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Representations of Power in Pilgrim Tales from the Brazilian Northeast

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2022

Candace Slater
Candace Slater*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
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Padre Cícero Romão Batista, the priest who allegedly worked miracles until his death in 1934, has become a symbol for the vast, poverty-ridden Northeast of Brazil. Every year nearly a million pilgrims come to visit his adopted city, Juazeiro do Norte, in the arid interior of the state of Ceará. The fact that their journeys are not a remnant of the past, but a steadily growing reflection of the present, makes stories about the priest of special interest to social scientists as well as literary scholars. Although the pilgrimage in honor of Padre Cícero is not the largest in the country, it is the biggest in honor of a nonsaint anywhere in the Western world today.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , 1984 , pp. 71 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 by Latin American Research Review

Footnotes

*

I am grateful to the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation for supporting part of the fieldwork on which this discussion is based. I would also like to thank the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia and the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Program for supplentary grants.

References

Notes

1. Padre Cícero was canonized by a breakaway faction of the Roman Catholic Church, the Igreja Brasileira Apostólica, in 1973. He has not been recognized in any way by the official Church, however. For a bibliography of scholarly works on contemporary Brazilian pilgrimages, see Pedro A. Ribeiro de Oliveira, Expressões Religiosas Populares e Liturgia (Centro de Estatística Religiosa e Investigações Sociais, Rio de Janeiro, 1980, mimeographed).

2. Most of the critical commentary on Dr. Floro Bartolomeu da Costa is extremely partisan. The best-known discussions are probably Nertan Macedo's O Padre e a Beata (Rio de Janeiro: Editôra Leitura, 1961), and Rui Facó's Cangaceiros e Fanáticos (Rio de Janeiro: Editôra Civilização Brasileira, 1963). Floro himself authored numerous newspaper articles in Juazeiro's O Rebate and Gazeta do Joazeiro and in Fortaleza's Unitário. He also published a book entitled Joazeiro e o Padre Cícero: Depoimento para a História (Rio de Janeiro: n.p., 1923).

3. For a useful chronological summary of Brazilian political history, see Rollie E. Poppino, Brazil: The Land and the People, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), pp. 331–37.

4. A padrinho (godfather) is expected to oversee a godchild's religious education as well as to act as a second father, should the need arise. The use of the term in relation to Padre Cícero indicates general deference and affection on the part of the speaker.

5. A useful critical summary of book-length studies of Padre Cícero and Juazeiro is available in (Frei) Ildefonso Silveira, “Estado Atual da Pesquisa sobre o Padre Cícero,” Revista Eclesiástica Brasileira 36 (1976):226–60. The single best overview of the subject, upon which I have drawn heavily in this summary, is that provided by Ralph della Cava, Miracle at Joaseiro (New York: Columbia University Press, 1970). Note that della Cava has retained the nineteenth-century spelling of Juazeiro.

6. The “Imperial Religious Question” erupted in 1872, when Emperor Dom Pedro II had two Brazilian bishops arrested and convicted for their failure to obtain royal permission to attack Masonry. The dispute, which dragged on for three years, prompted the Church to take a newly militant stand against not only the Masons, but positivists, republicans, and Protestants as well. For a discussion of the affair, see J. Lloyd Mecham, Church and State in Latin America: A History of Politico-Ecclesiastical Relations (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1934), pp. 316–21.

7. The damage occasioned by periodic droughts explains the frenzied efforts by inhabitants of the backlands to ward off potential disaster. Between 1877 and 1915, one minor and four major droughts struck the Northeast, bringing agriculture to a halt and causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. For a discussion of the worst of the catastrophes, see Roger Lee Cunniff, “The Great Drought: Northeastern Brazil, 1877-1880” (Ph.D. diss., University of Texas at Austin, 1971). See also Anthony Hall, Drought and Irrigation in Northeast Brazil (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978).

8. Reports of bleeding hosts were common in Europe from the thirteenth century onward. These kinds of miracles, however, were not generally associated with a Second Coming, but were taken as indisputable proofs of the doctrine of transubstantiation, which was aimed at unbelievers. For examples, see E. Cobham Brewer, A Dictionary of Miracles (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1884), pp. 489–91. This appearance of allegedly divine blood at a time of great social stress parallels the rise of Marian apparitions in similar moments of tension. See William A. Christian, Jr., Apparitions in Late Medieval and Renaissance Spain (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1981).

9. Brazilian messianism grows out of Portuguese Sebastianism. After the death of young King Sebastian in the battle of Alcácer-Quibir in northern Africa, Portugal was annexed by Spain for sixty years. In reaction to this period between 1580 and 1640 (known as “the Captivity”), the defeated citizens invented stories in which King Sebastian was said to be alive and planning his return. The first colonists to the Brazilian Northeast undoubtedly took these stories with them to their new home. The classic theoretical discussion of messianic movements remains that of Anthony F. C. Wallace, “Revitalization Movements,” American Anthropologist 58 (1956): 264–81. An extensive bibliography also exists on messianic movements in Brazil. Two of the best-known studies are Maria Isaura Pereira de Queiroz, O Messianismo no Brasil e no Mundo (São Paulo: Dominus Editora, 1965), and René Ribeiro, “Brazilian Messianic Movements,” in Millennial Dreams in Action, edited by Sylvia Thrupp (The Hague: Mouton, 1962). Of particular relevance to Juazeiro is Ralph della Cava's “Brazilian Messianism and National Institution: A Reappraisal of Canudos and Joaseiro,” Hispanic American Historical Review 48 (1968): 402–20. A more recent discussion that includes an updated bibliography is Patricia R. Pessar's “Unmasking the Politics of Religion: The Case of Brazilian Millenarianism,” Journal of Latin American Lore 7, no. 2 (1981): 255–78.

