Carranca or Scowling Figurehead made from wood, Painted with bright colors. This carranca is made at the end of the 2oth century in Brasil, it's around 47 cm tall and weights about 2,5 kg Below some information about carranca's: The word carranca also means scowl, and these figureheads are a phenomenon which are only found in the norteast region of Brazil. The carrancas are typically humans, animals or imaginary beasts, and are said to protect the boatmen from evil spirits. Carrancas first came to the wider public’s attention with the photo journals of Marcel Gautherot, Pierre Verger and Antoine Bom in the late 1940s and early 1950s.