CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE — PIERSON 



45 



with the exception of a rare rocking chair, only 

 one of the hitter ha^nng been observed in the vil- 

 lage. Perhaps half the houses have a factory- 

 made table and a factory-made cupboard in which 

 to keep food and dishes. Several families in the 

 village and a few on the farms possess a wardrobe 

 in which to keep their clothes; other families use 

 for this jJurpose a box, trunk, or suit case. 



The stove is invariably a poid^°* It is made 

 by driving large stakes into the dirt floor of the 

 kitchen and building over them a wooden plat- 

 form about 5 feet long and 214 feet wide (fig. 

 5^_io4a If available, strips of tin may then be laid 

 on top of this platform. A layer of brick is added 

 and cemented into position with a mixture of 

 earth, ashes, and water. Two rows of bricks, three 

 to four bricks high, are laid along the far end and 

 also along the sides from the back two-thirds of 

 the way toward the front, to form the walls of 

 a firebox about a foot wide and open at the front 

 end. The near third of the platform is left un- 

 covered to support sticks of wood which are pe- 

 riodically pushed further and further into the 

 fire as the ends burn away. On top of the fire- 

 box is cemented into place an iron covering with 

 two or three openings on wdiich to set pots and 

 other cooking utensils. Over the whole construc- 

 tion is then spread a layer of cement, made of the 

 mixture referred to above or of clay from an 

 "anthill" or, occasionally, of cow excrement, ashes, 

 and water. Since a chimney is not always added, 

 and often functions inefficiently even if added, the 

 walls and roof of the kitchen are usually soon 

 stained with soot. 



Seven houses in the village and an occasional 

 farmhouse have a cement tank, as has been indi- 

 cated, for washing clothes. A few villagers and 

 farmers have a brick oven at the back or side of 

 the house (pi. 8) . Thirteen families in the village 

 and 8 of 17 families visited on farms have sewing 

 machines of standard makes. The iron used for 

 ironing clothes is heated by filling an interior 

 cavitj' with burning charcoal (fig. 6). Light is 

 ordinarily f ui-nished by a kerosene lamp or lantern 

 or a lamparina, made of a small bottle, or tin recep- 

 tacle, into which kerosene and a wick have been 

 put. Gasoline tins are used to carry water. 



"Wooden pegs, iron hooks, and nails are sometimes 

 emploj^ed for hanging articles. 



Figure 6. — Charcoal-burning iron. 



At man J' houses, there is a pildo, or wooden mor- 

 tar, used to cnish foodstuffs (fig. 7). It has been 

 made of a log of durable wood and usually stands 



'"* This term sometimes is used, in other communities, to refer 

 only to the platform upon which the wood is laid to be burnt. 



iMo In some cases, the poia is built directly upon the floor, with- 

 out stakes under It. 



Figure 7. — Pildo, or wooden mortar, with pestle. 



about 2y2 feet high and has a cavity around 16 

 inches deep and 14 inches in diameter. The pestle 

 is a heavy stick about 31/0 feet long, operated by 

 hand. The pildo is now used much less than for- 

 merly. 



