CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — ^PIERSON 



145 



feet high and a smaller image of Sao Norberto. 

 On a nearby pedestal is an image of Nossa Senhora 

 das Dores (Sorrows). To the right of the com- 

 munion rail is an altar similar in size to the one 

 opposite and supporting an image of Sao Bom 

 Jesus da Prisao and a smaller image of Santo 

 Antonio. To the left of this altar is a pedestal 

 with the image of Nossa Senhora das Gragas 

 (Grace).-*' Between the entrance and the com- 

 munion rail, to either side of the aisle, are several 

 rows of benches made of rough boards. Overhead, 

 the space is open to the ceiling, which is of wood 

 and painted white. To either side are four arch- 

 ways which open out into side rooms. To the 

 right, in spaces between arches, are images of Nossa 

 Senhora do Rosario (Rosary) and Nossa Senhora 

 da Conceigao (Conception). To the left, ar- 

 ranged likewise, are the images of Sao Tarcisio 

 and Sao Jose. In a room beyond the arches are 

 the baptismal font and an altar, supporting a cru- 

 cifix. In an adjoining room is another altar with 

 an image of Nossa Senhora da Aparecida (Ap- 

 parition). In a third room, there is still another 

 altar with, below, an image of Jesus reclining in 

 death, enclosed in a glass case and, above, images 

 of Santa Catarina and Sao Roque. A life-size 

 image of Jesus bearing the cross rests upon a 

 nearby table, M'hence it is taken out to be carried 

 in the processions of Holy Week. In another 

 room are kept the standards and platforms used 

 to carry the images in procession. To the right 

 of the congregation, thei'e is a stairway which leads 

 up to a small choir loft over the entrance to the 

 church, and also to the belfry. Near the entrance 

 to the staii'way, is a room with the confessional and 

 an altar on which are an image of Siio Benedito and 

 a crucifix. Adjoining this room is the sacristy. 

 Behind the central altar are three unused rooms. 

 Over them are three other rooms, in one of which 

 the padre sleeps when in the village. 



In front of the church and to one side are 

 usually from one to two mastros, as may be seen 

 from plate 16, a, together with the coreto, a small, 

 square platform with a roof of sape^ in which 

 occasionally is held an auction of prendas at a 

 religious festa. ( See Division of Labor, p. 58. ) 



In the bend of the river several miles to the 

 north of the village is a large chapel (or small 



SIS Perhaps better known in the United States as Our Lady of 

 the Miraculous Medal. 



church) in which Mass occasionally is held and, in 

 September, a festa for the patron santo, Nossa 

 Senhora da Aparecidinha (pi. 16, d) . To the east 

 of the village, about 7 miles away, on the margin 

 of the community, is a recently restored chapel, 

 originally built in the seventeenth century. About 

 5 miles to the south of the village is a modest 

 chapel, the successor of one originally built in the 

 same century. A small chapel is located in the 

 village cemetery. Along the roads of the com- 

 munity one often sees smaller wayside chapels with 

 one or more crosses. A chapel of this sort is also 

 located at the edge of the village. Occasionally 

 one of these is large enough for Mass to be cele- 

 brated in it, as is done at infrequent intervals at 

 the one located about 6 miles to the southeast of 

 the village. Another is about 5 miles to the north 

 (pi. 16, g) . Located about a hundred feet from the 

 road, it is around 8 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 8 

 feet high. The walls are of pau a pique and the 

 roof is of tile. The floor is of earth. The front 

 of the chapel is open, there being only a low gate 

 to keep out stray animals. Inside, the walls are 

 calcimined in white, with a wide border of dark 

 red extending up about 15 inches from the floor. 

 Along the rear wall is a rough altar made of 

 odd pieces of board. Above it, three wooden 

 crosses may be seen. The two larger crosses pass 

 through holes cut in the altar and rest upon the 

 floor of the chapel. One is about 7 feet high, with 

 a crosspiece 3 feet long and the other is about 5 

 feet high, with a crosspiece 21/0 feet long. Both 

 are painted blue and are covered with artificial 

 floral pieces, made of red and silver leaves. A 

 white cloth is looped over the larger cross. Be- 

 tween the two is a much smaller cross about 20 

 inches high, with a crosspiece 11 inches long. It is 

 unpainted. Above the altar is an arch made of 

 strips of taquara wrapped with crepe paper and 

 covered with artificial flowers. Stretching from 

 corner to corner of the chapel overhead are 

 streamers made of crepe paper of different colors. 

 To each side of the chapel, outside, are two rude 

 shelters, each with a roof of sape supported on 

 rough poles. The largest is about 15 feet long, 

 12 feet wide, and 9 feet high ; the other is slightly 

 smaller. Between the front of the chapel and the 

 road is a mastro around 20 feet high, with the 

 "flag" of Santa Cruz (see Almas and the Santa 

 Cruz, p. 167) . Other wayside chapels with crosses 



