Franklin Cascaes and the witches of the Island of Magic

Florianópolis is known as the Island of Magic (Ilha da Magia) because of the stories of witches and magical creatures that, according to tradition, live on the island. The man who recorded and popularized these stories was Franklin Cascaes.

Who Franklin Cascaes was

Franklin Joaquim Cascaes (1908–1983) was born at Itaguaçu beach, now part of mainland Florianópolis. He was a researcher of Azorean culture, a folklorist, ceramist, printmaker and writer. For about 30 years he gathered accounts from islanders about witches, folk blessings and superstitions, using phonetic spelling to capture the way people spoke, according to Wikipedia. His work only began to reach the public in 1974.

The island’s witches

In the stories Cascaes recorded, witches come out at night, braid the manes of horses, “suck” babies, haunt fishermen and turn themselves into animals. To protect themselves, locals turned to prayers, folk healers (benzedeiras) and charms. These are tales of Azorean heritage that mix fear, humor and the everyday life of fishing communities.

Where to see the collection

Cascaes’s collection is kept by UFSC at MArquE (Oswaldo Rodrigues Cabral Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology). It includes some 3,000 pieces in ceramics, wood, basketry and plaster, 400 India-ink prints, 400 pencil drawings and many writings, according to Wikipedia. Check opening hours and exhibitions on the museum’s website.

Tributes

Florianópolis’s municipal culture foundation bears Franklin Cascaes’s name. In 1991, the now-defunct TV network Rede Manchete aired the miniseries “Ilha das Bruxas” (Island of Witches), inspired by his work.

Keep reading

See Azorean culture and the history of Florianópolis.