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Old 04-25-2019, 03:51 PM   #51
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Default Re: [MH] Brazilian Secret Monster Hunters

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Originally Posted by a humble lich View Post
For what is worth, I'd say the same is true in English: "devil" generally connotes Satan, while "demon" refers to any evil spirit. This isn't universally true and I'm sure you can find many instances where "devil" refers to others, but I would say (at least in the dialect I speak) that is a general connotation.

I also agree diablo sounds a lot cooler than demonos.
A nitpick: diablo and demonos are probably spanish. Portuguese is diabo and demônio; diabos and demônios, in plural.
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Old 04-25-2019, 04:22 PM   #52
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Default Re: Brazilian Myths and Legends About Sea Monsters, Merfolk, Selkies or the Like

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Great, thanks!

What would be good names for humanoids that come from beneath the sea, look human, but are not? Ichthyoid, batrachian infiltrators in the style of Lovecraft's Deep Ones, enchanted beings of superhuman ability with no respect for human mores, feelings or lives. They are often powerful sorcerers and have alien, inscrutable goals.
Ohh, this is hard! I'll think about that... there is no easy reference for this, other than you already said. Brazilians, in general, would not use a specific term for such creatures; the humorous part of our culture would make this being be baptized with some simple nickname, like "sea creature" ("bicho do mar"), something silly as ET de Varginha, or chupa-cu de Goianinha (LITERALLY, "Goianinha ass-sucker")!

The only idea I have is that you can call them Bentos. (https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentos). The punchline here is that Benthos is the denomination of the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone; but bento, in portuguese, without the letter H, means blessed and/or sanctified. To bless someone is to "benzer" someone.

It is also the same latin radical as "benedict"; i.e, Pope Benedict XVI is Papa Bento XVI.
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Old 04-25-2019, 05:29 PM   #53
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Default Diabo vs. Demônio/s in the Context of Fighting the Minions of the Evil One

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Originally Posted by Empada View Post
I also have the impression that Diabo refers to Satan and demônio could refer to him or any other entity. But I’m not sure about it.
You can use Diabo if you prefer, it isn’t weird.

you could name them Caçadores do Mal. (hunters of evil)
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Originally Posted by a humble lich View Post
For what is worth, I'd say the same is true in English: "devil" generally connotes Satan, while "demon" refers to any evil spirit. This isn't universally true and I'm sure you can find many instances where "devil" refers to others, but I would say (at least in the dialect I speak) that is a general connotation.

I also agree diablo sounds a lot cooler than demonos.
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Originally Posted by Pip Boy View Post
1 - What specific shades of meaning does 'Demônios' connote that 'Diabo' does not?
Demônios is Demons, like the class of demons. It's less specific, a broad term. There's a lot of demons.

Diabo (Devil) is a more specific term, like Satan/Lucifer. He is THE devil. There are not a lot of them. Then again, it can be used in the same sense of the phrase "You're the devil" when cursing someone normal. In brazilian grammar they are synonyms, but there's a nuance between them.
While it is almost entirely irrational, the fact that 'demônios' has such a close cognate in English makes it much less appealing. I guess I feel that flavorful foreign terms shouldn't sound like I took the English word and added an Iberian-sounding suffix, even if that happens to be the most accurate term.

Of course, I don't intend Brazilians who are aware of the supernatural to be a completely homogenous bloc of unified goals and purposes. Some will be very religious Catholics who believe they are fighting literal servants of Satan and others may define the paranormal phenomena they encounter in secular terms, as aliens and manifedtations of unknown science. Some will be fierce patriots and others will fight for motives that have nothing to do with the defense of Brazil. Some will want to protect innocents from monsters, but others may only combat occult criminal figures as competitors to their own illegal enterprises.

Yes, the informal allegiance that most of those who comprise the 'occult Deep State' in Brazil have managed to form is a lot more coherent strategy on the supernatural than most other nations can muster, but it's still just an informal allegiance of convenience among numerous leaders of police militias, officers in various Policia Civil and Militar forces around Brazil, various military officers, intelligence chiefs and other civil servants.

