Tradition / Region: Portuguese Mythology
Alternative names: Borborinho, Barborinho, Belborinho
Category: Spirit
The Myth
The Balborinho is a supernatural whirlwind from Portuguese folklore that appears suddenly on roads, fields, and crossroads during hot open hours of the day. It looks like a spinning column of dust, straw, leaves, and wind moving violently across the land. People believed something alive moved inside it.
According to tradition, the Balborinho contains the tormented souls of peasants who committed crimes involving land, theft, or agriculture during life. These dead souls cannot enter heaven because they still owe a debt to the living. The whirlwind wanders endlessly, carrying straw and debris as it searches for rest.
In many regions of Portugal people believed witches, devils, or evil spirits hid inside the spinning wind. In Minho and Moncorvo, villagers threw knives or open razor blades into the center of the whirlwind to drive away the spirit inside it. Elsewhere people crossed themselves and shouted protective prayers or insults at the storm.
Some traditions claimed the straw carried by the Balborinho came from stolen fields and marked places where injustice or wrongdoing had happened. In Guimarães there was even a belief that every leaf spinning inside the whirlwind carried a tiny devil riding upon it.
The Balborinho was especially feared in isolated rural places where sudden whirlwinds could appear without warning. In Beira Alta it was described as a violent localized wind capable of lifting entire piles of straw into the air with loud cracking sounds. People connected these unnatural winds directly with demonic forces.
Although terrifying, the Balborinho was not always seen as purely evil. Some stories described it as a suffering spirit trapped between worlds, wandering because of sins committed in life and unable to find peace.
Sources
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Balborinho. In Wikipédia. Retrieved May 16, 2026, from https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balborinho