CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE! — PIERSON 



85 



Ibreak any more. I can then build up the fire as 

 much as I like." Baking takes about half a day. 

 Wood is used for fuel. 



Although Dona Maria says she knows how to 

 make "anything of clay," the vessels most com- 

 monly made are the 'pote^ the monnga^ the cus- 

 cuseiro, and the forno (fig. 13) . The fote and the 

 moringa are used for holding water; the cus- 

 cuseiro and forno, for cooking. The fote is a 

 cylindrical vessel around 16 inches high. The 

 mouth is about 8 inches in diameter and the lower 



large skillet about 16 inches in diameter and 4 

 inches deep, except that in place of one long, slen- 

 der handle there are two short thick handles, one 

 on each side. Since all vessels are made "by rule 

 of thumb," the measurements here given are not 

 standard but merely approximate the general 

 average. 



A cusffuseiro was recently sold for 6 ct'uzeiros 

 (32.6 cents). There is, however, no fixed price. 

 Said an informant, "^ conforme a cara do jregueis''' 

 (It depends on the face of the customer). 



Figure 13. — Local pottery, o, Forno, used as a pan in cooking. 6, Moringa, and c, pote, eacli used to hold water. 

 d-f, Cusciisciro, or ves.sel in which food is cooked by steam, showing the lid and cross section of detached upper part. 



portion about 12 inches at the widest point. The 

 moringa is a similar but smaller vessel, about 10 

 inches high, with a narrow neck only an inch 

 and a half in diameter. The enlarged lower por- 

 tion measures about 10 inches in diameter at the 

 widest point. The cuscuseiro is a vessel in which 

 food is cooked by steam, made in one piece, about 

 12 inches high, with a spout attached to the lower 

 part. It looks something like a bucket with flar- 

 ing sides, cemented on top of a sprinkling can 

 which has lost the nozzle off the spout. The upper 

 and lower parts are separated by a layer of clay, 

 perforated in several places to permit steam to 

 rise into the upper part. The spout is used to 

 remove the water from the lower section. Two 

 small, thick handles are attached to the upper 

 part, and there is a lid. The forno resembles a 



THE ABAPUCA 



The arapuca, or trap for catching birds, is used 

 especially for the smaller species, although at times 

 larger birds, like the jacu, are taken in it, and even 

 small animals. It is made of taquara, bamboo, or 

 similar wood. One that was observed in use had 

 the form of a rough pyramid which was about 15 

 by 20 inches at the base and 10 inches high. To 

 make it, strips of taquara, ranging from about 6 to 

 20 inches in length, are first cut. Two of the longer 

 strips are then taken and linked together at their 

 extremities with a piece of cipo, the length of 

 which varies with the height desired in the finished 

 trap but which in the one observed was around 21/3 

 feet. The rectangle thus formed is twisted to 

 make an X. The split pieces of taquara are then 

 superimposed on each pair of sides alternately, 



