CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — PIERSON 



163 



(To my John the Baptist, 



I sing with confidence; 



If he protects the men, 



May he not forget the children.) 



Olere, Olere, Sao Joao 

 Olere, Olere, Sao Joao 

 Olere, Olere, Sao Joao 

 Ao men Sao Joao Batista 

 Eu venho cantii tie novo 

 Ele 6 santo protetO 

 Que proteja nosso povo. 



(To my St. John the Baptist, 

 I come to sing again. 

 He is a protector-saint. 

 May he protect us.) 



Olerd, Olere, Sao Joao 

 Olere, Olere, Sao Joao 

 Olere, Olere, Sao Joao 



After returning to the house, the procession, ac- 

 ompanied bj^ the players and singers, passed three 

 times around the mastro, while verses were sung, 

 each alluding to the fact that the group was "pass- 

 ing around the mmtro of Sao Joao," following 

 which, the image was carried into the house, taken 

 from the andor and returned to the household 

 oratorio. The players and singers then danced 

 three times around the room while singing : 



O meu querido Sao Joao 

 No rio fomo leva 

 Agora imo vortano 

 Ele vai direito pro artd. 



(My beloved St. John 

 We took him to the creek ; 

 And now we've brought him back 

 To be put on the altar. ) 



Olere, Olerfi, Sao Joao 

 Olere, Olere, Sao Joao 

 Olere, Olere, Sao Joao 



A cafezinho was then served to those who had 

 taken prominent parts in the activities. The festa 

 terminated at about 5 o'clock in the morning. 

 Between 350 and 400 persons had participated. 



The festa of Sao Jose is held on, or near, 

 March 19. This year, at the regular reza on the 

 preceding (Saturday) night, rockets were set off 

 to "announce" the festa to the countryside. Dur- 

 ing the sermon at the 10 o'clock Mass on the fol- 

 lowing morning, the padre extolled the life of 

 Sao Jose. Among other things he said, "To en- 

 joy the immense happiness of being the husband 

 of the Virgin Mary, God chose a holy man, one 

 who would be able to protect well his wife and 



her Divine Child. The kings of the earth arrange 

 the best possible educators for their children so 

 that they may become the great men of the future. 

 God, who is more privileged than the kings of the 

 earth, chose Sao Jose to educate His son in earthly 

 things. Sao Jose was a man of great worth. He 

 is a saiito for whom all of us should have great 

 devotion. He especially is the protector of the 

 dying. But we should also invoke his name at 

 every other moment of our lives, for he is always 

 near God in Heaven and lias great power and in- 

 fluence there." In the afternoon, the Tprendas^ 

 including chickens, cups, saucers, drinking glasses, 

 clay statuettes, guarana, and a bottle of cheap per- 

 fume, were auctioned and a procession held. 

 Between 500 and 600 persons were present at the 

 festa. 



The festa of Nossa Senhora da Conceigdo is held 

 annually on December 8 at the chapel about 5 

 miles to the south of the village. This year, the 

 village band, shortly after daybreak, took up a 

 position in front of the chapel and played the 

 alvorada. Soon a crowd began to gather to await 

 the arrivel of the image which, 2 weeks before, as 

 a part of the ceremony "to ask rain," ^" had been 

 carried in procession to the village. Meanwhile, 

 a procession had formed in the village to bring 

 the image back to the chapel. Shortly after the 

 procession arrived and the image had been re- 

 stored to its accustomed altar, the usual auction 

 was held. From time to time, the band played a 

 few minutes while the auctioneer rested. Pen- 

 nants, made of white and yellow tissue paper, hung 

 from wires stretched between the chapel and the 

 booth in which the auction was being held. A vil- 

 lage storekeeper and two other men each had set up 

 a counter where he was selling guarand, pinga, 

 beer, rapadura, and pastries. About 400 persons 

 were in the vicinity of the chapel. The day was 

 extremely warm. The sun blazed in a clear sky. 



When the auction had terminated, around mid- 

 afternoon, a procession formed. Four young girls 

 carried the andor with the image of Nossa Senhora 

 da Conceigao. They were preceded by two paral- 

 lel lines of children in the midst of whom four 

 men. wearing the red mantles and the red rib- 

 bons of their order, carried, on another andor, the 

 image of Jesus, brought for the occasion in a truck 

 from the village church. In front of the children 



'/IMI'I 



1 



-"2 See Santos, p. 151. 



