3 h 31 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
An arrow wounds a stranger; the hand that draws the bow reaches out to heal him.
In the forests of Ipú, Iracema rests beneath an oitycica tree, fitting feathers to her arrows while her bird companion explores her basket. Then an unfamiliar warrior appears. She shoots, sees his pain, and rushes to help. José de Alencar’s romance begins with this sudden turn from fear to compassion, as two strangers face the distance between their worlds.
The warrior is Martim, who loses his way and finds shelter with Iracema’s father, Araken, a Tabajara shaman. A shared pipe, wild fruit, and cool water welcome him. But Martim comes from a settlement among the Pytiguaras, enemies of his hosts. Against that divide, Iracema explores love and sacrifice in a landscape of forests, white beaches, and restless seas.
What you’ll discover
- An encounter charged with feeling Watch Iracema break her arrow as alarm gives way to care for the wounded stranger.
- Hospitality across a dangerous divide Enter Araken’s hut, where a guest receives welcome before anyone asks about his origins.
- A forest alive with detail Discover palm baskets, bright feathers, fragrant blossoms, and the small objects of Iracema’s daily life.
- Love beside rival loyalties Meet two people whose first exchange carries the weight of conflict between their peoples.
- A sea filled with longing Follow a fragile boat leaving Ceará, carrying a warrior, a child, and a dog.
Who will love it
Readers who love romance set in wild landscapes, legends of how places got their names, tales of friendship between warriors, and the poetry of rivers, palms, birds and sea.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger enters Tabajara land
- Love and danger in the sacred grove
- Poty, the cave and a plan
- The night of the green drink
- A new home by the sea
- What the story is about and how it is told
Who’s who
- IracemaA young Tabajara woman, daughter of the shaman Araken and keeper of the sacred jurema secret, who gives up her people to follow the man she loves.
- MartimA white Christian warrior left behind among the Pytiguaras, grateful to his hosts yet always longing for the homeland and the girl he left.
- PotyA Pytiguara chief and Martim's sworn brother in war, loyal, wise and prudent, who risks his life alone to save his friend.
- IrapuamThe great chief of the Tabajaras, proud and fierce, who wants war against the white men and wants Iracema for himself.
- ArakenIracema's father, the old shaman who serves the god Tupan, protects his guest by the laws of hospitality and calls up thunder from a cave.
- CaubyIracema's brother, a brave hunter and warrior who guides the guest and later follows the trail of his sister out of love.
- JacaúnaThe great chief of the Pytiguaras and Poty's brother, who leads his warriors to the aid of his people's allies.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Iracema
by José de Alencar · 1865
A white warrior and Iracema, a shaman's daughter sworn to guard a secret, fall in love among enemy tribes.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Iracema is a short romance by José de Alencar, published in 1865 in Rio de Janeiro. It tells of the love between a young woman of the Tabajara nation and a white warrior on the coast of Ceará, in northeastern Brazil, in the years when newcomers from across the sea began to settle there.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A stranger enters Tabajara land
The story opens at sea. A white warrior, a child and a dog sail away from the coast of Ceará on a jangada, a small sailing raft, while a voice calls out the name Iracema from the shore. The storyteller then goes back to tell what the warrior left behind, a tale he says he heard as a boy on the plains where he was born.
Iracema lives in the forests of Ipu among the Tabajaras. She is the daughter of Araken, the shaman, and her hair is blacker than a graúna bird's wing. One noon, resting by a pool, she sees a pale stranger watching her, and she shoots an arrow before she thinks. It cuts his face. He answers with a smile, because he has learned from his mother's faith that woman stands for tenderness.
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What is Iracema about?
It is a love story set on the coast of Ceará when settlers from across the sea were arriving. A Tabajara maiden and a white warrior meet, fall in love and live among rival peoples, and the story explains how places there were named.
Who is Iracema?
Iracema is a young woman of the Tabajara nation, the daughter of the shaman Araken. She keeps the secret of the sacred jurema drink, and her name is often read as meaning honey lips.
Is Iracema a true story?
No, it is a romance based on legends and on early history of Ceará. Alencar published it in 1865 and drew on old chronicles, native place names and traditions, mixing real names with invented people.
The author
José de Alencar
1829–1877 · Brazilian novelist
José de Alencar was a Brazilian writer, born in Messejana, Ceará, in 1829. He lived in Rio de Janeiro, where he died in 1877. He wrote novels, plays, and newspaper articles. His novels include O Guarani, published in 1857, and Iracema, published in 1865. He also worked as a lawyer and politician.
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