CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE^ — ^PIERSON 



195 



is always resented and, if it be done in anger, is a 

 mortal offense. A serious discussion or quarrel 

 may be carried on with violent gestures which, al- 

 though they pass all about the face of an opponent, 

 at times coming so close as almost to touch him, 

 are always checked short of that point. To "settle 

 a dispute" with fisticuffs, as is done in some cul- 

 tures, subsequent to which the disputants shake 

 hands and are once more friends, would be in- 

 comprehensible behavior to local inhabitants. No 

 one could understand how a person could lay a 

 hand upon another except under conditions of un- 

 controllable rage; nor how it would be possible, 

 once violence had resulted, for disputants to be- 

 come friends again. A serious affront is never 

 forgiven or forgotten. 



The "giving of satisfaction" to a person who has 

 been inconvenienced in any way by one's act or 

 omission is an imperative expectation. Otherwise, 

 the person affected will be gi-avely offended. The 

 lack of consideration which has been shown makes 

 the matter one of "lost face" and lowers self- 

 esteem. Remarked a villager noted for his cul- 

 inary skill. 



Nero asked me to cook him a tuxada (dish of tripe) . He 

 said he would eat it with me at my house. So, when they 

 butchered Friday, I bought the tripe and cleaned it. He 

 was to be there the next night. But it rained, and I 

 thought he might not come to t!ie village. So I didn't put 

 the seasoning in. I didn't want it to spoil. He was in the 

 village that night, though, and he didn't come up to my 

 house, or send me any word. Early the next morning, when 

 I was on my way to Rio Abaixo to bring back a goat, I met 

 him in the road. I said to him, "How is It that you didn't 

 come to my house last night?" He said, "Get the huxada 

 ready today ; we will have it tonight." So I went ahead 

 and fixed it. I put in the seasoning, I cooked it, I put it 

 on the table. But he didn't come. This morning, the 

 hvxada was all spoiled. Then someone told me the fellow 

 had been in the vill.ige again last night. That made me 

 mad. To think he had not come around to "give me satis- 

 faction !" This morning, I saw him in Sebastiao's store, 

 buying some things. As I went by, he looked around and 

 saw me, but he went right on with his talk. So I turned 

 around and passed the store again to see if he'd come out 

 to "give me satisfaction." But he just kept on with his 

 talk there In the store. So I went up to him and I said, 

 "How is it? You said you'd come up to my house last 

 night and eat httxada. I got everything ready and waited 

 for you. And you didn't come." He looked a bit em- 

 barrassed and said, "It was raining." "It didn't rain 

 yesterday," I said. Then he said I should prepare another 

 huxada for next Sunday and he'd pay for it. The store- 

 keeper spoke up and said, "No, you must pay Qulm. He's 

 gone to a lot of trouble and it's only right that you should 



pay. Next Sunday, if you want to, you can have another 

 huxada." Nego looked around at me. I said to him, "Yes, 

 you pay me now for what it cost me and if you want, I'll 

 fix another for next Sunday." So he rammed his hand down 

 into his pocket, jerked out his pocketbook and gave me a 

 200 cruzeiro bill. I gave him back 140 cruzeiros and 

 kept the rest. 



That's the way it goes. If he'd "given me satisfaction," 

 if he'd come up to the house yesterday and said, "I 

 couldn't come last night because of the rain. How much 

 did it cost you? I'll pay for it and then we'll arrange 

 another huxada some other time," I wouldn't have charged 

 him a thing. But since he didn't "give me satisfaction," 

 I charged him plenty. 



A limited degree of conflict in the form of a 

 struggle between religious sects, as has been in- 

 dicated, has appeared in the community in com- 

 paratively recent years. The long-standing 

 monopoly of Catholic belief and practice is begin- 

 ning to be challenged; not yet seriously, but in- 

 creasingly. The principal competitors are three 

 Protestant sects,^^' although the influence of the 

 SiJiritualist cult,^^- with its techniques for treating 

 illness, is also beginning to be felt. 



At the resa on the Saturday evening which pre- 

 ceded the baptismal ceremony, held in the creek 

 near the village, of which reference was made in 

 the section on Evangelistas, the padre seriously 

 admonished his parishioners not to attend the 

 ceremony. "This evening," he said, "everyone 

 should send up his prayers with fervor. It is fit- 

 ting that we should show our great love for God, 

 especially at this time. This offense that is to be 

 committed on the morrow, God in his great mercy 

 will know how to deal. For the kindness of God 

 is infinite. But we who are Catholics and whose 

 fathers were Catholics and whose grandfathers 

 were Catholics, must keep to our religion. We 

 must be persistent and persevere." At the hour 

 appointed for the ceremony, a special Mass was 

 arranged and held in the church. Not all parish- 

 ioners, however, as has been indicated, remained 

 away from the baptism. "I've never seen any- 

 thing like this is supposed to be," remarked a vil- 

 lager. "What will it hurt if I go and see what 

 it is like?" 



As also has been indicated,^^^ the principal form 

 of conflict in the community is the struggle be- 

 tween political factions. The intensity of this 



'" See Evangelistas, p. 176. 

 >« See Spiritualism, p. 182. 

 2" See Political Beliavior, p. 184. 



