Home › Glossary › Letter M

Mãe-do-Ouro

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Brazilian golden mother spirit who guards gold mines and punishes greed

Detailed Definition
Mãe-do-Ouro appears as a radiant woman or fiery serpent, protecting subterranean wealth. She reflects anxieties about mining and exploitation. In poetry, she embodies ecological justice, indigenous land rights, and the spiritual cost of materialism in Amazonian and Minas Gerais verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
Mãe-do-Ouro, the Brazilian “Mother of Gold” who protects gold veins, gleams in mining-region poetry as a symbol of earth’s hidden wealth; In verses from Minas Gerais, Mãe-do-Ouro’s light blinds greedy prospectors; Poets use Mãe-do-Ouro to critique extractive industries and honor Pachamama; In eco-poetry, Mãe-do-Ouro’s tears become mercury-polluted rivers; Some works depict Mãe-do-Ouro as a golden serpent coiled in mountains; Contemporary poets invoke Mãe-do-Ouro to demand sustainable stewardship.
Additional Notes
Mãe-do-Ouro (“Mother of Gold”) is a Brazilian spirit guarding gold mines, appearing as a luminous woman or fiery serpent—embodies the sacredness of earth’s treasures and the greed of miners; rich for eco-poetry critiquing extractivism or exploring mineral wealth as spiritual entity.
Also Known As
Mãe do Ouro
Skip to main content