CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — ^PIERSON 



213 



ttitudes of the slave era. They are employed 

 lore as interesting and humorous expressions 

 landed down from a former time than as char- 

 cterizations of living individuals. Among these 

 xpressions are the following: 



The Negro isn't born ; he just appears. 



The Negro doesn't court ; he faz fosqjiinha."' 



The Negro doesn't pray ; he mumbles. 



The Negro doesn't accompany a procession ; he 



tags along behind. 

 The Negro doesn't dance ; he fights. 

 The Negro doesn't dance ; he jumps up and down. 

 The bed of a Negro is a ffirau.'" 

 A Negro is on(;a's food. 



SOCIAL CHANGE 



By reason of the comparative isolation which 

 las long been characteristic of the community, 

 ocial change so far has been minimal. Since the 

 olidification of the moral order during the early 

 'ears of the colonial period, the limited number 

 )f ideas and attitudes brought in from the outside 

 n most cases have come from neighboring com- 

 nunities where the society and culture are quite 

 similar. Little strain for consistency has been 

 njected into the local mores. Life has tended to 

 50 on much as it did in the past. 



At the same time, physical isolation is breaking 

 down. The community not only is effectively 

 feeling the impingement of the metropolitan mar- 

 iet of Sao Paulo, but also is beginning to feel the 

 impact of ideas, attitudes, and sentiments char- 

 icteristic of this urban center. It is therefore 

 probable that in the not distant future the com- 

 nunity will experience a rather decided alteration 

 in the manner of its living and that the rate of 

 change will progressively increase. 



As has been indicated, changes have already 

 xicurred in the means of contact with the outside 

 world. The appearance of the truck in the com- 

 munity for the first time some years ago,'" marked 

 the beginning of a notable change in transporta- 

 tion. Produce could be moved in quantities much 

 more rapidly and cheaply. The use of the tropa 

 de carga (pack train) and the carro de boi (ox- 

 cart), which previously had been the principal 

 means of transport, at once began to decline. 



Today, the tropas have completely disappeared in 

 the community and oxcarts are comparatively 

 rare. 



One of the consequences of this change was a 

 shift in occupation on the part of several villagers 

 who previously had been tropeiros (drivers of 

 pack trains) or carreiros (drivers of oxcarts). 

 One of these men is now a storekeeper. Another 

 is a farmer and a third is a farm laborer. Two 

 are deceased. Another consequence of this 

 change was a certain improvement in the roads 

 so that trucks could pass where, previously, only 

 oxen, horses and burros had gone. Limited as 

 was this improvement at first, it facilitated trans- 

 portation and communication, not only by way of 

 trucks but also b}' way of other means. 



The first automobile seen in the village is vividly 

 remembered by older inhabitants. A villager said : 



It was around 30 years ago — I was only a boy then^ 

 when we saw our first automobile. It brought Washington 

 Luiz.'" At that time, he was prefeito in Sao Paulo. He 

 came in a Fordinho de biffode."' I remember it well. 

 Everybody ran out into the street. AH gathered around 

 and stood there, looking at the Fordinho as if they were in 

 a daze, their mouths open and their eyes bugging out. I 

 did the same thing; it was something very new for us. 

 He took cafd there where the botequim is today. When 

 he left, the Fordinho got stuck in the road and he had 

 to get two horses to pull it out. He said to the men 

 who helped him, "Take these few coppers and get your- 

 selves a drink"; aiul then he gave them 12 milreis. The 

 men certainly were pleased. In those days, 12 milreis 

 were a lot of money. 



Another villager added : 



That automobile was a real success here. People were 

 all excited. They had never seen anything like it.'*' 



The inauguration of daily bus service through 

 the village to the neighboring towns of Boa Vista 

 and Piracema, which occurred while the com- 

 munity was under observation, in all probability 

 will increase the rate of change, as has no previous 

 event. Contact with these neighboring towns used 

 to be much more difficult. Persons had walked the 

 11 and 7 miles, respectively, had gone on horse- 



2" Attracts attention to himself by way of grimaces and other 

 mtics. 



"^ See Dwellings and Furnishings, p. 44. 

 '" See Transportation, p. 94. 



2« \ former governor of the State and president of Brazil. 



» Literally, "the little Ford with a moustache," a terra com- 

 monly employed in Brazil to refer to the Modol T Ford. The fact 

 that the two bars, mounted on the steering wheel to control the 

 amount of gasoline supplied to the engine and to "advance" or 

 "ret.ird" the spark, were reminiscent of a moustache, gave rise 

 to this expression. 



"« There still are no automobiles owned in the community, 

 however, with the exception of an old and imperfectly function- 

 ing car which l3 rarely used. 



