CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE^ ^PIERSOX 



121 



My mother taught me always to use niece, when speak- 

 ing to older people. 



A wife often refers to her husband as meu 

 veio^-'' (my old one), a term which reflects inti- 

 macy and affection. A few husbands, however, 

 do not like to be so addressed. 



When a godchild meets his godfather and god- 

 mother, he greets them by asking their blessing, 

 a request which is repeated upon parting. The 

 act ordinarily consists in facing the older person, 

 putting the palms of the hands together in front 

 of the chest as if in an attitude of prayer and say- 

 ing, "A henga." ^-' To which the godparent re- 

 plies, ^^Z die 71 roe"' (Deics abengoe, Deusabengoe) .^^'-^ 

 Occasionally, however, the godchild merely takes 

 the hand of the older person and kisses it, where- 

 upon the latter gives him his blessing. 



If the godchild and godparent meet more than 

 once on the same day, the blessing is asked only 

 on the occasion of the first meeting and parting. 

 The act is repeated, however, regularly, as long 

 as the parties to the relationship live. It is not 

 rare to see adults, even persons 40 or 50 years of 

 age, asking the blessing of a godparent. 



If a godchild joins a group which includes a 

 godparent without noting his presence or for any 

 other reason fails to greet him, someone will soon 

 say, "Don't you see your godfather (god- 

 mother) ?" and the godchild shamefacedly will 

 turn and ask the blessing. A similar expectation 

 is laid upon a natural child with reference to his 

 parents when, having for some time been away 

 from home, he comes again into their presence. 

 Formerly, this expectation appears to have ex- 

 tended to all younger persons when greeting older 

 persons, especially relatives. Even today, a 

 nephew or a niece will occasionally, upon meeting 

 an aunt or uncle, ask his or her blessing, as also 

 invariably will a grandchild upon meeting a 

 grandparent. Cliildren will sometimes gi-eet an 

 older acquaintance of their parents in the same 

 way. 



If a stranger inquires the name of a local in- 

 habitant, the name may be given with the phrase 

 seu criudo (your servant) added. 



'^ AUered form of meu velho. 



="A shortened form of "Ddme a sua iieiifiio, iiddrinhu" (Give 

 me your blessing, Godfather). 



^ Corruptions of Deus abencde (God bless you) . 



When a guest indicates he is about to leave, it 

 is good form for the host to say, "^ cedo; nwm vd 

 aiiida" (It's still early; don't go yet.) It is ex- 

 pected that the guest will remain a while longer, 

 the time involved sometimes being considerable. 

 As a guest who had been visiting for more than 

 2 hours, for instance, indicated his intention of 

 leaving a farm home, he was told, "You came only 

 a little while ago and now you're leaving. It's 

 too early. You must not go yet." 



A characteristic local habit and, in fact, one that 

 is general to Brazil, is for a person to belittle him- 

 self and that which is associated with him when 

 speaking to a person who holds prestige in his 

 eyes. This act is a part of the pattern of courtesy 

 and hospitality. It is reflected in the following 

 remark made to persons on the research staff en- 

 gaged in this study : "Everything here is very ugly. 

 For us, though, it's just like we like it. We are 

 only caipiras." 



It is common in this community, however, as in 

 other parts of Brazil, for the speaker to refer to 

 himself first when speaking of himself along with 

 other persons. One does not hear, for instance, 

 "he and I," "John and I;" invariably the expres- 

 sions are, "I and he," "I and John." This form of 

 speaking probably symbolizes the fact that the 

 culture tends to foster rather tlian to restrain ego 

 inflation. 



Some parents do not like their children to smoke 

 in front of the father, although this is done more 

 often today than formerly. "My husband will not 

 let the boys smoke in front of him," said a mother. 

 "That doesn't show proper respect. He never 

 smoked in front of his father." 



Extending an invitation to a wedding, even if 

 given orally, must be made the occasion of a formal 

 call. A young man meeting another in the village 

 remarked that he would like to speak to him, but 

 only at his home. "It's not something I can talk 

 about here in the street," he explained. Since his 

 friend was busy at the time, however, and could 

 not for some time return to his house, the young 

 man said, "I just wanted you to come and take a 

 beer at my wedding on the eighteenth. I'm not 

 inviting you in the street, remember," he con- 

 tinued, apologetically, "I'll come up to your house 

 later." 