This means that while some Brazilian monster hunters may see themselves as devil hunters, soldiers of God fighting literal demons from Hell who may be the vanguard of Satan's armies in the End of Days, others may just add 'inhuman monsters' to their personal list of acceptable targets, the killing of whom they believe makes the streets safer, right next to 'criminals'.

Hopefully, the ones the PCs encounter will be neither religious fanatics nor militant death squad members. At least the PCs would very much prefer that.

Obviously, though, the setting is meant to reflect the fact that even when facing a threat that might represent the literal End of the World, other people might be allies, enemies, rivals or friends, and there won't be any easy factional identifiers that distinguish them. There will be villainous DEA agents, heroic CIA agents, noble Pakistani 'Black Stork' commandos, mercenary former SIDE agents, virtous BOPE officers and treacherous Special Branch detectives.

And the thing that determines whether people are friend or foe won't always be whether they are 'good guys' or 'bad guys', but whether the PCs manage to find some common ground and shared objectives. It's quite possible that some highly morally questionable groups and individuals will have sound reasons to ally with the PCs against common foes, while much more ethically upstanding people find themselves compelled to oppose them, for tragic but perfectly understandable reasons.

All of which is to say, I guess that at least one faction within Brazil should view their defense against dark forces as a crusade against Satan himself and his minions. Representatives of that faction could then refer to themselves as 'Caçadores do Mal' or 'Caçadores da Diabos'.

As a matter of institutional culture, if we assume that a faction within the Brazilian Navy and Marines represents one (or two) groups of people aware of the supernatural, there are several in different commands of the Army, one within the Federal Police and numerous groups within the different Policia Civil and Militar in the various states, where woukd it feel most logical to have the most fervently religious faction?

If one faction leans slightly more toward secular interpretations (i.e. monsters as aliens, magic as unknown scientific processes) or at least is prepared to entertain the notion that there might be supernatural creatures that are not direct agents of Satan, what institution in Brazil would be most likely to lead to an occult-aware holding that view?

In many nations, the Air Forces and Navies, due to their highly technical fields, have a higher percentage of recruits with technical and advanced education. By contrast, the Army is often viewed as recruiting more from poorer and less educated classes of people. Additionally, naval officers have often been stereotyped as middle class engineers, while Army officers either come from aristocratic backgrounds or aspire toward such principles. In either case, the perception would be that the Army has a higher proportion of religiohs people and also more superstition.

Can anyone familiar with Brazilmgive me some pointers on general trends toward religion, superstition and scientific worldviews within the different branches of the armed forces and the various pokice forces of Brazil?
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Old 04-25-2019, 06:22 PM   #54
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Default Re: Brazilian Terms for Monster Hunters, Commandos and Spies

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Originally Posted by Pip Boy View Post
2 - Well, Caçador is such an awesome title, I kind of want to use it.
Use it! It's cool to us too!

But what would you (or any forumite who knows Vrazilian Portuguese) have Brazilian monster hunters call themselves, informally, speaking amonst themselves in the inner core of a special unit like BOPE and CORE or with members of other Brazilian tactical teams that they are aware of have similar duties, because they also know about the supernatural threat?
Probably some kind of slang, like "E aí, matador?" ("What's up, killer/slayer?"). The Tropa de Elite movie used a BOPE term that has been integrated to our culture since the film, which is Caveira (means Skull / Death's Head). They call each other like that. Example: Are you a Caveira or not, goddammit?", asks the BOPE captain, to the novice special force, who flinched in combat.

AND they use the same word as an affirmative; i.e, "The enemy is in your sights?", asks the squad leader. "Caveira, captain," replies the sniper, meaning "yes", "hell, yes", "****, yes".
Hmmm.. that's a very good point.

