Auerê Tupã, Auerê Niamisú

History

“Naô” (also written naó, naõ or na’ô in different transcriptions) is a Tupi-Guarani word used by several Indigenous groups in Brazil to denote the “encantados” — invisible, benevolent forest spirits or ancestral beings that protect nature and the people who live in harmony with it. • Auerê (also spelled aueré, awerê, aweré) is an exclamatory particle meaning “hurrah,” “praise,” “rejoice,” or “hail.” • Tupã is the Guarani personification of thunder and one of the highest creator spirits; in many modern chants it functions like the word “God.” • Niamisú (variant spellings: Niamisu, Nyamisú) does not appear in ordinary Guarani dictionaries. In the oral repertoire of Umbanda and Indigenous‐inspired ceremonial songs it is glossed as an “encantado,” i.e., a benevolent ancestral or forest spirit—comparable to the naô mentioned later in the song