CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE — PIERSON 



Paulo, and finally to this community where he 

 became a fazendeiro "with a large area planted." 

 He is reported to have been a musician, "unparal- 

 leled in playing the viola and violdo." His son 

 was a noted iandeirante who became rich in the 

 gold mines of Minas Gerais. His gi'andson, a 

 padre, was so attracted by the tales of tlie handeir- 

 antes that he eventually gave up the cloth and 

 became a famed handeirante himself, who took 

 gold in the mines of Cnyaba, in Mato Grosso, and 

 possessed at his death, it is said, 17,400 oitavas of 

 gold.^" In 1772, this chapel was reported to be 

 in serious disrepair. Today it has disappeared. 

 The image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade, however, 

 is preserved in the village church. Older resi- 

 dents on the farms sometimes still refer to the vil- 

 lage itself as "Piedade," although it has long been 

 known more generally under another name.^^ 



The second chapel to be built in the community 

 was dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Concei^ao. It 

 was erected in 1677 by the fazendeiro referred to 

 above, who furnished capital to many handeir- 

 antes, especially for the extraction of gold in Minas 

 Gerais, and helped supply them with food, tools, 

 and other necessities. At his death in 1713, the 

 farm became the i^roperty of the Jesuits and was 

 used by them for many j^ears apparently as a 

 retreat, although it is possible that they also had 

 a school here. A legend of a secret tunnel, simi- 

 lar to those legends common to establisliments in 

 Brazil occupied by the Jesuits at the time of their 

 expulsion, exists here also. Current tradition in- 

 sists that the other end of this tunnel was located 

 in a church an unbelievable 10 miles away. Fes- 

 fas are still held occasionally at the present chapel, 

 in which the image of Nossa Senhora da Concei§ao 

 is still kept. She is thought to be especially effi- 

 cacious in bringing rain in a period of drought. 

 (See section on Santos.) 



The third of these chapels was erected the fol- 

 lowing year (1678) on the margin of the present 

 community. It was built by one of the men who 

 fled from Sao Paulo at the time of the feud be- 

 tween the Pires and Camargos, referred to above. 

 He was married to a daughter of a famous In- 

 dian fighter known as "the terror of the Indians." 

 His father had been a Portuguese from Setubal. 



Although he himself was not a handeirante, at his 

 death in 1691, he is said to have possessed ware 

 made from silver, which had been taken in ventures 

 he had organized, weighing "more than 40 arro- 

 bas^ " This chapel also was dedicated to Nossa 

 Senhora da Conceigao. Years later it became a 

 virtual ruin but was subsequently reconstructed 

 and, more recently, again restored by the Patri- 

 m,6nio Historico of Brazil (pi. 16, h). On the 

 floor, one at each side of the altar, are two figures, 

 each about 3 feet high, which local residents iden- 

 tify as "Adam and Eve" (pi. 16, e). A villager 

 says they were once used to hold up the altar." 



The fourth of these important early chapels was 

 erected in 1701, on the fazenda of a capitdo-mor, 

 "one of the most noble and richest men of his time," 

 who "had numerous slaves." At one time, when 

 the French threatened to take over Rio de Janeiro 

 permanently, he armed 200 men at his own expense 

 to help expel them. He also took gold in the mines 

 at Cuyaba. The chapel was dedicated to Nossa 

 Senhora da Penha " and has grown into the pres- 

 ent village church. The original building was 

 reconstructed at least three times: in 1772, 1814, 

 and 1833. The present building dates from 1881. 

 Local residents speak of a pyx of gold once owned 

 by this church, which weighed 414 kilos (9.9 

 pounds) . A padre who officiated here from 1856 

 to 1888 and who was best known by his nickname 

 of Aragd, became quite famous in the cominunity. 

 An homem de cor ^^ from Santos, he is said to have 

 been "worshiped by his parishioners." He owned 

 land on which were "large plantings of coffee, 

 maize, sugarcane and cotton, as well as engenhos 

 for grinding cane and olarias for making brick." 

 From the production of this fazenda, generous 

 gifts were made to needy families. 



Wlien the first African was brought into the 

 area under study, or even into the region, is un- 

 Ivnown. Due to the absence of plantation agri- 

 culture such as developed in the Eeconcavo of 

 Bahia, the coastal region of Pernambuco and the 

 area around Campos in the State of Eio de Janeiro, 

 or of extensive gold-panning operations such as 



""2,175 ounces. 



" Of a second chapel, erected by the grandson at an unknown 

 date and dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Pilar, there also is no 

 vestige left today. 



" 1,280 pounds. 



"Said another villager, "They are a casar de indio (an Indian 

 man and his wife) ; can't you see that their color is dark, not 

 light?" 



^* Of another chapel which this man is reported to have erected 

 near the TietS River on his tazenda and dedicated to Nossa Sen- 

 hora de Nazareth, no trace is left today. 



" "Man of color" ; that is, a Negro. 