So, BOPE and CORE (who also use a skull/Death's Head symbol, albeit a different one) officers in Rio should probably use their already established cool moniker.

There is, of course, a temptation to gild the lily and add an extra flourish. Perhaps those operators of BOPE and CORE who have been initiated into the secrets of monsters and the supernatural will use a special title among themselves.

How are the following?

'Caçadores de Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Hunters of the Death's Head')
'Ordem de Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Order of the Death's Head', is 'de' correct here?)
'Caveira Caçador' [should it be ' Caçador Caveira' instead, grammatically?] (Intended meaning 'Death's Head Hunter')
'Caça-Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Hunter-Skull')
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Old 04-25-2019, 06:44 PM   #55
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Default Machete / Peixera

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Originally Posted by Empada View Post
We have the Peixera (that is the name of a Machete here). But I don’t know if the military force has some special training with it.
Is 'Peixera' the generic name for all kinds of machete-like cuttting tools in Brazil? Or does it refer to a specific type of machete (if so, can you describe the main characteristics?)?

Would 'Peixera' be a reasonable term for training in the use of a machete as a weapon?

Aside from the training that jungle units of the military receive in the use of the machete as a tool, is anyone aware of a Brazilian martial art style using blades, whether knives or machetes?

In other places where sugar was cultivated and harvested with cane knives, the tools were sometimes used to resolve disputes among the poor and disenfranchised. Sometimes fencing with machetes/cane knives was even incorporated into local dances or martial sport displays. I've found numerous reports from the Caribbean of such styles of machete fighting and I know that Capoeira-like dances in Brazil are said to have sometimes included machetes.

Has the use of knives and machetes as weapons died out in Brazil, at least as any kind of martial art? Or could there be any sub-cultures where skill with blades is taught and practised, whether that skill is based on ancestral forms or recent experience?
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Old 04-25-2019, 09:42 PM   #56
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Default Re: [MH] Brazilian Secret Monster Hunters

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Originally Posted by Pip Boy View Post
A LOT.

Brazil is a country that has a rich religious diversity. Due to cultural miscegenation, fruit of the various immigration processes, we find in our country several religions (Christian, Islamic, Afro-Brazilian, Jewish, etc.). By having a Lay State, Brazil presents freedom of religious worship and also the separation of State and Church. The data of 2010 census gives us:

- Roman Catholic: 64.6%
- Evangelicals: 22.2%
- Spiritist: 2%
- Umbanda and Candomblé: 0.3%
- Without religion 8%

So, a whopping 88% of the religious Brazilians are Christians. Monsters and the supernatural would be seen as very demonic in nature, as "devil spawns", "witches sons", and so forth.

about religion, in Brazil the Christians. church mix a lot! Catholics some times go to Spiritis centers, Spiritis go to Umbanda’s Terreiro, etc. I think only some Evangelicals don’t mix and are very untrustfull against Spiritist, Umbanda and Candomblé. Also, Umbanda has a lot of elements from the Catholic, Spiritist and Candomblé, some people say that it is the mixture of the 3.

I think Brazilian hunters, even Catholics employed by the Church, would rely frequently on Umbanda’s “knowledge”.

You can use the word Macumba for a magic performed by a Umbanda or Candomblé practicioner.

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
How are the following?

'Caçadores de Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Hunters of the Death's Head')
'Ordem de Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Order of the Death's Head', is 'de' correct here?)
'Caveira Caçador' [should it be ' Caçador Caveira' instead, grammatically?] (Intended meaning 'Death's Head Hunter')
'Caça-Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Hunter-Skull')
using DE is grammatically correct, but don’t get you the desired effect. Caçadores de caveira means someone who hunts skulls, for your meaning it would be Caçadores DA caveira.

Same with Ordem Da Caveira.

Caçador Caveira can be a slang to refer a very good hunter. “ this one is a caçador newbie, but that guy over there is a caçador caveira”. Besides that I don’t think it would be used.

