Cuca

Origin and tradition

Portuguese and Brazilian folklore portrays Cuca as a child-snatching witch figure, often with reptilian or alligator-like traits.

Illustration in this atlas

The plate chooses an old-woman witch form of the childhood bogey figure. The familiar crocodile-headed Cuca popularized in Brazilian literature and television is another version, not the only traditional appearance.

References and further reading

1. en.wikipedia.org — Cuca (folklore)
2. brasilescola.uol.com.br — cuca.htm
3. santos.sp.gov.br — portugues 2.pdf

These references offer further reading. Accounts and depictions vary; the atlas illustration is interpretive artwork, rather than historical or scientific evidence.