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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAI> ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 12 



years ago. Wlien she was about to marry him, 

 her sister said to her, 'Isaura, how do you have 

 the courage to marry a black man ? How can you 

 stand to turn over at night and find that mico ^'"' 

 sleeping beside you. How can you do it?' Yes, 

 her sister talked to her that way. But then, later, 

 her sister herself married a black man, a man 

 even blacker." 



"My daughter," said a white farm woman, "mar- 

 ried a colored man, a dark mulatto. But we were 

 glad to see her married." The implication of the 

 remark was that the important concern was for 

 the daughter to marry; a white man preferably, 

 but at least to marry. "Yes, my husband is black," 

 said another white farm woman. "But there's 

 nothing he doesn't know how to do. He knows 

 how to farm. He can also do carpenter work ; he 

 built this house. He can write, too. You should 

 see what a pretty hand he has! What if he is 

 black? Blacks are people, aren't they?" 



The only serious objection to intermarriage 

 heard in the community during the course of this 

 study was voiced neither by a white nor a black 

 and came, not from a Brazilian, but from one of 

 the two Japanese families in the community. The 

 parents were objecting to their oldest son marry- 

 ing a Brazilian girl. The objection, however, was 

 on personal and cultural, rather than racial, 

 groimds, as is clear from the following account of 

 the situation given by the wife of a \'illage official : 



The parents of Durvalino are dead set against his 

 marrying Zirda. His mother has become ill over it. She 

 said to me, "That girl will not do for my son. He is poor 

 and needs a girl who knows how to work hard and will 

 live here with us." His mother is right. Japanese women 

 do everything. They wash the clothes, they hang them 

 up, they iron them, and then they go out and work in the 

 fields, with a child strapped to their backs. Zirda wouldn't 

 do that. Besides, Japanese women expect little in return 

 and Zirda likes nice dresses and things. A Japanese son 

 must live with his father's family, too, and Zirda wouldn't 

 like that. 



CONFLICT 



Conflict of a racial, cultural, national, or class 

 form does not exist in the community. The in- 

 tensity of the competition existing between the 

 three storekeepers, the owner of the bakery, and 

 the owners of the two boteguins has been insuffi- 

 cient to provoke any measurable consciousness of 



opposition and thus to turn competition into con- 

 flict. There is otherwise little competition between 

 individuals for a place in the local economy. 



Conflict occasionally emerges out of competition 

 within the family regarding inherited prop- 

 erty and may lead to bitterness and spiteful be- 

 havior. In at least one case, lawyer's and 

 surveyor's fees have forced the sale of a consider- 

 able portion of the estate which thus has passed 

 out of the control of the family. 



Kivalry in fishing and hunting exploits, in card 

 Inlaying, in the drinking of pinga, in effectiveness 

 of si^eech and other gestures, in lidd corn a gente 

 (getting on with one's fellows), in developing 

 other social characteristics which are expected of 

 the individual and which carry prestige, is a com- 

 mon characteristic of life in the community. In 

 this form of conflict, the struggle of individuals 

 usually is subordinated to the interests and well- 

 being of the group ; it merely results in the sifting 

 out of individuals in terms of status and prestige. 



In a culture where extreme sensitiveness on the 

 part of the individual is a common characteristic, 

 quarrels easily arise and occasionally lead to vio- 

 lence in the form of "crimes of passion." A vil- 

 lager recalls an occurrence some yeai-s ago when 

 several men "quarreled and fought" over cattle. 

 "It was early in the morning," he recalls. "None 

 had yet taken cafe. One died of a bullet in his 

 chest and the other with his head split open with 

 a foice."^'^ Five fought and two died." 



Occasionally, as the result of a quarrel, persons 

 may sulk, refusing to speak to each other over a 

 long period of time. Life, however, must go on. 

 In a society where relations characteristically ai-e 

 primary, contacts only with difficulty can be 

 avoided. Eelatives and close friends may try to 

 reestablish cordial relations. If the effort fails 

 and, especially if the incident arises out of activity, 

 political or otherwise, where each individual is 

 supported by a faction, they may become inimigos 

 (enemies), irritations and misunderstandings ac- 

 cumulating until mutual dislike and antagonism 

 become permanent. If a man once becomes the 

 acknowledged m2W^o (enemy) of another, almost 

 without exception, he is an enemy for life. 



One's person is inviolate. To touch another 

 individual, except in keeping with local etiquette, 



^■^ Monkey. 



SI" See Tools and Other Equipment, p. 50. 



