CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE — PIERSON 



17 



The Sao Joao is universally preferred.^* It is used 

 in the construction of houses of pau a 'pique ^^ and 

 similar buildings, to make handles for baskets, to 

 tie together bamboo or other poles for fences and 

 on any one of a number of other occasions when 

 a binder is needed. The other kinds are used to 

 a lesser extent, usually in the construction of fences 

 and buildings. The presence of the mandinga is 

 considered to be an indication of fertile soil. Two 

 other species of eij)6, known locally as goiaba and 

 leite, are said to be of little value. 



The taquara^ a plant related to the bamboo, is 

 also much used. Local inhabitants distinguish 10 

 kinds : uvu, poca, pininga, ussu, mirim, da India, 

 do reino, GuinS, Chinesa, and taquan. The Chin- 

 esa is used to build fences and to make bird cages; 

 da India to build fences and to make fishing poles ; 

 do reino to make pios ^^ and guiding sticks for 

 rockets.^^ The taquari is considered of little value. 

 All the remaining kinds are used to make jacds 

 and other baskets, apds for winnowing, peneiras 

 for sifting and emhornais, or feed bags for horses.^* 

 The bamboo proper (also called locally m-anhii), 

 originally imported into Brazil, is used to build 

 fences and to furnish support for occasional grape- 

 vines. 



Among the trees most used for lumber are the 

 jacarandd {Jacaranda spp.), peroia {Aspido- 

 spenna sp.), guatambu [A. oUvaceum), sagiia- 

 rangi {Coluhrina rufa), and pitiva {Tabehuia 

 ochracea) , all of which are excellent hardwoods, as 

 well as the softer cedro (Brazilian cedar : Cedrela 

 glaziovii), canela {Nectandra sp.), and passuare 

 {Sclerolobium denudafimi). The cambard (Mo- 

 quinia polymorpha) and jacare {Piptadenia com- 

 nvunis) are used for fence posts. The wooden 

 portion of pack saddles is made from guaica. 

 Poles from the aragapiranga {Psidiwn sp.) and 

 capichingi'.i {Croton floribundus) , both of which 

 are said to be especially weather-resistant, are used 

 for building purposes. Gamelas, or wooden bowls, 

 are carved from caroba (Jacaranda sp.). Gapi- 

 chingui, jacare, and guagatonga {Casearia syl- 

 vestris) are preferred for firewood. A few 

 paineiras, or ka^^ok trees, also grow in the area. 



" DuriDg the months of June and July, huge clusters of 

 slender, bell-shaped, orange-colored blossoms, each about 2 inches 

 long, appear on this vine. 



^ See Dwellings and Furnishings, p. 42. 



" Whistles which are used to call game birds. 



" See Making of Fireworks, p. 83. 



^ See Basketry, p. 83. 



An occasional pine tree is a source of pinhoes, or 

 pine nuts. 



When a plot is cleared for planting, the smaller 

 trees are used for firewood or made into charcoal. 

 (See sections on Forest Utilization and Making 

 of Charcoal.) An occasional bee-tree is still to 

 be found in the mata. Several wild fruits and 

 edible plants may also be found in season (see sec- 

 tion on Wild Fruits). The use of other plants 

 for medicinal or magical purposes is common. 



WILDLIFE 



As the timber and underbrush which once cov- 

 ered the hills and valleys have been cut away, the 

 wildlife in the area has correspondingly declined. 

 There is still, however, an abundance of fish in 

 the river; and in the remaining timber along its 

 banks, as also in isolated patches standing else- 

 where, small animals and birds are still hunted 

 and trapped. 



The following fish are to be found in the area : 

 a<;ard (card), bdgre, cascudo, lamban, mandi, 

 piava, pirapitinga, taid and traira. Three kinds 

 are regularly caught and used for food : the aeard, 

 bdgre, and traira. The acard {Geophagus) is a 

 prolific fish of up to 8 inches in length ; when small, 

 its alternating dark-blue and silvery stripes pass- 

 ing vertically around the body give it an attrac- 

 tive appearance which, however, fades somewhat 

 with age. The bdgre belongs to the family Pimelo- 

 didae. It has a dark back and light-colored un- 

 derside, a huge mouth and small teeth ; it at times 

 reaches 14 inches in length. The traira {Hoplias) 

 is dark gray with yellowish stripes. It reaches 

 over 12 inches in length and weighs up to 4i/^ 

 pounds. The mouth is large in proportion to the 

 body and the teeth are strong and sharp. 



The lambari {Tetragonoptenis) are also caught, 

 but only during the months when the siriri and the 

 i^d (see p. 34), which ai'e used at bait, are avail- 

 able. Approximately 150 species are know in Bra- 

 zil (Von Ihering, 1940, p. 459) . The most common 

 in this community are in general silver-colored, 

 with a dark streak down the back and a red tail. 

 The larger species, averaging about 6 inches in 

 length, are called locally lambari-guassu; the 

 smaller species, averaging around 4 inches in 

 length, are called lambari-mirim?^ A number of 



^ In Guarant, guassu (assu) means large; mirim means small. 



