Ethnic Humour: What do Portuguese People Laugh at?

The concept of ethnic humour may be defined as a type of humour in which fun is made of different traits (especially personality, behaviour and customs) of a group and/or its members thanks to their social, political, cultural and economic background.Within Portuguese society we may find numerous jokes, riddles and puns about several nations and countries with which Portugal, by virtue of its historical past, had some kind of connection. From an anthropological perspective it is then particularly interesting to try to identify the reasons hidden behind each and every nation’s selection. By recalling the three major humour theories we are sure that the jokes, riddles and puns were especially generated either to release tension regarding a tragic situation or to reveal the incongruity of certain behaviour, thus showing Portuguese superiority over the other nations.It is therefore the aim of the article not only to introduce and share with you a part of Portuguese humour but also to analyse what may be the particular cause of its original creation and today’s usage.