Caça-Caveira sounds like a game without context, but can be used.

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Is 'Peixera' the generic name for all kinds of machete-like cuttting tools in Brazil? Or does it refer to a specific type of machete (if so, can you describe the main characteristics?)?

Would 'Peixera' be a reasonable term for training in the use of a machete as a weapon?

Aside from the training that jungle units of the military receive in the use of the machete as a tool, is anyone aware of a Brazilian martial art style using blades, whether knives or machetes?

In other places where sugar was cultivated and harvested with cane knives, the tools were sometimes used to resolve disputes among the poor and disenfranchised. Sometimes fencing with machetes/cane knives was even incorporated into local dances or martial sport displays. I've found numerous reports from the Caribbean of such styles of machete fighting and I know that Capoeira-like dances in Brazil are said to have sometimes included machetes.

Has the use of knives and machetes as weapons died out in Brazil, at least as any kind of martial art? Or could there be any sub-cultures where skill with blades is taught and practised, whether that skill is based on ancestral forms or recent experience?
the generic term would be Facão (big knife), the Peixeira is a fish knife, but the name get very popular in Nordeste (northeast) region during the Cangaço (Brazilian western, with less guns and more Peixeras). Also, you can have a kitchen Peixeira, very simple knife good to cut everything and people here just call it knife, and a Peixeira you keep with you like a machete when going outside (not in a city, of course). The blade quality can be good or bad, but it normally has fine details on the handle and a matching scabbard, it also can have a size of a knife to a size of a machete.

The Capoeira have machete in their play (you don’t fight Capoeira, you play or dance it), but only for advanced Capoeiristas.


About terminology, you can use Capeta, it is another word for diabo and demônio. Another uncomon word is Tinhoso.

Mixing it for some flavor:
you can have a hunter who made a Macumba do Corpo-Fechado (closed body) to not get hurt (in gurps terms you can rise the dodge, add a spiritual shild-like hability, add luck aspected defense only, etc). He does a ritual near a Jacarandá tree and at the end of the ritual he sticks a knife (can be a peixeira) in the ground near the base of the tree. While the knife is there the person is protected, but the knife oxidate with time.

A Mage from the Umbanda or Candomblé background would prefer doing his magic in a street corner (cruzamento ou encruzilhada).
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Old 04-25-2019, 10:21 PM   #57
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Default Holy Cross Commandos or Commandos of the Southern Cross?

I'm wondering about the difference between 'Cruzeiro' and 'Cruz'. Both seem to mean 'cross', but what is the different connotation, if any, of 'cruzeiro'?

Also, in the order of chivalry, the 'Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul', 'do' is used in both places. Does this mean that if I want to call the ABIN-faction hunters Commandos of the Southern Cross, I should refer to them as 'Comando do Cruzeiro do Sul'?

Or does it better convey the sense of a hybrid between a military command /commando outfit and a religious order if I use 'Comando da Cruzeiro do Sul'?

On that general theme, which of the following titles sounds best for the semi-official nickname of the elite small group of monster hunting ABIN operatives who work closely with Vatican occult intelligence?
  • Comando da Santa Cruz.
  • Comando do Cruzeiro do Sul.
  • Comando da Cruzeiro do Sul.
  • Comando da Cruz.

Feel free to suggest grammatical improvements, variations or entirely new names that suggest a religious alignment mixed with either modern covert operations and special operations forces and/or criminal networks.

This should not be an official cover name, but rather what insiders and those who wish to seem like insiders use to refer to it in unofficial conversations, because the cover names change much faster than the occult underground can keep up, but rumours about Brazilian commandos who fight a religious war against supernatural evil are endemic among rogue occultists and criminal magicians in the Latin America of the setting.
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Old 04-26-2019, 08:52 AM   #58
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Default Re: Holy Cross Commandos or Commandos of the Southern Cross?

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
I'm wondering about the difference between 'Cruzeiro' and 'Cruz'. Both seem to mean 'cross', but what is the different connotation, if any, of 'cruzeiro'?

