CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE^ — ^PIERSON 



93 



below, however, are purchased with regularity by 

 families in the village and surrounding area. 

 Even though certain of the food items are grown 

 by several villages, as well as most farmers, crops 

 in many cases are insuiBcient for the family's con- 

 sumption during the entire year. The prices, at 

 6-month intervals in 1948, of the staples most 

 purchased at village stores were as given in 

 table 11. 



Table 11. — Prices of articles most often purchased alstores, 

 village of Cruz das Almas, 194.S 



1 Unless otherwise specified. 



> Of inferior quality. 



' During the period in which there was a scarcity of wheat flour in Brazil, 

 rice and manioc flour were added in various quantities. This was trae in 

 January, but not in July, of 1948. 



Sales are made for cash or on credit. The latter 

 system is described in the section on Money, Credit, 

 and Wages (p. 97) . Transactions usually are car- 

 ried on under conditions of primary contact, as 

 described in the section on Making Purchases. A 

 villager or farmer tends to trade consistently with 

 one storekeeper, although on occasion he may buy 

 from the others. 



Even more than the church, the vendas are a 

 means of contact with the world outside the fam- 

 ily and immediate neighbors, being one of the 

 principal points in the village at which groups 

 of conversation habitually form. (See Conversa- 

 tion Groups, p. 112.) 



TRANSPORTATION 



Many farmers and their families walk into the 

 village when they attend Mass and other religious 

 or secular ceremonies, or wish to make purchases 

 at a store or to visit friends. Some of these jour- 

 neys on foot are made from as far away as 10 or 12 

 miles. Men and boys, but rarely women or girls, 



occasionally ride in on a horse, mule, or burro, 

 especially if they live a long way out and granted 

 of course the family possesses one or more of these 

 animals. The owner of the fasenda which lies at 

 the edge of the village has had a truck fof some 

 time. Two men in the village, one of whom is 

 engaged in hauling firewood from this farm to the 

 railway and the other of whom works at the 

 preparations for quarrying, each purchased trucks 

 about 3 years ago, as also did one of the store- 

 keepers during the past year. 



Of 17 farms visited, the occupants of 6 say they 

 always come to the village on foot ; of 7, either on 

 foot or on horseback ; and of 4, either on foot, on 

 horseback, or in a charrete. If the men ride in on 

 horseback, sometimes with the children, the women 

 usually walk (pi. 14, a) or remain at home. 



A count of the means of transportation which 

 was observed in the village on 4 consecutive days "° 

 gave the following result : 



The principal means for transporting heavy ob- 

 jects, as has been indicated, used to be the pack 

 train and the oxcart. A farm woman recalls viv- 

 idly an experience a few years ago when her house- 

 hold equipment was being transported over rather 

 primitive roads from one farm to another within 

 the community. "When we moved to this farm," 

 she says, "we brought all our things in an oxcart. 

 While we were crossing an aterrado^^'^ part of it 

 gave way and the cart tipped over. The glass doors 

 of my cupboard were broken. Only one saucer es- 

 caped out of six and all the cups were smashed. 

 The handles broke on the sugar bowl I'm still us- 

 ing. My pretty little salt dish was all in pieces. 

 Just about everything we had either got broken 

 or cracked in some way." 



With the introduction of the truck about 20 

 years ago, however, these means of transport began 

 to disappear. There are only two oxcarts at 

 present in and about the village, although a few 



'M In June, 1948. The same truck was seen on each of the 

 different days, as also were several of the animals. 

 isj A small culvert, made of logs and earth. 



