Mafagafo Nest

Mafagafos, sometimes also known as “Mafaguifos” or “Mafagafes”, are shapeless characters that exist only in the tongue twisters of children's games. Even so, popular imagination is always trying to give them an image. Because of the idea of ​​the nest, they are often thought of as birds. Others, however, will immediately evoke the image of insects.

One tongue twister, many versions

There is no “true” or definitive version of the tongue twister. After all, like everything that exists in oral tradition, what we have is only a present fixation of something fluid. Thus, there are some versions:

"Num ninho de mafagafos, tem sete mafagafinhos
Quem os desmafagafizar bom desmafagafizador será."

Portuguese wordplay, literal sense: "In a nest of mafagafos, there are seven little mafagafinhos. Whoever unmakes them will be a good unmaker."

"Em cima daquela árvore tem um ninho de mafagafo
E quem lá chegar encontrará quatro mafagafinhos
mamando na mafagafa o leite mafagafoso.
E quem o desmafagafar será um grande desmafagafador."

Portuguese wordplay, literal sense: "On top of that tree there is a mafagafo's nest. And whoever gets there will find four little mafagafos suckling the mafagafa's milk. And whoever unmakes them will be a great unmaker."

"Num ninho de mafagafos, cinco mafagafinhos há! Quem amafagar mais mafagafinho bom amafagafanhador será."

Portuguese wordplay, literal sense: "In a mafagafo's nest, there are five little mafagafos! Whoever cuddles more little mafagafos will be a good cuddler."

"Um ninho de mafagafos tem sete mafagafinhos. Quando a mãe mafagafo dá comida aos sete mafagafinhos, eles fazem semelhante mafagafada que ninguém os mafagafaguifa."

Portuguese wordplay, literal sense: "A mafagafo's nest has seven little mafagafos. When the mother mafagafo feeds the seven little mafagafos, they make such a mafagafada that nobody can make them mafagafaguifa."

Playing with words

All these versions are tongue twisters, part of a people’s oral literature. They bring sounds together in ways that trip the tongue. Trying to get them out gives you a feel for just how far you can stretch a language.

Beyond the joke, the expression "Nest of Mafagafos" is often used to refer to something difficult or confusing. By relation, the act of undoing a Nest of Mafagafos (by un-mafagafizing it) represents the resolution of a complex problem.