CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — ^PIERSON 



201 



where,'" in the sociological sense. The roles of 

 men and women are separate and distinct. That 

 which a man can, and is expected to do, and that 

 which a woman can, and is expected to do, are 

 clearly defined. The distinction becomes apparent 

 early in life and subsequently rarely changes. The 

 social order in this respect is relatively fixed and 

 immutable. Only four women in the community 

 are at present exercising roles which are different 

 in kind from that of their mothers: the post- 

 mistress, the school teacher, the principal midwife, 

 and the wife of the leader of one of the local po- 

 litical factions. All of the four women, however, 

 exercise these roles only in addition to the usual 

 function of wife and mother. The school teacher, 

 the postmistress, and the midwife have gained 

 prestige in their new roles. The activities of the 

 wife of the political leader, however, which are 

 carried on apart from her role as wife and mother 

 appear more to be tolerated than accepted, and 

 consequently are lacking in prestige value. 



This difference in function makes the sexes 

 interdependent and consequently is a unifying 

 rather than a divi'sive force in the community. So 

 extensive is this interdependence that, should a 

 i young husband die, the widow, unless in due time 

 she marries again or unless she is aided by her 

 own or her husband's family, may suffer priva- 

 tion. The dependence of the man upon the wife 

 is especially evident in the case of a widower, par- 

 ticularly if he has small children. Without the 

 assistance of his own or his wife's mother, a sister, 

 or a second wife, it is extremely difficult for liim 

 to care for his children. These diverse acti\'ities 

 of husband and wife are complementary and thus 

 readily organized into conserted activities. Indi- 

 vidual behavior thus tends to become conserted 

 behavior inside the family and the unit to take 

 on the characteristics of a small society. 



As previously indicated in detail, these differ- 

 ences in function are accompanied by differences 

 in status. The position of woman is definitely 

 inferior to that of man, a condition which attaches 

 to the girl even before birth — boy babies are pre- 

 ferred to girl babies — and continues throughout 

 life. 



The prestige of a given individual may be in- 

 creased by the specific role he plays in the com- 



"" See Relations between the Sexes, p. 132, and Role and Status 

 0* Woman, p. 134. 



munity to the exclusion of everyone, or almost 

 everyone, else. The holding of certain offices, for 

 instance, automatically enhances the prestige of 

 the individual. Greatest prestige probably at- 

 taches to the offices of padre and those of local 

 officials, especially the siih-prefeito, the suh-dele- 

 gado and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the -fiscal^ 

 the village registrar of vital statistics, and the tax 

 collector; prestige being enhanced or decreased, 

 in the case of an official, by the degree of success 

 in obtaining the satisfaction of local needs by way 

 of influencing governmental functionaries outside 

 the community. The mail carrier, by reason of 

 his appointment as a permanent employee of the 

 Government, also has considerable prestige. Other 

 local functions, like that of the village bell ringer, 

 the fogueteiro who handles the fireworks at festas, 

 the auctioneer of prendas, and the members of the 

 village band, carry considerable prestige, as also 

 do those of the school teacher, the principal mid- 

 wife, the curandelros, and the "blessers." The 

 more the individual who is exercising a given role 

 corresponds to the expectations associated with 

 that role, the higher the prestige he himself enjoys ; 

 and the less he corresponds to these expectations, 

 the lower the prestige. The length of time a role 

 is satisfactorily exercised is another detenninant 

 of status. 



The title of doutor, long used in Brazil to refer 

 to a person who has graduated from a profes- 

 sional school of law, medicine, or engineering, 

 carries locally, as elsewhere in Brazil, considerable 

 prestige. No one in the community, however, is 

 addressed in this way. In the immediate family 

 of the school teacher, who came to the village 

 15 years ago and who, as indicated, has been ex- 

 tensively assimilated into its life, there are gradu- 

 ates of a law school, a fact which, although these 

 persons live elsewhere, tends to raise her prestige 

 in the community. Proudly she says, "Meus 

 irmao sao doutores (my brothers are 'doctors')." 



Although the possession of land and other prop- 

 erty increases prestige, it is not in itself sufficient 

 to give the individual superior status. As indi- 

 cated elsewhere, there are living in the community 

 at present no fasendeiros, or large landowners who 

 oversee but do not themselves work their land, 

 similar to those to be found in many areas of 

 Brazil as also in this community in the past. Two 

 farmers would seem to be in process of becoming 



