The myth of the savage arose in the 15th century, as the great European powers started conquering the other continents (to become even greater powers). They encountered peoples with ways of life different from their own. To face this Unknown, they adopted a European rationale. There were two options: “the brutal savage” or the “noble savage” versions, (leaving them alone was not an option). A “brutal savage” was cruel. They were turned into a symbol of depravity to strengthen European civilisations’ superiority. A “noble savage” was naïve and close to nature. They were turned into a symbol of a lost paradise to criticize modern societies. For the anthropologist Sérgio Paulo Rouanet, both versions take part in the same projet. The cultivation of Otherness: a vision of the Other who is different from me. An Other who has been viewed and deformed through my gaze.