10. The standard discussion of the coronel is still Victor Nunes Leal's Coronelismo: Enxada e Voto (Rio de Janeiro: Editôra Forense, 1948). The English translation is Coronelismo: The Municipality and Representative Government in Brazil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976). See also Marcos Vinícius Vilaça and Roberto C. de Albuquerque, Coronel e Coronéis (Rio de Janeiro: Tempo Brasileiro, 1965).

11. The dispute occurred at a particularly critical moment in 1914 when Floro broke with Ceará's new governor by publicly refusing to recognize two candidates that the latter had proposed for vacant seats in the legislature. Floro's rebuff placed almost unbearable pressure upon a regime that was already hard pressed by financial difficulties stemming from the war in Europe. Eager for a resolution, political leaders in both Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro urged Padre Cícero to exert his influence in order to end the rift. The priest therefore wrote to Floro, who informed the priest that he must either trust him or end their alliance. Floro's gamble paid off when Padre Cícero backed down. For details, see della Cava, Miracle at Joaseiro, pp. 157–61.

12. Although this discussion deals exclusively with orally transmitted stories, a number of the best-known tales are published in pamphlet, or cordel, form. For a discussion of the relationship between these spoken and printed versions, see Candace Slater, “Oral and Written Pilgrim Tales from Northeast Brazil,” Journal of Latin American Lore 19, no. 2 (Winter 1983).

13. Francisca Inácio da Costa, who conducted the official government census of one side of the street in 1980, provided much of this information. I am grateful to her for allowing me to live in her home on the Rua do Horto during the summer of 1981 and the fall of 1982.

14. Josefa Maria de Jesus: Born in Lavras de Canhoto, Alagoas, possibly in 1913. Arrived in Juazeiro as a very young child at an uncertain date. Widow, retired. Interviewed on 8 August 1982.

15. Olímpio Praciano de França: Born in Palmeira do Índios, Alagoas, in 1901. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1922. Widowed, still works as farmer. Interviewed 30 July 1981.

16. Manoel Caboclo e Silva: Born in Juazeiro in 1906. Married, cordel poet. Interviewed on 2 July 1981.

17. João Ferreira dos Reis: Born in Bezerros, Pernambuco, in 1901. Married, farmer. Interviewed 15 October 1982.

18. All of the stories I have translated. I occasionally changed pronouns to nouns when the meaning was unclear. Otherwise, I have tried to remain faithful to the original. The endnote for each story contains the teller's name, date and place of birth, and date of arrival for purposes of residence in Juazeiro. His or her marital status, occupation, and the date of the interview follow. Thus, Pedro Ribeiro da Silva: Born in Paulo Jacinto, Alagoas, in 1900. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1971. Widower, guard. Interviewed on 10 October 1982.

19. Sebastiana Fernandes dos Santos: Born in Maceió, Alagoas, in 1925. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1956. Married, makes straw hats and plaster saints. Interviewed on 7 July 1981.

20. The storyteller in this case is a former member of José Lourenço's community in Caldeirão, Pernambuco. A recent succinct summary of the community is that of Rosemberg Cariry, “O beato José Lourenço e o Caldeirão da Santa Cruz,” Nação Cariri 1, no. 5:12–14. See also James Chamel Anderson, “The Caldeirão Movement: A Case Study in Brazilian Messianism, 1926-38” (Ph.D. diss., George Washington University, 1971).

21. Enrique Ferreira da Silva: Born in Lisgomé, Rio Grande do Norte, in 1900. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1946. Married, repairs furniture. Interviewed on 2 August 1981.

22. Florismino (“Floro”) Alves: Born in Canhotinho, Pernambuco, in 1916. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1967. Single, does odd jobs. Interviewed on 6 July 1981.

23. Luzia Maria das Neves: Born in Lagoa de Baixo, Paraíba, date unknown. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1946. Married, performs curative prayers. Interviewed on 2 August 1981.

24. Antonio Ferreira: Born in Bom Jardim, Pernambuco, in 1920. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1940. Marital status unknown, farmer. Interviewed on 23 July 1981.

25. Severina Maria da Conceição. Born in Panelas, Alagoas, in 1943. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1971. Married, sells vegetables. Interviewed on 14 November 1982.

26. Manuel Barros da Silva: Born in Garahuns, Pernambuco, in 1910. Arrived in Juazeiro in 1965. Married, farmer. Interviewed on 24 October 1982.

27. For a good general overview of the social structure of the Brazilian Northeast, see Shepard Forman, The Brazilian Peasantry (New York: Columbia University Press, 1975), and Allen Johnson, Sharecroppers of the Sertão (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972).

28. See Jordan M. Young, The Brazilian Revolution of 1930 and the Aftermath (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1967) for an analysis of the causes of the Vargas takeover and its significance.

29. There is a large body of literature on patron-client bonds. Some of the more useful discussions are: Peter Blau, Exchange and Power in Social Life (New York: John Wiley, 1964); George Foster, “The Dyadic Contract: A Model for the Social Structure of a Mexican Peasant Village,” American Anthropologist 63 (1961): 1173–92; Bertram Hutchinson, “The Patron-Dependent Relationship in Brazil: A Preliminary Examination,” Sociologia Ruralis 6 (1966): 3–30; John Duncan Powell, “Peasant Society and Clientelist Politics,” American Political Science Review 64 (1970): 411–25; Eric R. Wolf, “Kinship, Friendship, and Patron-Client Relationships in Complex Societies,” in The Social Anthropology of Complex Societies, edited by Michael Banton (London: Tavistock, 1966), pp. 1–22.

30. Forman, Brazilian Peasantry, p. 26.