120 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 12 



ETIQUETTE 



The intimacy characteristic of contacts in the 

 community is evident in the informality with 

 with which villagers and farmers greet each 

 other when they meet. No one shakes hands and 

 the greeting common to more formal contacts, 

 "■Bom diar (Good morning!) or '■'■Boa tardeP'' 

 (Good afternoon ! ) is rarely used. Such behavior 

 is reserved for encounters with strangers where 

 relations are not of this intimate and primary 

 character. 



To pass an acquaintance, however, without a 

 word, a smile, or other gesture indicating that his 

 presence is noted and appreciated, is a grave of- 

 fense. Usually, one stops to chat a while before 

 continuing on his way. A remark may be made 

 about the weather, or regarding the reason for 

 being at that place at that hour, or something 

 equally banal. This is always accompanied by 

 a smile or other pleasant expression. 



Upon meeting a stranger for the second (or 

 any subsequent) time during the same day, the 

 full greeting of '•'■Bom diaP'' or '■'■Boa tardeP'' is 

 substituted by one of four expressions: "t'i.'", 

 "■Oldr\ "Sim, senhorP' (Yes, sir!), or ''Nhor 

 Not until the following day is the orig- 



sim, 



111 224 



inal greeting used again. 



The ahrago, which is quite common to Brazil, is 

 rarely seen here. It consists in a hearty embrace 

 which may immediately be repeated once, twice, 

 or more times and accompanied by vigorous pats 

 on the back. It is used upon meeting a relative 

 or intimate friend, especially of the same sex. 

 It is particularly forceful and lengthy upon the 

 occasion of setting out or returning from a jour- 

 ney. At weddings, it is customary for the bride 

 and groom to receive either an abrago or a hand- 

 shake from all persons present, especially rela- 

 tives and close friends. 



Throughout the community, the tendency is to 

 call a person by his first name or nickname ; rarely 

 is the surname used except to distinguish between 

 two or more persons with a common first name, or 

 on formal occasions such as those when a docu- 

 ment is being signed, a marriage performed, or a 

 birth registered. 



Both respect and social distance are symbolized 

 in the use of senh or and senhora. Children employ 

 these terms when addressing their parents as well 

 as older relatives and godparents.^^'^ A wife whose 

 husband is much older than she is may call him 

 senJior, as was observed in a case where the woman 

 is approximately half the age of her husband. 

 A younger person may be addressed as senhor if 

 he has high prestige and especially if the person 

 addressing him is a woman. At the same time, a 

 stranger with whom one is dealing in a formal 

 way is also addressed as senhor. 



The use of voce may reflect either intimacy with 

 the person spoken to or his inferior status. As a 

 stranger becomes a close friend, the change in re- 

 lation is symbolized by a shift from senhor to voce 

 when addressing him. At the same time, a parent 

 uses voce to a child as do all older persons when 

 speaking to younger persons in the family.^^^ 



The use of mece implies a certain deference on 

 the part of the speaker toward the person spoken 

 to. The term is a simplification of Vosmece, which 

 in turn is a simplification of vossemece and Vossa 

 Merce (Your Grace), a form of address no longer 

 heard in urban areas. Its use may imply an ac- 

 tual difference in status, due to age, kinship re- 

 lation, or other index of social position ; or it may 

 reflect the courtesy of the indi\adual who thus, so 

 to speak, reduces himself in rank in honor of the 

 person to whom he is speaking. Whatever may 

 liave been the former extent of its use, the term 

 would seem now to be reserved for occasions of 

 extreme courtesy. It was noted being used by 

 a young married man 32 years old when addressing 

 his uncle, aged 62, a man widely respected in the 

 village ; by this older man himself, togetlfer with 

 other local inhabitants of similar age, when speak- 

 ing to a prestige-bearing person from outside the 

 community ; bj' a farmer when addressing a group 

 of villagers in conversation at the village store; 

 by men addressing their com-padres ; and by an 

 elderly M'oman when speaking to her husband. 

 Informants who were asked the meaning of mece 

 reiDlied : 



The newer ones (that is, the younger persons) use 

 mece when they speak to the older, the more aged. 

 For a co)iipadre you use mece. It shows great respect. 



-^* In the local dialpct, fieithor {sevhora) is often pronounced 

 Nho (Nhd). 



^™ In neighboring communities, where class distinctions arc 

 more apparent, servants so address their employers. 



^° In neighboring communities, where class distinctions are 

 more apparent, voce is always used when spealting to a servant. 



