206 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 2 



erate. Each is noted for the vigor of his thought, 

 speech, and action. Together witli one of the 

 storekeepers, they are perhaps the principal lead- 

 ers of the community. 



The storekeeper is a cafuso, 59 j^ears of age. He 

 is noted for his modesty, pleasant manner, shrewd- 

 ness and "common sense," as well as his interest in 

 the village and its welfare. His wit and humor 

 add to his conversational ability and to his effec- 

 tiveness in "getting along with others." He is 

 considerate of those farmers and villagers who 

 need credit to make purchases at the store until 

 the new crop is harvested. His opinions are 

 widely respected in the community. 



The sub-delegado formerly was a farmer. He is 

 52 years of age, courteous, and modest. He has 

 an active mind. His opinions are held with posi- 

 tive conviction and, on occasion, are clearly and 

 forcefully expressed. In those relatively few 

 cases in which he has had to act as the village peace 

 officer, he has been firm but patient and consider- 

 ate. He recently assumed the initiative in de- 

 veloping and carrying through plans to establish 

 the local bus line. He is an effective political 

 leader whose advice is sought and followed by 

 many persons in the community. Greatly elated, 

 after winning, recently, by an overwhelming vote, 

 a spirited election, lie exclaimed, "fi-e-e ! Did our 

 horse run well ! But I had this election right in 

 my hand. Everybody trusts me. I'm a man of 

 one word only,^- and they all know it." 



The former siib-prefeito is a competent and in- 

 dustrious farmer, 46 years of age, whose initiative 

 in establishing a mill, run by water power, has 

 furnished his neighbors a ready and relatively 

 cheap means of grinding their maize. His opin- 

 ions are held with positive conviction and are 

 always stated in a forceful manner. He is quite 

 effective politically. The fiscal, who is at present 

 acting as sub-prefeito, is 41 years of age. He is 

 diligent in discharging the obligations of his 

 office, pleasant in manner and tactful. He is noted 

 for his conversational ability, especially in re- 

 counting tales. He is always neat in appearance 

 and is probably the best-dressed man in the com- 

 munity. At the same time, he is a leader in both 

 hunting and fishing activities. When someone 

 is bitten by a poisonous snake or insect, he admin- 



^^ That is, constant and dependable. 



isters injections of serum. On occasion, he also 

 sends the pharmacist in Boa Vista descriptions of 

 the symptoms of someone who is ill and receives 

 and achninisters the drugs which are prescribed. 



Other men in the community contribute, to a 

 lesser degree, in the formation and maintenance 

 of public opinion. The tax collector is 60 years 

 of age and a competent official. He is shrewd, 

 pleasant in manner, and gets on well with other 

 people. He is a leader in fishing activities. He 

 is given to forceful speech and exercises consid- 

 erable influence politically. The village registrar 

 is 57 years of age, competent, reflective, quiet, and 

 retiring. He is courteous and effectively dissemi- 

 nates his opinions by way of suggestion rather 

 than of positive statement. Another villager, 62 

 years old, is noted for his shrewdness, dependa- 

 bility, and fund of practical knowledge. He is 

 effective in developing public opinion. He is also 

 a leader of fishing activities. The administrator 

 of the fazenda which lies at the edge of the vil- 

 lage also exercises a certain measure of influence. 

 He is noted for the vigor of his thought, speech, 

 and action. He assumes an active role at religious 

 festas and always walks near the front in pro- 

 cessions. He aspires to be a political leader. Some 

 years ago, he was the sub-delegado in the village. 

 He is ambitious and somewhat lacking in tact in 

 disseminating his opinions, and these character- 

 istics, together with the air of superiority which 

 he tends to assume in the presence of his asso- 

 ciates, are resented by many persons, and his ef- 

 fectiveness as a leader is thereby measurably 

 decreased. 



Perhaps four men exercise the principal lead- 

 ership in hunting activities and four in fishing 

 activities. In two cases, the men are the same 

 in both groups. These two men are also included 

 among the leaders mentioned above, as are the 

 other two leaders of fishing activities. One of 

 two other leaders of hunting activities is a young 

 married man in the village and the other is a 

 farmer. 



By reason of liis office, the present fadre as- 

 sumes leadership in carrying out the rituals of 

 the reza and the Mass, as well as the rituals con- 

 nected with religious festas, especially the pro- 

 cessions, and the romarias. His youth and shy- 

 ness, however, and lack of vigor in speech and 

 action, reduce his effectiveness otherwise as a 



