lOO 



THE TOCANTINS 



Correia, a distinguished merchant, was an active can- 

 vasser. The party of the Correias was the Liberal, or, 

 as it is called throughout Brazil, the Santa Luzia faction ; 

 the opposite side, at the head of which was one Pedro 

 Moraes, was the Conservative, or Saquarema party. I 

 preserved one of the stanzas of the song, which, however, 

 does not contain much point ; it ran thus : 



Ora pana, tana pana, pana tana, 

 Joao Augusto he bonito e homem pimpao, 

 Mas Pedro he feio e hum grande ladrao, 



Chorus : Ora pana, &c. 



(John Augustus is handsome and as a man ought to be, 

 But Peter is ugly and a great thief. 

 Chor^^s : Ora pana, &c. ) 



The canoe-men of the Amazons have many songs and 

 choruses, with which they are in the habit of relieving 

 the monotony of their slow voyages, and which are 

 known all over the interior. The choruses consist of a 

 simple strain, repeated almost to weariness, and sung 

 generally in unison, but sometimes with an attempt at 

 harmony. There is a wildness and sadness about the 

 tunes which harmonize well with, and in fact are born of, 

 the circumstances of the canoe-man's life ; the echoing 

 channels, the endless gloomy forests, the solemn nights, 

 and the desolate scenes of broad and stormy waters and 

 falling banks. Whether they were invented by the Indians 

 or introduced by the Portuguese it is hard to decide, as 

 many of the customs of the lower classes of Portuguese 

 are so similar to those of the Indians that they have be- 

 come blended with them. One of the commonest songs 

 is very wild and pretty. It has for refrain the words 

 * Mai, Mai \ ' Mother, Mother with a long drawl on 

 the second word. The stanzas are very variable ; the best 

 wit on board starts the verse, improvizing as he goes on, 

 and the others join in the chorus. They all relate to the 

 lonely river life and the events of the voyage ; the shoals, 

 the wind ; how far they shall go before they stop to sleep, 

 and so forth. The sonorous native names of places, 

 Goajara, Tucumanduba, &c., add greatly to the charm 

 of the wild music. Sometimes they bring in the stars 

 thus : 



