CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — ^PIERSON 



205 



Ele nem faia sabe 



(He doesn't even know how to talk) 

 Home quo hoje diz uma coisa e amanha otra, num 

 serve ; preeisa um que diz pedra <? pedra 



(A man who says one thing today and another 

 tomorrow, will not do ; what is needed is a man 

 who, when he says it is a rock, you know it 

 really is a rock) 

 Ela tern cabeca dura 



( She has a thick head) 

 Ele ^ nuiito estiipido 



He's very stupid) 

 Ele ^ burro 



(He's an ass) 

 Ele 6 bobo 



(He's a fool) 

 O estado normar dele ^ bebido 



(His normal condition is to be drunk) 

 K; um pau d'agua 



(He's a soaked log; that is, a "soak") 

 Ele 6 brigao 



(He's always picking a fight) 

 Ele 6 vagabundo 



(He's good for nothing) 

 Ela 6 uma mui6 falada 



(She's a woman that people talk about) 

 ]S mui(5 sera brio, sem vergonha na cara 



(She's a woman without shame) 



Differences in status, with tlie exception of those 

 iue to age or sex, are not readily revealed in the 



ourse of the daily life of the community. In 

 fact, merely casual observation might give the 

 impression that, with these exceptions, the dif- 

 ferent members of the community occupy identi- 



al social positions. Persons of inferior status tend 



o be treated with a courtesy and consideration 

 which belie their actual position. Differences in 



tatus are revealed not so much in direct behavior 

 as in attitudes which are casually revealed, usually 

 when the individual in question is not present. 

 This fact is illustrated in the following incident. 

 A group of men at a village store was joined by 

 a man called Tico. Upon entering the store, he 

 spoke to all present and was cordially spoken 

 to in return. Barefoot, ragged, dirty, and with 

 his eyes bleary from the effects of alcohol, he 

 leaned up against the counter and asked for 

 p{7iga. He was served by the owner of the store 

 just as anyone else would have been served. "Como 

 vai a vida U pelo sitiof'' (How does it go there 

 on the farm ? ) the storekeeper asked, in the same 

 tone of voice he uses to speak to a close friend. 

 "So-so," was the reply. Tico remained a while 

 in the store, listening to the conversation which 

 continued as before. Finally, he said, "Ta bao, 



vo ino, te logo pra meceis (Well. I'll be going. 

 Goodby to you gentlemen," and left the store. 

 '■'■Te logo!^'' called after him each person who was 

 present, in a courteous tone of voice. Following 

 a moment of silence, however, the storekeeper 

 remarked, "That fellow is ruining himself with 

 ■pinga. He sold a patch of timber some time ago 

 and got nine contos for it. I'll bet he hardly has 

 anything left." "He never was much good," said 

 a bystander. "And when he got all that money, 

 it was the worst thing that could have hapjjened 

 to him." 



LEADERSHIP 



Leadership in the community is exercised in 

 hunting and fishing activities, in the rezas, Masses, 

 processions and other religious ceremonies, in 

 planning and carrying through festas, in the for- 

 mation of public opinion, especially in connection 

 with political activities, and during personal, 

 family, or community crises. In a special sense 

 it was recently exercised in the development and 

 carrying through of plans to establish the local 

 bus line, referred to elsewhere.^'^ 



Leadership is to some extent a function of official 

 position; but it is more often, and to a much 

 greater extent, a function of personal competence. 

 Although a few individuals are expected, by rea- 

 son of the offices which they hold, to develop ini- 

 tiative in specific situations, the leadership which 

 they effectively exercise, like the leadership of 

 other persons who hold no office, is primarily due 

 to their own psychic and social competence. The 

 essential characteristics in this connection would 

 appear to be modesty and a pleasant manner, 

 combined with positiveness of conviction and 

 f orcef ulness in expressing it ; a willingness to ini- 

 tiate action, tempered by tolerance and tact. In 

 a community where a considerable portion of the 

 population is illiterate, the effectiveness of a 

 leader is also increased by his being able to read 

 and write. 



The sub-deJegado, the former suh-prefeito, and 

 the -fiscal, who at present is acting as sub-prefeito 

 until someone is named to the position, are perhaps 

 the principal initiators of local action, partially 

 by reason of the official positions which they hold, 

 or have recently held, but more especially by 

 reason of their individual abilities. Each is lit- 



'" See Isolation and Contact, p. 104. 



