The Acai Berry Legend
Brazilian folklore tells the tale of an Incan Princess named Iaca whose father was the tribal chief of her people. As the years passed and she grew to adulthood a serious problem had emerge; the tribe was outgrowing its food resources!
After a particularly dry season the chief and his advisors came to realize that the starvation of his people was eminent unless drastic action was taken.
Having just witnessed the birth of his only granddaughter the decision the chief would make was even more heart wrenching: In order for his people to survive he would need to order the execution of all newborn babies.
His daughter Iaca pleaded with her father to spare the newborn’s life but the chief knew granting her wish would create dissention among the ranks and destroy his people. He ordered his most loyal bodyguard to carry out the execution.
Iaca was devastated at the loss of her child and after two days of mourning fell asleep. That night she heard a haunting cry emerging from the nearby woods; the cry of her daughter!
She quickly awoke and ran deep into the forest following the eerily foreboding sounds echoing through the night. Her journey led her to a large palm tree towering into the night filled with succulent purple berries.
The bounty of food before her would save her people and her daughter had they only known the sacred location of the tree.
So distraught was Iaca that she collapsed and died. Days later the chiefs scouts, in search of his missing daughter, found Iaca’s body at the base of the life giving tree.
The distraught chief had found the food to save his people but at the price of two people he loved very much. To honor the sacrifice he ordered the tree to be named after his daughter “Acai” (which is Iaca spelled backwards) and to be known as “the fruit that cries.”
