B40 



THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS. 



very degrading notions of religion. I have 

 often travelled in the company of these shin- 

 ing examples of European enlightenment. 

 They generally carry with them, wherever 

 they go, a small image of some favorite saint 

 in their trunks ; and when a squall or any 

 other danger arises, their first impulse is to 

 rush to the cabin, take out the image and 

 clasp it to their lips, while uttering a prayer 

 for protection. The negroes and mulattoes 

 are similar in this respect to the low Portu- 

 guese, but I think they show a purer devo- 

 tional feeling ; and in conversation I have 

 always found them to be more rational in re- 

 ligious views than the lower orders of Portu- 

 guese. As to the Indians, with the excep- 

 tion of the more civilized families residing 

 near the large towns, they exhibit no relig- 

 ious sentiment at all. They have their own 

 patron saint, St. Thome, and celebrate has an- 

 niversary in the orthodox way, for they are 

 fond of observing all the formalities ; but 

 they think the feasting to be of equal impor- 

 tance with the church ceremonies. At some 

 of the festivals masquerading forms a large 

 part of the proceedings, and then the Indians 

 really shine. They get up capital imitations 

 of wild animals, dress themselves to repre- 

 sent the Caypor and other fabulous creatures 

 of the forest, and act their parts throughout 

 with great cleverness. When St. Thome's 

 festival takes place, every employer of In- 

 dians knows that all his men will get drunk. 

 The Indian, generally too shy to ask directly 

 for cashaca (rum), is then very bold ; he asks 

 for a frasco at once (two bottles and a half), 

 and says, if interrogated, that he is going to 

 fuddle in honor of St. Thome. 



In the city of Para, the provincial govern- 

 ment assists to augment the splendor of the 

 religious holidays. The processions which 

 traverse the principal streets consist, iu the 

 first place, of the image of the saint, and 

 those of several other subordinate ones be- 

 longing to the same church ; these are borne 

 on the shoulders of respectable householders, 

 who volunteer for the purpose : sometimes 

 you will see your neighbor the grocer or the 

 carpenter groaning under the load. The 

 priest and his crowd of attendants precede 

 the images, arrayed in embroidered robes, 

 and protected by magnificent sunshades no 

 Hseless ornament here, for the heat is very 

 great when the sun is not obscured. On each 

 side of the long line the citizens walk, clad 

 in crimson silk cloaks, and holding each a 

 large lighted wax candle. Behind follows a 

 regiment or two of foot soldiers with their 

 bands of music, and last of all the crowd, the 

 colored people being cleanly dressed and pre- 

 serving a grave demeanor. The women are 

 always in great force, their luxuriant black 

 hair decorated with jasmines, white orchids, 

 and other tropical flowers. They are dressed 

 in their usual holiday attire, gauze chemises 

 and black silk petticoats ; their necks are 

 adorned with links of gold beads, which 

 when they are slaves are generally the prop- 

 erty of their mistresses, who love thus to dis- 

 play their wealth. 



At night, when festivals are going on in; 

 the grassy squares around the suburban 

 churches, there is really much 10 admire. A 

 great deal that is peculiar in the land and the 

 life of its inhabitants can be seen best at 

 those times. The cheerful white church is 

 brilliantly lighted up, and the music, not of 

 a very solemn description, peals forth from 

 the open windows and doors. Numbers of 

 young gaudily-dressed negresses line the 

 path to the church doors with stands of 

 liqueurs, sweetmeats, and cigarettes, which 

 they sell to the outsiders. A short distance 

 off is heard the rattle of dice-boxes and rou- 

 lette at the open-air gambling stalls. When 

 the festival happens on moonlit nights, the 

 whole scene is very striking to a new-comer. 

 Around the square are groups of tall palm- 

 trees, and beyond it, over the illuminated 

 houses, appear the thick groves of mangoes 

 near the suburban avenues, from which comes 

 the perpetual ringing din of insect life. The 

 soft tropical moonlight lends a wonderful 

 charm to the whole. The inhabitants are all 

 out, dressed in their best. The upper classes, 

 who come to enjoy the fine evening and the 

 general cheerfulness, are seated on chairs 

 around the doors of friendly houses. Theie 

 is no boisterous conviviality, but a quiet en- 

 joyment seems to be felt everywhere, and a 

 gentle courtesy rules among all classes and 

 colors. I have seen a splendidly dressed 

 colonel, from the President's palace, walk up 

 to a mulatto and politely ask his permission 

 to take a light from his cigar. When the 

 service is over, the church bells are set ring- 

 ing, a shower of rockets mounts upward, 

 the bands strike up, and parties of colored 

 people in the booths begin their dances. 

 About ten o'clock the Brazilian national air 

 is played, ajid all disperse quietly and soberly 

 to their homes. 



At the festival of Corpus Christi there was 

 a very pretty arrangement. The large green 

 square of the Trinidade was lighted up all 

 round with bonfires. On one side a tine 

 pavilion was erected, the upright posts con- 

 sisting of real fan-leaved palm-trees, the 

 Mauritia flexuosa, which had been brought 

 from the forest, stems and heads entire, and 

 fixed in the ground. The booth was illumi- 

 nated with colored lamps, and lined with red 

 and white cloth. In it were seated the ladies, 

 not all of pure Caucasian blood, but present- 

 ing a fine sample of Para beauty and fashion. 



The grandest of all these festivals is that 

 held in honor of Our Lady of Nazareth : it 

 is, I believe, peculiar to JPara. As I have 

 said before, it falls in the second quarter of 

 the moon, about the middle of the dry sea- 

 sonthat is, in October or November and 

 lasts, like the others, nine days. On th 

 first day a very extensive procession takes 

 place, starting from the cathedral, whither 

 the image of the saint has been conveyed 

 some days previously, and terminating at 

 the chapel or hermitage, as it is called, of the 

 saint at Nazareth, a distance of more than, 

 two miles. The whole population turns out 

 this occasion, All the soldiers, both of 