Also, in the order of chivalry, the 'Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul', 'do' is used in both places. Does this mean that if I want to call the ABIN-faction hunters Commandos of the Southern Cross, I should refer to them as 'Comando do Cruzeiro do Sul'?

Or does it better convey the sense of a hybrid between a military command /commando outfit and a religious order if I use 'Comando da Cruzeiro do Sul'?

On that general theme, which of the following titles sounds best for the semi-official nickname of the elite small group of monster hunting ABIN operatives who work closely with Vatican occult intelligence?
  • Comando da Santa Cruz.
  • Comando do Cruzeiro do Sul.
  • Comando da Cruzeiro do Sul.
  • Comando da Cruz.

Feel free to suggest grammatical improvements, variations or entirely new names that suggest a religious alignment mixed with either modern covert operations and special operations forces and/or criminal networks.

This should not be an official cover name, but rather what insiders and those who wish to seem like insiders use to refer to it in unofficial conversations, because the cover names change much faster than the occult underground can keep up, but rumours about Brazilian commandos who fight a religious war against supernatural evil are endemic among rogue occultists and criminal magicians in the Latin America of the setting.
first the explanation about the DE DO DA.

DE have more than one meaning depending on the context. DO e DA is a contraction of DE O and DE A (Comando DE A Santa Cruz, but it is grammatically incorrect). you use A or O based on the "gender" of the word. A for feminine and O for masculine. Cruz is feminine in Portuguese, so A Cruz, Da cruz.

It can get confuse, earlier I said that you can write Comando DO santa cruz, and it is correct but get you another meaning. this specific case is because you are not using a word that can be there. like
Comando do Bairro Santa Cruz, or Comando do Lugar Santa cruz (bairro=neighborhood, lugar=place, both masculine) you suppress the word that give you the idea of a place, but the DO stay there.

cruzeiro is masculine so use O and DO. Cruzeiro has a lot of meanings and is rare to use it meaning a cross. Cruzeiro do Sul in the other hand is a famous constelation used to guide your navigation in the south hemisphere (like the polar star in the north). It sounds Brazilian like, but not church related.

about other names, here people like Saints a lot. Comando do São Jorge is a good possibility, but I don't know other warriors saints.

you can use the Holy Marie variations people here like, but Comando is not appropriate.
Protetores DE Maria Aparecida.
Legião de Nossa Senhora Auxiliadora

change the Maria and Nossa Senhora as you wish. in this case I would use DE instead of DA, but DA is also correct
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Old 04-26-2019, 02:38 PM   #59
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Default Re: Holy Cross Commandos or Commandos of the Southern Cross?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
1 - All of which is to say, I guess that at least one faction within Brazil should view their defense against dark forces as a crusade against Satan himself and his minions. Representatives of that faction could then refer to themselves as 'Caçadores do Mal' or 'Caçadores da Diabos'.
Cool! Caçadores DE Diabos, though. "Devil Hunters".

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
2 - As a matter of institutional culture, if we assume that a faction within the Brazilian Navy and Marines represents one (or two) groups of people aware of the supernatural, there are several in different commands of the Army, one within the Federal Police and numerous groups within the different Policia Civil and Militar in the various states, where woukd it feel most logical to have the most fervently religious faction?
Honestly, with our actual paradigm here, anywhere. President Bolsonaro is a ex-military man, there's a ton of military or ex-military personnel in his newly-appointed government, and Brazil in general is surfing a wave of conservatism, especially religious conservatism.

If I were to pick ONE, I'd focus on army/navy, just because Polícia Civil or Polícia Federal are chiefly manpowered by civilians, and - IMHO - the kind of maniac zeal you tend to be looking sets better in an indoctrinated mind of an professional soldier.

