Remember the Rainforest 1

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They began, then, the dance, in which about 80 men took part, alternating, old and young (1). This bacchanal continued every night while we stayed in Porto dos Miranhas.

Some of the strangers left every day, but more came, informed of the parties by the touches on the sound boom. In the midst of this unleashing of animal pleasures, we spent our sleepless nights in fear : only in the morning, when they retired to their hammocks, or went to bathe were we able to rest and relax. During the day, there were few of us who saw these devils, for they were scattered in the woods and in remote huts; but at dusk they came from all sides and filled the square, between the river and the huts, talking in a monotone whisper and drinking until they were drunk; Then they burst into ferocious shouting, and at last their discordant instruments rang out and the din of songs and dances began.

Victory dance

My mind is still affected when I remember the horrible degeneration of these brutes (2). I must say that during my stay of a few weeks among these savages, all the manifestations of their immoral life passed before my eyes; but I felt such a painful impression of this neighborhood that if I told the peculiarities of the most disturbing acts among the natives of Brazil, it would also cause the same painful impression on my readers. I was persuaded that these savages had no idea of God, kind father and creator of all things; the only entity who dominates their destiny is capricious and implacable, one who subdues them with a blind and unconscious fear. The soul of these fallen primitive men cannot imagine Heaven; they feel that they only exist in the moment, without higher aspirations, and only hunger and thirst reminds

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(1) It is painful to see gray-haired men giving themselves with the same ardor, alongside boys and girls in the unbridled dances. They formed two long lines, one behind the other, each carrying the beam of darts in his right hand, as he rested his left hand on the neighbor's shoulder.

So they marched, now faster, slower, swinging along, changing places, with the third step always shorter, putting forward the foot that moves nearer to the front, as it strikes the ground violently. The hoarse song, which the men shouted at the same time, made a dreadful effect, with the ending very prolonged. I have thus interpreted the text of this song: "The gaviao bird has no fire, nothing can he cook; the jaguar has no fire, and the crocodile has no grill.” In singing, the singers alternate the names of the animals, so that all birds, mammals and fish eventually are named, and then the line forms again. When they cannot remember any more animals, the dance is concluded with an unrestrained shout. The other songs, in which women take part, could not be interpreted. After the dance had lasted for an hour, some of the men dispersed, and naked women, many with children in their lap or neck, also came forward. We watched their savage jumps, their hoarse screeches, the ardor with which, from the oldest to the youngest, they kept the beat behind the men, and even in their gay song they did not have a pleasant air. It was as if they were fulfilling their duty just to take advantage of the opportunity for recreation, as a rest from the painful work of the day.

The song went on, no longer in the simple hoarse unison of men, because the sopranos, squealing the melody, joined the abominable shout.

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(2) A horrible example of savagery I once observed was practiced on a six-month-old child. The mother had died, and the stepmother hated the child so much that she wanted to starve her. When the unfortunate child demanded, with a whimper, food, the cruel stepmother threw it on some burning torches in the stove. I was just entering and I was able to save him, delivering him to the care of our navigator. But the baby died on the way, already very weak, and was buried beneath Cupati's Waterfall.

Cupati