- Created by
- Canuto, Hugo, Brazilian, born 1986
- Signed by
- Canuto, Hugo, Brazilian, born 1986
- Date
- 2018
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 10 5/8 × 6 11/16 × 3/8 in. (27 × 17 × 1 cm)
- Description
- This Portuguese-language comic book “Contos dos Orixás” (Tales of the Orishas) is 120 pages and is printed in color on coated paper. On the front cover, the title is printed in white text at the top and centered [CONTOS DOS / ORIXÁS]. The background is a clear blue sky, a smoked, purple floor, and two gold-colored buildings in the background. The image depicts four Orixás, the Portuguese word for deities/ancestors of the Afro-Brazilian religions Candomblé and Umbanda, who are reinterpreted as superheroes by Hugo Caunto. They are in an offensive stance with three on the ground and one in the sky.
- In the front is Xangô (Shango) dressed in red attire and cuffs with a yellow symbol within a blue belt buckle while wielding a short handled, double-sided ax to summon his power, lighting. Flanked to the left is Ògún (Ogun or Ogum), dressed only in presumably a yellow straw skirt wrapped in a blue cloth around his waist and blue arm bands while handling two different swords. Behind Xangô on the right is Elegbá (Eleguá or Eshu) wearing only a red and yellow cloth skirt and red arm bands while carrying a long mallet. Above Ògún in the sky is Iansã (Oy) in a red dress and orange wrist cuffs, wielding a machete in her left hand while her right hand is encircled in a light blue circle, summoning her power of wind.
- Opening the comic book to the title page, at the top center is the title printed in black text [CONTOS DOS / ORIXÁS]. Printed in the center is a circular, colorful emblem, with an orange outer ring with various symbols in black; in the center is a variety of blue hues with a yellow and black gourd in the center. At the bottom of the page is the edition printed in black text [2a TIRAGEM]. The author has signed this page in black pen underneath the printed title and to the left of the emblem. The text reads: “to SMITHSONIAN, THANK YOU! / AXÉ!] along with an arm wielding a hammer and signed at the bottom right corner [-Hugo / Caunto]. The following pages contain the front matter of the comic book, including [História, Arte E Cores – Hugo Canuto / Assistentes de Cores – Laís Bicudo, Mauro Salgado, / Rodrigo Fernandes E Marecelo Kina / revisão – Audaci Junior e Danielle Lhoret / diagramação – Daniel Cesart] or in English "Story, art and colors – Hugo Canuto / Assistant of Colors – Laís Bicudo, Mauro Salgado, / Rodrigo Fernandes, and Marecelo Kina / Storyboard Revisionist – Audaci Junior and Danielle Lhoret / Layout – Daniel Cesart."
- The back of the comic book is divided into three horizontal panels. The top panel has a red background with white text [Em um tempo antigo, quando o céu a terra estavam unidos como / duas metades de uma cabaça, divindades e heróis caminharam / entre os homens. Travaram batalhas com furor, ensinaram a curar / e lidar com a terra, o ferro e o fogo, reinaram e amaram com a / mesma intensidade. Alguns desceram do luminoso Orum para lá / viverem e realizarem seus destinos, enquanto outros nasceram no / Aiyê e pelos grandes feitos se tornaram Orixás, marcando para / sempre a história de dois continue.] or in English, “In an ancient time, when heaven and earth were united as two halves of a gourd, deities and heroes walked among men. They fought battles with fury, taught how to deal with ashe, the energy of creation, the land, the iron and the fire. They reigned and loved with great intensity. Some descended from the luminous Orun, to live their lives and fulfill their destiny, while others were born in the aiye and through their great deeds became Orishas, changing forever the history of two continents.”
- The middle panel depicts a colorful drawing Oyó, the City of Fire, capitol of Xangô’s empire. The bottom panel has a red background with a white printed emblem with an outer ring with various symbol and in the center is a gourd, the same emblem printed on the title page. Below it in white text is [WWW.CONTOSDOSORIXAS.COM / FACEBOOK – CONTOS DOS ORIXÁS].
- There are no inscriptions in the front cover or back cover.
- Place made
- Brazil, Latin America, South America
- Cultural Place
- Brazil, Latin America, South America
- West Africa, Africa
- Classification
- Books and Published Materials
- Movement
- Afrofuturism
- Type
- comic books
- Topic
- African diaspora
- Art
- Comics and graphic novels
- Multilingual communication
- Religion
- Spirituality
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture purchased with funds provided by the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center
- Object number
- 2021.45.1.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- © 2018 Hugo Canuto
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




