Today is Saci Day in Brazil, which celebrates the Brazilian folkloric figure Saci. The Society of Saci Observers chose October 31st on purpose to coincide with Halloween, since they want to promote Brazilian folklore and ensure that Brazilians celebrate their own culture.

Saci Pererê, as he is known, is a mythical figure in Brazilian folklore. Originally, an indigenous boy who had two legs and liked to play practical jokes on others, like putting salt in people’s food and pulling on a horses’ tails. Later, when African slavery in Brazil began, the legend changed. Now, Saci is known for being a young one-legged black man who wears a red cap and smokes a pipe. He’s not an evil character, but rather a jokester who likes pulling pranks. He’s also a solitary figure who lives alone in the forest.

According to the Saci Society, this altered version of Saci represented a slave who yearned for freedom and escaped from a plantation during the colonization period in Brazil.