However, there is some civilian groups that you can use on you campaign, either for this or other things. Evangelical churches promoted the creation of groups such as the so-called Gladiators of the Altar (Gladiadores do Altar) (https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-...-a-batalha.htm), created by the Universal Church (the largest of these churches / religion in Brazil), and although they present themselves as "altruistic people helping strangers", they have been registered in some cases of religious xenophobia, intolerance and violence.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
3 - If one faction leans slightly more toward secular interpretations (i.e. monsters as aliens, magic as unknown scientific processes) or at least is prepared to entertain the notion that there might be supernatural creatures that are not direct agents of Satan, what institution in Brazil would be most likely to lead to an occult-aware holding that view?
I would say groups linked to some kind of university and serious forensic studies, such as the Civil and Federal Police. Many officers in both have a scientific background in some quality university, which would lead to this less religious view of the subject, and a more scientific (or pseudo-scientific) approach.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
4 - In many nations, the Air Forces and Navies, due to their highly technical fields, have a higher percentage of recruits with technical and advanced education. By contrast, the Army is often viewed as recruiting more from poorer and less educated classes of people. Additionally, naval officers have often been stereotyped as middle class engineers, while Army officers either come from aristocratic backgrounds or aspire toward such principles. In either case, the perception would be that the Army has a higher proportion of religiohs people and also more superstition.

Can anyone familiar with Brazilmgive me some pointers on general trends toward religion, superstition and scientific worldviews within the different branches of the armed forces and the various pokice forces of Brazil?
I think that your vision described above hits the bullseye of our generalized and stereotyped views here as well. I am not a military man, and though I have few military friends, in my opinion, you have guessed right. We have basically three types of police in Brazil: Civilian, Federal and Military. They would fit the standard you described, with the Military Police being the worst prepared (just look at the number of deaths it causes each year!), and the most subject to superstitions and religious dogmas without justification.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
5 - How are the following?

'Caçadores de Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Hunters of the Death's Head')
'Ordem de Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Order of the Death's Head', is 'de' correct here?)
'Caveira Caçador' [should it be ' Caçador Caveira' instead, grammatically?] (Intended meaning 'Death's Head Hunter')
'Caça-Caveira' (Intended meaning 'Hunter-Skull')
'Caçadores de Caveira' does not quite means 'Hunters of the Death's Head'. Its something more as "people the hunts skulls". The same for Caça-Caveira; it's like ghostbusters - in Brasil, this movie it's Caça-Fantasmas. Fantasma means ghost/phantom.

So, for that meaning you're looking, you'll need Caçadores DA Caveira. The same for Ordem DA Caveira.

And, caveira caçador is right. Written like so, it means the the subject is a caveira prior of being a hunter, which fits. "Eu sou um caveira caçador" it's "I'm a muthaf**king soldier that hunts", aprox. Caçador caveira its right as well, changing the order. "Eu sou um caçador caveira" it's I'm a hunter who is a badass", something like that, caveira becomes and adjective like so.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
6 - Is 'Peixera' the generic name for all kinds of machete-like cuttting tools in Brazil? Or does it refer to a specific type of machete (if so, can you describe the main characteristics?)
In fact, peixeira is more like a Large Knife. It has this name because it was originally developed to cut fish - the portuguese word for fish is PEIXE. (https://www.google.com/search?q=peix...w=1366&bih=625). In some regions, however, this is a cultural slang for machete.

A proper machete is what we call a "facão" - the literal translation is "Big Knife", but it is the same as a machete. (https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...67.5v1gWPeAak8)

