The legend of the water lily is very popular in Brazil, especially in the North region. Legend has it that the Moon was a god who dated the most beautiful Indian girls and whenever he hid, he chose and took some girls with him. In an indigenous village, there was a beautiful young woman, the warrior Naiá, who dreamed of the Moon and couldn't wait for the day when the god would call her.
The more experienced Indians warned Naiá that when the Moon took a girl, that girl left her human form and turned into a star in the sky. However, the young woman did not care, as she was in love with the Moon. This passion became an obsession when Naiá no longer wanted to eat or drink anything, just admire the moon.
One night when the moonlight was very beautiful, the girl arrived at the edge of a lake, saw the moon reflected in the middle of the water and believed that the god had descended from the sky to bathe there. So the girl threw herself into the lake towards the image of the Moon. When she realized that it was an illusion, she tried to go back, but she couldn't and drowned.
Moved by the situation, the god Moon decided to transform the girl into a star unlike any other: a star of waters – Victoria Regia. For this reason, the fragrant white flowers of this plant only open at night.
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Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
DANTAS, James. "Victoria Regia"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/folclore/vitoria-regia.htm. Accessed on July 27, 2021.
