CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE — PIERSON 



27 



Durinor the 18 years from 1930 to 19-47, inclu- 

 sive, or that period in which color categories were 

 employed in local records, none of the deaths un- 

 der 5 years of age was recorded as that of a preto. 

 This fact, however, is probably due to the char- 

 acter of the racial situation rather than to the 

 absence of relatively immixed Negro children 

 among the deceased. For these 18 years, the pro- 

 portion of the deaths occurring in each color group 

 listed, which pertained to children under 5 years 

 of age, is shown in table 8. 



Table 8. — Deaths uvtler 3 years of age. ii/ color ijroup, 

 Cruz das Almas commvnitii, 19^3-47 ' 



Age 



Under 6 months 

 Under 1 year... 

 Under 2 years. _ 

 Under 5 years, . , 



Total 



Percent 

 19.0 

 26.8 

 42.8 

 52.9 



' Source : Records of village registrar of vital statistics. 



Statistical data on causes of death are impossible 

 to obtain with accuracy. As has been indicated, 

 few deaths are attended by a competent medical 

 practitioner and the causes given by parents or 

 other relatives, many of whom are illiterate, ob- 

 viously do not constitute reliable information. 

 Observation would lead one to conclude, however, 

 that among the principal causes of infant deatlis 

 in this community are respiratory diseases, es- 

 pecially bronchitis and pneumonia, digestive dis- 

 turbances and dysentery, complicated by the action 

 of intestinal worms and by deficiencies in the diet 

 and in sanitation. 



MOBILITY 



The mobility of the population is relatively low. 

 Travel is limited largely to visiting the neighbor- 

 ing towns of Boa Vista and Piracema on the occa- 

 sion of religious and secular festivals, pilgrimages, 

 and (in recent years) soccer games in which the 

 local team participates. Fai-mers living on the 

 margin of the community visit these towns and 

 also Paratinga and Sao Jose dos Patos to make 

 purchases, as do other farmers and a few villagers 

 on more infrequent occasions. Of the families on 

 17 farms visited, three buy salt, coffee, kerosene, 

 and similar necessities in one of the neighboring 

 towns and three other families buy a part of these 

 items there. The other part is purchased in the 



village, as are all such items used by the other 11 

 families. Some of these 11 families, however, as 

 do the other 6 families, buy all or a part of their 

 farm tools, cooking utensils, and clothing in these 

 neighboring towns. Three families, on infrequent 

 occasions, make a few of such purchases even in 

 Sao Paulo. Five families have relatives whom 

 they occasionally visit, living in one or more of 

 these neighboring towns, and three families have 

 relatives in communities which are farther away, 

 or even in Sao Paulo. 



Several villagers, however, and other persons 

 living on farms, especially the women and girls, 

 seldom or never go outside the community. "I've 

 never even been to Boa Vista," said a 16-year-old 

 girl in the village. "When my sister married and 

 moved away she wanted me to go along with her 

 for a few days but I wouldn't go. Deus me livre ! *" 

 I don't want to be away from here. I would get too 

 homesick for my mother." Several farm women, 

 although they live only a comparatively short 

 distance from the village, visit even it only occa- 

 sionally. 



As has been indicated, a few families migi-ated 

 to the community some years ago from another 

 community about 25 miles to the south and, some- 

 time later, a few other families from still another 

 community some foi'ty miles to the east. A con- 

 siderable number of the members of these families 

 or their descendants now live in the village or on 

 nearby farms. In more recent years, several fami- 

 lies or unattached men also moved into the com- 

 munity, especially from the neighboring State of 

 Minas Gerais and remained for some time while 

 the men were emploj' ed in cutting timber and a few 

 of these families and unattached individuals 

 stayed on after the land had been cleared. 



The number of persons involved in these migra- 

 tions, ho'wever, was so small in proportion to the 

 total population and the cultui-al characteristics 

 of the incoming migrants were so closely related to 

 those of the local inhabitants, that the effects upon 

 the local society and culture have been minimal. 

 The new population elements apparently were 

 taken into the local society and absorbed with 

 relative ease and a minimum of change and disor- 

 ganization. 



In 1934, according to the State census of that 

 year, 98.01 percent of the persons in the com- 



^''■God deliver me (from that) !" 