That aside, I do not know about using specific training of these weapons in the army. I believe there is training in melee weapons, but as far as I'm concerned, it takes the north american mold of CQB with the more proeminent use of jungle knives. The use of BJJ, of course, is widespread here as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
7 - Has the use of knives and machetes as weapons died out in Brazil, at least as any kind of martial art? Or could there be any sub-cultures where skill with blades is taught and practised, whether that skill is based on ancestral forms or recent experience?
This is still used exactly as you described it: some specific forms of Capoeira use the machete in choreographed fights and presentations. You could use a version of Capoeira as a martial art with the use of Knife skill, sure.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
8 - I'm wondering about the difference between 'Cruzeiro' and 'Cruz'. Both seem to mean 'cross', but what is the different connotation, if any, of 'cruzeiro'?
Cruzeiro is an adjective, meaning "that owns or forms a cross," or "marked by a cross." The Soutern Cross is Cruzeiro do Sul. Cruz is the feminine noun that means "the object of the cross, formed of two transverse logs" and so on.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
9 - Also, in the order of chivalry, the 'Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul', 'do' is used in both places. Does this mean that if I want to call the ABIN-faction hunters Commandos of the Southern Cross, I should refer to them as 'Comando do Cruzeiro do Sul'?
Yes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
10 - r does it better convey the sense of a hybrid between a military command /commando outfit and a religious order if I use 'Comando da Cruzeiro do Sul'?
Only if 'Cruzeiro do Sul' is the proper name of an institution. Something like 'Commando FROM Southern Cross', as said above.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander
11 - On that general theme, which of the following titles sounds best for the semi-official nickname of the elite small group of monster hunting ABIN operatives who work closely with Vatican occult intelligence?
I'd use Comando da Santa Cruz, Comando do Cruzeiro do Sul or Comando da Cruz. The difference is basically semantic, if you prefer Santa Cruz to infer the HOLY cross (santa is 'saint'), for example. Personally, I think 'Comando da Cruz' is the shortest name, and it has the most informal feel. Comando da Santa Cruz, or Comando do Cruzeiro do Sul are great, but they sound more like official names that would be adopted, and not so much with nicknames and unofficial names given by own members. The acronym CC also seems to me simpler, and easily used in some informal means of communication, like whatsapp, widely used in Brazil.
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Old 04-26-2019, 02:47 PM   #60
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Default Religion and Tolerance for 'Witchcraft'

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Originally Posted by Pip Boy View Post
A LOT.

Brazil is a country that has a rich religious diversity. Due to cultural miscegenation, fruit of the various immigration processes, we find in our country several religions (Christian, Islamic, Afro-Brazilian, Jewish, etc.). By having a Lay State, Brazil presents freedom of religious worship and also the separation of State and Church. The data of 2010 census gives us:

- Roman Catholic: 64.6%
- Evangelicals: 22.2%
- Spiritist: 2%
- Umbanda and Candomblé: 0.3%
- Without religion 8%

So, a whopping 88% of the religious brazilians are christians. Monsters and the supernatural would be seen as very demonic in nature, as "devil spawns", "witches sons", and so forth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Empada View Post
about religion, in Brazil the Christians. church mix a lot! Catholics some times go to Spiritis centers, Spiritis go to Umbanda’s Terreiro, etc. I think only some Evangelicals don’t mix and are very untrustfull against Spiritist, Umbanda and Candomblé. Also, Umbanda has a lot of elements from the Catholic, Spiritist and Candomblé, some people say that it is the mixture of the 3.

I think Brazilian hunters, even Catholics employed by the Church, would rely frequently on Umbanda’s “knowledge”.

You can use the word Macumba for a magic performed by a Umbanda or Candomblé practicioner.
Thanks to both of you for the thoughtful replies about religion.

To go a bit deeper into that, my idea is that the 'mainstream' view about those in authority who know about the supernatural is very harsh condemnation and a shoot to kill policy. To some degree, this is probably religiously motivated, i.e. if you believe you've personally witnessed agents of Satan preying on innocents in this world, it's hard to justify any kind of 'withcraft' as harmless superstition. But in another sense, it's also correlated with the perception of police officers, soldiers and intelligence officers who encounter the supernatural that they are in a war against monsters and anyone who meddles with the occult is on the wrong side.

