Cafuné: A Brazilian Portuguese Word for Caressing A Loved One's Hair Tenderly

Tenderness, care, humanity, love

On a snowy evening, you’re sitting with your partner by the fireplace, lighting up the whole room. There is a delicious woody scent in the air. Glasses of good red wine and a plate of delicious cheese accompany the fairytale atmosphere. Your face is lightly and sweetly red, both from the heat of the fire and from happiness and excitement.

The rest of the evening is full of good possibilities, a night to remember for a lifetime. One moment, he looks tenderly into your eyes and gently runs his hands through your hair, perhaps before a warm kiss. The night is beginning. You feel blessed.

Or, go back to the past, and remember when you were a kid. You hit the best shot of your life playing football in the school yard. You think you could even get into the school team, but thanks to bad luck, the ball breaks the school window. A wild warmth rushes through your body from head to toes. Your face gets red.

You wish you could skip the next few hours. Or if you just went back a few minutes ago. You would give anything to live one of these two options. But suddenly a third option, which you never thought of, becomes a reality. While everyone is looking at you and the broken glass, the football team’s coach appears next to you, smiling and stroking your hair with compassion.

There is no one in the world more perfect than him at that moment, so perfect that you can do whatever he wants for the rest of your life. You wish all adults were like him. 

Love is a miracle in the world, and the beloved one’s touches are the messengers of that miracle. Cafuné, a word in Brazilian Portuguese, describes one of these miraculous touches very well.

Cafuné means running your hands through a loved one’s hair. Isn't it wonderful that a language has such an affectionate word?

On the contrary, the origin of the word is not as affectionate as its meaning. Cafuné comes from an Afro-Brazilian background. It was brought to the Portuguese language by the Africans of Yoruba who came to Brazil during the period of slavery.

Obviously, in an extremely painful period of humanity’s history, cafuné was such a behavior that African people, who were sad and desperate every day in some way, needed a lot to console each other. Cafuné was one of the few vital things which kept those good but sad people hopeful for life in their old and dusty huts.

Human needs are always and everywhere the same. Whether his skin is black or white, his eyes are blue or slanted, whether rich or poor, I don't know any person for whom cafuné wouldn't be good in a sad moment.

As humans or animals, our hair is present to be caressed, my friends, either by the wind or a sensitive friend. Both are preferred depending on the situation.