■CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — PIERSON 



147 



hurch. I also arranged a dinner here at home for the 

 Jishop. I made an enormous white calie with figures, 

 n top, of a chalice and the Host. The Bishop said he 

 idn't have the courage to cut the cake, it was so pretty, 

 le even wept a little hefore leaving. He said that he 

 .-as ver.v grateful for the reception that had been pre- 

 ared for him. 



Later when I went to Sao Paulo to ask him for new 

 estments for our padre, I found the room full of women 

 rom the League of Catholic Ladies. Many of them had 

 n huge diamond rings ; but when the Bishop came in, 

 e walked right across the room and spoke to me first. I 

 aid to him, "So you remember me?" He replied, "Dona 

 "rancisca, I am a grateful man, I have not forgotten 

 7hat you did for me." 



About 5 or 6 years ago, a missdo, composed of 

 our itinerant friars of the Redemptionist order, 

 pent a few days at the village. They are remem- 

 lered as "very good preachers." Food and shelter 

 vere provided by the local inhabitants during their 

 taj' in the village. In addition to delivering ser- 

 iions, they baptized a number of children and 

 performed the marriage ceremony for those who 

 ■resented themselves. 



The roles of the village bell ringer and the 

 eiloeiro have already been considered."^ 



SANTOS "-"= 



The conceptions regarding the saints, dissemi- 

 lated in the community by the ecclesiastical f unc- 

 ionaries, vary in no essential detail from the 

 ifficial conceptions of the Roman Catholic Church. 

 rVhen a local inhabitant is asked regarding any 

 Jarticular belief, he usually replies in keeping 

 vith the official concei^tion. The approved idea 

 hat the image merely represents an actual being, 

 'or instance, and is employed to call this being to 

 nind, is reflected in the words of a villager when 

 le said, "The image is to show that in heaven that 

 ■anto exists.'' Similarly, the idea that there may 

 )e several different images to represent the same 

 5eing according to different "devotions," is re- 

 jected in the words of a young mother when she 

 aid, "There are Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto 

 (Our Lady of Easy Childbirth), Nossa Senhora 

 ia Piedade (Our Lady of Mercy), Nossa Senhora 

 la Penha (Our Lady of Penha) , and many others ; 

 out all of them are the same Nossa Senhora." 



^1 See Division of Labor, p. 56. 



^ The literal translation of this term Is "saints." Since, how- 

 iver, the connotation of Santos is somewhat different, the term 

 s retained in its local form. 



"Jesus was a man who suffered much," remarked 

 a farmer, "and for each suffering there is a way of 

 representing it." The idea that a saint has a uni- 

 versal character and is not to be identified with one 

 locality only, is reflected in the words of a farm 

 woman when she said, "There, in Pirapora, is Sao 

 Bom Jesus de Pirapora. Here in the village is 

 Sao Bom Jesus da Prisiio (of the Prison) and in 

 Itii [a community several miles to the west] there 

 is Sao Bom Jesus da Cana Verde (of Green 

 Cane) ; ^'"^ but all of these are the same santo." 



Behavior, however, varies considerably from this 

 official conception, with reference to both the 

 image and the saint. There is a rather generalized 

 tendency to act as if each image were identified 

 with a different being. Promcssas are made, for 

 instance, to Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto, Nossa 

 Senhora do Monte Serrat, and not just to Nossa 

 Senhora. When one inquires of a local inhabitant 

 to which santo he is most devoted, a specific repre- 

 sentation is usually mentioned ; for example, "Sao 

 Bom Jesus de Pirapora," "Nossa Senhora da 

 Aparecida." 



Although, when specifically asked regarding 

 the matter, most local inhabitants will distinguish 

 between image and saint, there is a rather gen- 

 eralized tendency to act as if they were identical. 

 This fact is symbolized in the tendency to use the 

 term santo when speaking about the image. "The 

 santos which are mais milagrosos (work most 

 miracles)," said a farm woman, "are the older 

 santos. This is because the newer santos are made, 

 while the older ones were found. Look at Sao 

 Bom Jesus de Pirapora. He's more powerful 

 than any other santo; and he was found on a rock 

 in the river." There is also a widespread tend- 

 ency to identify a few images of saints with specific 

 localities. "Sao Bom Jesus de Pirapora is 'of 

 Pirapora,' " said a farm woman. "He is called 

 that because he was found near that town." 



In spite of a different conception propagated 

 by the religious authorities, Mary and Jesus are 

 almost universally thought of as santos of the 

 same category as St. Anthony, St. John, etc. And, 

 although the idea is rare that the image is God, 

 the idea does exist in the community. A local 

 girl who was asked by the padre, "How many 



=" "I don't Iinow why be is called that," the informant further 

 said. "It may be because when Jesus was a prisoner, they put a 

 stall! of cane in his hand and made him strike himself in the face 

 with it." 