Every veteran detective aware of the occult has heard stories of, and often even experienced, incidents where apparently ordinary people, maybe informants, maybe just kids they grew up with, gets involved with the supernatural and ends up a radically different person. Maybe possessed, maybe corrupted, maybe just insane, but the prevailing orthodoxy among Brazilian monster hunters is that anyone who meddles in the occult ends up hurting himself and everyone around him.

The analogy for how it's perceived is probably how many cops perceive illegal narcotics. There is a very real risk involved with using drugs in the real world and magic in my setting, but there is also a tribal 'us vs. them' mentality going on that exaggerates everything so that those who do 'it' are marked as 'criminals' or 'witches' and thus instantly become part of the enemy.

Even in peaceful Iceland I notice the extreme prejudice many cops have for anyone who even casually associates with narcotics and in Tropa de Elite, the fact that the middle-class college kids at the NGO smoked pot clearly made them 'enemies' in the eyes of most of the law enforcement characters. I imagine that this is how Brazilian monster hunters tend to see anyone who studies the occult, as opposed to just trying to track down any and all supernatural threats, shoot them, decapitate them and burn the remains.

Of course, just because is the mainstream and accepted view among those in authority in Brazil who are aware of the supernatural threat, it doesn't follow that every single detective, commando or intelligence officer in Brazil involved in fighting monsters and witchcraft will subscribe to such a simple worldview.

After all, while real police departments usually have an official position of zero tolerance for narcotics and drug dealers, there still exist cops who use drugs and/or accept bribes from traffickers. And presumably there are also detectives who use informants among the criminal classes (and drug users/traffickers) and may even come to like some of them, regardless of the 'us vs. them' mentality.

So there will be monster hunters who make allowances for 'good magic' that doesn't count as 'witchcraft' and are even prepared to make use of occult means to fight supernatural evils. They'll just be a minority among Brazilian monster hunterscompared to those who hold the hardline view, mostly because the years of relentless and savage urban warfare against criminals influenced and led by monsters and magicians has served to harden attitudes among those engaged in the fighting.

The 'Comando da Santa Cruz' among ABIN may appear to their colleagues from the Catholic Church to be ruthless and uncompromising in their attitudes toward 'withcraft', but the fact that they are at all willing to work with Vatican scholars of the occult, who make some use of ritual magic*, actually makes them more liberal than the mainstream of Brazilian hunters, most of whom (by numbers) belong to Policia Militar teams like BOPE or other COE units, ROTA, GATE or BOE/GOE/DOE//Batalhão de Missões Especiais.

I expect that detectives with the Policia Civil might have a less universally adversarial relationship with the underworld, so at least some of them might have cordial acwuitanceships with occult informants. The Policia Federal I intend to be much less actively engaged in covert warfare with the supernatural and the faction of it that is aware has so far mostly collected data (which is informally shared with other parties who act on it, like local PM/PC tactical teams), not carried out operations.

I imagine the 1º Batalhão de Forças Especiais as the primary national strike force against supernatural threats. I haven't decided if they are as fanatically opposed to any and all occult practices as the military police elite units tend to be, but I'd welcome suggestions for how typical (if elite) paratroopers will regard alleged demons, the supernatural, witchcraft, etc.

I'm looking for a plausible institution in Brazil to have as the base of a secular, scientific faction among counter-paranormal activities. I was thinking that with the Vile Vortex located at sea, maybe the Navy would suit. Or would it be more plausible for the Navy to be a hotbed of occult experimentation, using magic to fight magic?

At any rate, I'll need at least one organization in Brazil that is a part of the loose allegiance against the supernatural threat, but distrusted by most other monster hunters because they are perfectly willing to employ folk remedies, amulets, counter-curses and protective charms, don't reject Umbanda or Candomblé believers and engage in various occult research. What might be a suitable organization for this?

*Albeit only a narrow sub-section of allowed rituals according to secret Vatican scriptures, mostly protective, cleansing and warding magic, as well as some minor blessings.
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Last edited by Icelander; 04-26-2019 at 02:55 PM.
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