CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAN VILLAGE' — ^PIEESON 



215 



chat does he work and othei- questions which help 

 o "locate" him in terms of primary relations, 

 jimilar inquiries are always made of a person 

 vho moves to the community. If the newcomer 

 s frank and open in his replies, the fact is soon 

 mown all over the village and wherever he goes 

 le will sense a friendly and hospitable atmos- 

 phere. If, however, he is unaccustomed to such 

 jehavior and consequently unaware of the abso- 

 ute necessity of establishing and maintaining 

 Drimary contacts, and replies evasively or does 

 lot reply at all, considering the questions imper- 

 inent, he will soon be brought to realize that he 

 ,s neither accepted nor wanted in the community. 

 Passengers from the outside who pass through 

 jn the bus add somewhat to the income of the 

 ioramunity by paying for travel on a line which 

 is owned locally and for such refreshment and 

 Dther purchases as may be made while the bus 

 is stopped briefly in the village. The owners of 

 the bus line have been forced to have considerable 

 work done on the road, travel on which by motor 

 vehicle previously was precarious in many places, 

 especially on the steeper slopes, immediately fol- 

 lowing a rain. This improvement of the roads, 

 together with the inauguration of regular bus 

 service, not only to carry passengers but also milk 

 and other farm produce, is expected to increase 

 land values along the way. 



The setting up a few years ago of a motor, 

 driven by water power, on the fazenda at the edge 

 of the village, and the consequent lighting of the 

 church and two houses with electricity added to 

 the material convenience of local inhabitants. 

 The radio which was recently introduced brought 

 Sao Paulo into daily contact with at least a few 

 villagers. The airplanes which in the last few 

 years have flown regularly over the region re- 

 mind local inhabitants of life in other places."" 

 The new means of communication are stimulating 



"" The use in the community ot a Jeep on the part of research 

 personnel engaged in this study attracted widespread interest, as 

 also did the use of a Coleman pressure lantern. As has been 

 indicated, two of the storekeepers, the owner of the principal 

 hotcquitn and the owner of the bakery subsequently purchased 

 Coleman lanterns for their places of business. The buildings 

 were then kept open longer in the evening, thereby lengthening 

 the conversations of frequenters of these establishments, and 

 especially of the groups of conversation that form nightly (see 

 Conversation Groups, p. 112). The light which was flung out into 

 the street by the lanterns, extending much farther than the 

 light of the kerosene lamps previously used, gave to the village. 

 In the evening, a brightness and attractiveness not known before. 



843S05— 51 15 



curiosity, especially in the younger generation, 

 curiosity regarding the outside world, as revealed 

 in the way, for instance, children watch an air- 

 plane flying overhead or stand around looking at 

 the passengers on the bus. It is also stimulating 

 a desire to see and to know the world that lies 

 outside the community. 



During the period in which the community was 

 under observation, a cinema was set up by the ad- 

 ministrator of the fazenda which lies at the edge 

 of the village. An old building near one of the 

 vendas was utilized and a wire run from the gen- 

 erator driven by water power on the fazenda. The 

 period of operation of the cinema, however, was 

 brief. The expense, in relation to the financial 

 return was too great. Old "silent" pictures, with 

 English subtitles, including travelogues, "west- 

 erns" and comics, were shown on Saturday and 

 Sunday evenings. During the brief period the 

 cinema functioned, however, the number of 

 dances, which are occasionally held on Saturday 

 evening, declined and those held were briefer than 

 formerly, since they began only after the termina- 

 tion of the cinema performance. Bits of infor- 

 mation obtained from the showing of these pic- 

 tures began occasionally to appear in the conver- 

 sation of local residents, indicating that mental 

 horizons were being enlarged to some extent. 



Although the plow was introduced into the area 

 perhaps early in the present century, the hoe, as 

 has been indicated, is still the principal agricul- 

 tural tool. Commercial fertilizer has been known 

 in the commumty for several years, but is little 

 used, as also are sprays and insecticides. The 

 monjolo has now almost entirely been substituted 

 by the two mills for grinding maize.^" 



To a considerable extent, the former self-suffi- 

 ciency of the farms has given way to a condition 

 in which the planting of one or more money crops, 

 like onions, potatoes, or beans, determined by the 

 needs of the outside market and the estimate of 

 the farmer as to which crop will bring the best 

 price, is becoming the dominant interest of 

 farmers. "It used to be," said a local resident, 

 "that a man planted a bit of everything and the 

 little the family didn't use was exchanged for the 

 few things that couldn't be raised, like salt and 

 cloth. But that time is passing." A few farms, 

 however, still are largely self-sufficient. One of 



' See Grinding Maize, p. 86. 



