46 



IN-STITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 1 2 



The most common utensil used at meal time are 

 the cup, soup spoon, and soup plate. In many 

 farm and village homes, the soup spoon is the only 

 utensil of its kind used and, sometimes, the only 

 one owned. Several families have at least one or 

 two table knives. Few families, however, have 

 forks, except perhaps an old one employed in 

 cooking. Any kind of food may be eaten from a 

 soup plate. The cup used for drinking may be of 

 enamel or, quite often, it may have been made from 

 a tin can which originally contained some article 

 purchased at a village store. Most families also 

 have, for use in serving the cafezinho "° to guests 

 on the more formal occasions, two or three inex- 

 pensive china teacups, sometimes chipped and often 

 without saucers, and a small, well-worn tray of 

 cheap alloy. A few families possess, for use on 

 these occasions, a more expensive set of teacups 

 or demitasse cups and saucers and perhaps a 

 brightly colored coffeepot, of all of which great 

 care is taken. 



An occasional family in the village or on a farm 

 is more adequately supplied with table accessories 

 than everyday use would indicate. In the village 

 home which is probably most adequately furnished 

 in this respect, there is a set of inexpensive silver- 

 plated tableware, including knives, forks, table- 

 spoons, and dessertspoons ; and inexpensive china- 

 ware, including dinner, dessert, and soup plates, a 

 platter, a few serving dishes, a set of cups and sau- 

 cers, and inexpensive glasses. A kitchen knife is 

 used to cut meats at the table. 



On 17 farms visited the tableware and kitchen 

 utensils being used, in what is probably the most 

 adequately equipped home, were as follows : 



2 enamel plates 

 8 china plates 

 5 soup plates 



1 cake plate 



5 knives, 6 forks 

 8 tablespoons 

 4 cofCeespoons 



2 sets of china teacups 



and saucers 

 1 chrome tea and coffee set 



1 aluminum pan 

 3 enamel kettles 

 1 aluminum teakettle 

 1 aluminum coffeepot 



1 enamel coffeepot 



2 bowls 



1 meat grinder 



1 dish pan (made of tin 



cans cut and soldered 



together) 



( coffeepot, teapot, milk 1 potato rieer 



pitcher, sugar bowl, 1 aluminum ladle 



tray) 2 kitchen knives 



1 cast-iron skillet 1 wire strainer 



2 cast-ii-on pans 2 cups, made of tin cans 



1 sieve, made of taquara 

 1 wooden frame to support 



a bag for straining 



coffee 

 1 basket, made of taquara 



1 cutting board 

 1 pUdo 



Several bottles 

 A few tin cans of various 

 sizes 



The tableware and kitchen utensils in the home 

 which is probably least adequately supplied were : 



1 aluminum pan (much 



dented) 

 1 sieve, made of taquara 

 1 small basket 

 1 pildo 



Several bottles 

 A few tin cans of various 

 sizes, some with lids 



3 enamel plates 



3 bowls 

 2 glasses 



5 tin cups, made of cans 

 1 china teapot 

 1 china cup 



4 cast-iron pans 



In addition to the above-mentioned items, other 

 farm families occasionally also possess: 



Enamel cups 

 Wooden bowls 

 Clay waterpots 



Wooden kegs (for water) 

 Tin basins 

 Enamel basins 



'• See The Cafi^zinlio, p. 124. 



With the exception of baskets, the pildo, and 

 sieves, few utensils are home-made. On one farm, 

 for instance, the only items which had been made 

 by members of the family were two cups, prepared 

 by nailing tin handles on tin cans. On another 

 farm, the only item of this sort was a simple 

 grater, made by opening out the tin from a tin 

 can, perforating it with a nail, and attaching it to 

 a wooden support. On a third farm, the oldest 

 daughter had made three cups by fastening wire 

 handles to tin cans, and the father had carved out 

 of cedro a wash basin, with handles (pi. 20, /). 

 On still another farm, the father had carved a 

 gamela, or large, shallow bowl from wood, and 

 made a simple lamp, by putting a wick into a 

 pinga bottle. 



The most adequately equipped house in the vil- 

 lage is that of one of the storekeepers whose wife 

 is from a town about 30 miles away and is accus- 

 tomed to a standard of living somewhat above that 

 common to the local community. Although the 

 house is old, it was remodeled 2 years ago, at which 

 time it was also freshly calcimined inside and 

 out. The house measures about 30 by 24 feet and 

 is 9 feet to the eaves. The walls are of brick and 

 the roof of tile. Most of the windows are of glass 

 and have wooden shutters. There is a dining 

 room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The 

 floor of the dining room is of wood and is waxed. 

 The bathroom is equipped with running water, 

 both hot and cold, the former being heated as it 



