CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — PIEESON 



167 



been set up in and near the jtra^a, at 28 of which 

 ^ames of chance were played. At the others, food 

 and drinks were sold. 



A festa for Sao Gonralo is now rarely held in 

 the local community. Elements of a popular 

 character would seem still to adhere more to this 

 iesta than to any other. It is always held as the 

 result of a vow,"' in which a promise has been 

 made to hold a ceremony in honor of the santo in 

 return for some favor requested. "Several yeai-s 

 ago, Virgilio's wife had a bad sore on her leg," 

 recalled a farm woman. "It was 'eating' up the 

 whole leg. So she made a promessa to Sao Gon- 

 ralo to hold a dance for him if her leg got well. 

 It did and so she arranged a dance for him at her 

 house." 



The padre is not present at a festa for Sao 

 Gongalo. The image of this santo is usually placed 

 on a roughly constructed altar in the main room 

 of the house. The altar may consist of a wooden 

 box, on wliich a white cloth has been laid. Usually, 

 there is an arch, made of bamboo or taquara, over 

 it. Two men, each with a violdo, take up a position 

 in front of the image and begin to play and to 

 dance, moving forward and backward, in front of 

 the image, and stooping over to kiss the feet as 

 they come near. A little later, as many as possible 

 of the other persons present, with the exception 

 of the small children, form behind the men, in 

 two parallel lines. The players then sing a verse 

 to the accompaniment of their instrmnents as they 

 dance forward to the altar, bow to the image, and 

 turn and dance to the rear of the lines. As they 

 continue to play, two other persons, repeating the 

 same verse, also dance forward to the altar, bow 

 to the image, and turn and dance to the rear of 

 the lines, after which a third couple repeats the 

 same movement, while singing the same verse, and 

 so on until the two players come again to the head 

 of the lines. Another verse is then taken up and 

 the dance continues as before. Each dancer is 

 said to be careful to face the image as much as 

 possible and to turn his back upon it only when a 

 step in the dance requires hun to do so. 



Two other movements are also used, each of 

 which is initiated by the players. The first of these 

 consists in dancing while turning the body slowly 

 in a circle, the meanwhile one maintains his place in 

 line. The other movement consists in dancing f or- 



^' See Promessas. p. 173. 



ward in unison, the persons in one line turning at 

 the altar to the right, those in the other line to the 

 left, and returning to the rear where they again 

 advance to the altar and turn, this time, in the 

 direction opposite to that taken before. Outside 

 the room, looking on, is usually a large crowd. 



The festa of the Santa Cruz is described below 

 (see Almas and the Santa Cruz, below). Al- 

 though no festa is held in the community for the 

 Dhlno Espirito Santo, local inhabitants, as has 

 been indicated, sometimes attend that held in con- 

 nection with the festa of Sao Roque in the town of 

 Silo Roque. Occasionally, one or more persons ap- 

 pear in the community who are traveling over the 

 region collecting esmolas (offerings) for a festa 

 do Dlvino in their community. Known as han- 

 deirantes, because they carry with them a "flag" 

 (iandeira), ornamented with ribbons and an- 

 nouncing the purpose of their travels, they are 

 welcomed by local farmers and villagers and given 

 esmolas and, as needed, food and shelter. 



Connected with every festa, then, in which the 

 padre has a part, is a Mass and, sometimes, also a 

 resa; the ringing of the church bells at specified 

 times preceding and during the festa; a procession, 

 in which images are carried; and an auction of 

 prendas to cover expenses. In connection with the 

 procession, a sermon may be preached or brief 

 comments made by the padre. Rockets and other 

 fireworks are usually set off, a band plays, food and 

 drink are made available for purchase, and games 

 of chance are engaged in. At the more "popular" 

 festas, a mastro is usually erected, the samba or 

 other dances may be danced, verses sung to the ac- 

 companiment of one or more violoes, and quentdo, 

 a favorite drink, made available. At all festas, the 

 older inhabitants of the community meet and 

 converse with friends and relatives, and the 

 younger persons promenade and carry on the proc- 

 ess of courtship. 



The actual celebration of a given festa may be 

 held a few days before, or after, the appointed date, 

 especially if the latter does not coincide with Sun- 

 day, a day which is more convenient for the padre 

 and also for most local residents. The date may 

 also be altered by reason of adverse weather or 

 other consideration. 



ALMAS AND THE SANTA CRUZ 

 The inhabitants of the community participate 

 mentally in two distinct worlds: the practical. 



