CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE — ^PIERSON 



19 



the rolinha occasionally is called rolinha cascavel 

 (rattlesnake rolinha). The nhambu-guassu is 

 more generally known as the inaitibu-guassu 

 {C ryptvrellus obsoletus). It is dark brown in 

 color and similar in size to a small chicken. It 

 is found on the ground in the mata. The nhannhu- 

 chororo {C . ■parvirostris) is a smaller species, about 

 the size of a dove. It is found on the ground 

 in the tlguera, or second-growth brush, whence the 

 name by which it is sometimes called: nhanibu- 

 de-tiguera. The uru {Odontophoms capuelra) is 

 named for the sound it emits : "uru-uru-uru." It 

 is predominantly brownish gray in color, with 

 white dots on dark-gray wings. The male has a 

 small, red topknot. Its legs and neck are both 

 shorter than those of the nhamiu-guassu. At 

 night it roosts in trees. Also caught occasionally 

 are the pichoroi^e {Saltator similis similis), sabid- 

 poca {Mimus satuminus f rater), saracura {Ara- 

 mides saracura), and the small-bodied frango 

 d'agua {Porphynda martinica), although these 

 birds do not play any significant role in the local 

 food supply. The flesh of the anu preto {Croto- 

 phaga ani) is used as a folk remedy. Also oc- 

 casionally to be seen are the perdiz (a local species 

 of partridge) and the codorna {Nothura 

 maculosa) . 



Many other birds are common to the commu- 

 nity, including a number of song birds, some of 

 which derive their names from the sounds they 

 utter. Among these are the following, as known 

 to the local inhabitants: the airu hra/ico, aragari, 

 azuldo, haitdca, bem-te-vi, bicudo, caga-sebo, cha/ti- 

 chan, curiango, curru, garandi, jaS, Jodo-de- 

 ban'o, phifasilgo, sabid-do-peiio-mnarelo, sangue- 

 de-boi, sanhassu, sejn-fim, tangara^ tico-tico, and 

 tucano, as well as the hawk [carancho], vulture 

 (unibu), swallow, sparrow, parrot (inchiding the 

 twijyi, a species of lovebird, and the paralceet) and 

 several species of hunmiingbirds, or beija-flores 

 (literally, kisses the flomers) as they are called in 

 Brazil. 



During the late summer (January to February) , 

 fireflies are numerous in the community and 

 brighten the nights with their flashing lights. 

 The members of the local family of these insects 

 (Elateridae) average about an inch in length and 

 are greenish-black in color. Two round spots on 

 the head are also phosphorescent and look like tiny 

 green headlights. They light up either in conjunc- 



tion with or separately from, the light in the 

 abdomen. 



A perhaps minor but not insignificant part of 

 the struggle for existence which the inhabitants 

 carry on in this habitat is due to the action of 

 noxious insects. Among the most competitive of 

 these insects are the tick [carrapato), the ant 

 (especially the sauva), the termite, spider (espe- 

 cially the caranguejeira) , the mosquito, and the 

 bemeira. 



Ticks are serious pests for both men and ani- 

 mals. The young begin to appear about the end 

 of April or early in May and soon thereafter trees, 

 shrubs and grass are covered with them. In this 

 community, two species are known: the picasso 

 and the vermelhinho. The picasso {Amblyomma 

 cayennense) is the larger. Before feeding, the 

 adult insect is flat and only about 4 to 5 mm. in 

 diameter. As it fills up on the blood of its victim, 

 however, it swells considerably until it may reach 

 three times this size when, in shape and color, it 

 resembles a small, unripe olive. It is to be found 

 the year around. In the larval stage, it is quite 

 small and occasionally piles up by the thousands 

 on the branches of trees and of shrubs and blades 

 of grass. Local inhabitants think of this larva 

 as a separate species and call it polvora (gun 

 powder). The vermelhinho {Rhipicephalus san- 

 guineus) or, literally, "the little red one," is a 

 smaller species than the picasso. 



The polvora is the most obnoxious of all forms. 

 As much as a pint or more of these lai'vae may be 

 scraped off a cow or a horse at one time. They 

 are most abundant and active in July and August. 

 By simply walking a few yards along a path, a 

 person may get the lower portion of his clothing 

 literally covered with them. If not at once picked 

 off, they soon are distributed over the body and 

 are boring down beneath the skin to suck the 

 blood.** Each puncture then begins to itch in- 

 tensely. Unwary scratching may break off the 

 insect's head and leave it to fester beneath the 

 skin, thereby greatly increasing the irritation. If 

 care is not taken, these minute wounds may become 

 infected; in any event, the pain and discomfort 

 they occasion seriously interfere with normal life, 

 especially with work and sleep. Said a 70-year- 



" Early in the period of field work, a student assistant counted 

 48 of these small ticks embedded in a portion of his body about 

 6 inches square. 



