CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — ^PIERSON 



183 



indicated, was once abandoned and, although it 

 was renewed a few years ago, ajapears at present 

 again to be in process of disintegration. In com- 

 parison with the total population of the commun- 

 ity, only a limited number of persons participated 

 this past year. "There used to be over 400 pil- 

 grims," remarked a villager. "That's a lot more 

 than the 60 we had this time." A considerable 

 portion, moreover, of those persons who made the 

 pilgrimage absented themselves from the Mass 

 celebrated upon that occasion in Pirapora, and a 

 number of persons, especially among the men, 

 did not confess or take communion. 



This attitude is also reflected in such remarks 

 as that of a villager, 54 years old, who said, "These 

 rezas are not for men." "Religion is something 

 that's more for women," remarked a young farmer. 

 "A man has other things to do." "That's funny !" 

 said a young man, 26 years old, as he listened 

 outside the church to the singing at a reza. "Those 

 he-men ^"^ in there with that slow, sad singing." 

 "Everybody says he's a Catholic," remarked a 

 farmer, "but just look around and see if you can 

 find anyone who follows the teachings strictly." 



Occasionally one observes an attempt to sep- 

 arate the religious behavior of the individual from 

 cult activities. "My religion," remarked a vil- 

 lager, "is between me and God. The church has 

 no part in it." "The religion I follow is that of 

 my house," said another villager. "What does 

 anyone gain by going to Mass and beating on his 

 chest, unless he also lives a good life at home?" 



At the time the ceremony was being held re- 

 cently "to bring rain," a man who had come to the 

 village a few years ago was heard to remark, in 

 a hesitant tone of voice as if he were advancing 

 a new idea of whose acceptance he was in doubt, 

 "It's funny that in the dry season people never 

 think of going to fetch the santa until the rainy 

 season is about to begin. That's because of the 

 men of the skirts {fadres) ; they do that and ig- 

 norant people like us lap up such patacoadas (lies 

 known to be lies) while those fellows suck up the 

 nickels." Upon receiving some encouragement 

 from a few other men present, he continued, "Do 

 you think the jjowers that govern the world need 

 people to come asking for things? If they make 

 it dry, they know what they are doing ; and if they 



send rain, it's because they want to send it." "Wlio 

 knows, though?" remarked a bystander, "Maybe 

 they're busy up there and have forgotten us and 

 it's a good thing if someone da uma cotucada 

 (prods them up a bit)," to which remark there 

 was general laughter. After the santa had been 

 carried in procession and the long-anticipated rain 

 had fallen, the man who had recently come to the 

 village remarked, "Yes, it rained all right. And 

 now the padres are in luck. A 'miracle' like that 

 brings in a lot of nickels." 



During the procession in which the image of 

 Sao Joao was carried to the creek (see Religious 

 Festas, p. 162) , three attitudes were evident among 

 participants. Most persons were reverent and re- 

 spectful; some persons appeared indifferent; while 

 a few laughed and talked among themselves. 

 Among those who gave evidence of reverence and 

 respect, women and girls predominated; in the 

 other two gi'oups, men and boys predominated, the 

 ages of those who were laughing and conversing 

 being about 20 to 30 years. Ironic references were 

 made by a few persons to the belief that one who 

 does not see his face reflected in the water will die 

 before the next festa of Sao Joao. 



"A lot of people," said a villager, "are so igno- 

 rant that they believe in the benzedo [blesser]. 

 Instead of calling a doctor when they're sick, they 

 go get 'blessed,' instead." "Only backward people 

 see assoinbragoes,''^ remarked a yoimg man. "They 

 notice something at night, and they're afraid; 

 they don't go up close to see what it is and then 

 they come away talking nonsense about meeting 

 an a-ssomhragdo." I've seen a lot of queer things 

 at night there in the brush and I've gone up to 

 them and found only a stump, or a spot of moon- 

 light ; nothing more. It's fear and backwardness 

 that makes people see things like that." 



It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that 

 skepticism is either widespread in the community 

 or intense in any given individual. In fact, in 

 proportion to the total body of belief, skepticism 

 is rare and the skeptic anormal.^"- Doubts that 

 exist are never reflected in active hostility to either 

 belief or practice. 



™The precise words used were "cada bruto marmanjao," a 

 slang phrase. 



843805 — 51 13 



x" In this connection, one might suggest that the observer 

 needs constantly to be on guard against taking at face value 

 statements which appear to express skepticism but which are 

 evoked by the presence of an outsider from the city whose point 

 of view is assumed to differ from that common In the village 

 community. 



