, is one of the two great celestial protagonists of Xavante narrative. With his companion the Moon he journeys across the primordial earth, the two experiencing a cycle of adventures in which the Sun is the wiser and more powerful, ordering human ways and leaving his legacy before withdrawing to his home in the sky. As with other Jê peoples, the Xavante attach to the Sun the traits of a supreme civilizing hero, and narrators call him 'our creator'. His paired myths with the Moon were recorded by the Salesian ethnographers Giaccaria and Heide; sources differ on whether Sun and Moon are twins or simply companions.

Domains

• celestial sun
• civilizing order

Powers

• governs day and the sky's light
• acts as culture-hero and creator

Epithets

• wanhib'apa — our creator / our fatherWikinativa/Xavante (Wikiversidade) (secondary)

Relations

• twin: A'amoSources differ on whether the two are twins or unrelated companions.Wikinativa/Xavante (Wikiversidade): Sun and Moon as primordial twins who live adventures on earth (secondary); B. Giaccaria & A. Heide, Jerônimo Xavante conta: mitos e lendas (1975) (primary)
• ally: Parinai'aSome tellings identify the creating power with the Sun.Wikinativa/Xavante (Wikiversidade) (secondary)

Sources

• Bâdâ, the Sun, is a primordial culture-hero of Xavante myth who with his companion the Moon wanders the earth and orders human life before ascending to the sky; identified with the creating power and called 'our creator'.: B. Giaccaria & A. Heide, Jerônimo Xavante Sonha: contos e sonhos (Campo Grande: Editora Dom Bosco, 1975), 'O Sonho da Lua e do Sol' (primary); J. C. Melatti, O mito de Sol e Lua: um comentário (Universidade de Brasília) (secondary)