The Inhamuns: a Community in the Sertao of Northeast Brazil, 1707-1930

THE INHAMUNS: A COMMUNITY IN THE SERTAO OF NORTHEAST BRAZIL, 1707-1930 By BILLY JAYNES CHANDLER A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE rOUNCII. OK THr I'N^^'^R<;IT^ ov Florida IN PABTlAi^ FULFILLMENT OF Tilii REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA June, 1967 Copyright by- Billy Jaynes Chandler 1967 PREFACE This study is intended as a general history of a community in the sertao of Northeast Brazil from the era of colonization until 1930, Secondarily, the attempt is made to present some of the changing aspects of the relationship between the private poller of the dominant families in the area and the agents of external authority. No claim is made that the Inhamuns, in all its aspects, is a typical Brazilian community; yet, the basic structural framework of the society of the area appears to have contained a large proportion of the characteristics which generally are attributed to rural Brazil, Thus, in spite of pecxiliarities dictated by geographical setting and historical development, the Inhamuns may be more typical of Brazil than, at first glance, its isolation might suggest. The community of the Inhamuns, as defined here, refers to a rather large physical area whose parts have been historically interrelated, rather than to a more limited area in which the inhabitants maintain frequent primary contacts with one another,-^ The boundaries of the community are both geographically and historically determined. Geographi- cally, the Inhamuns is that portion of Cear5 l3ring along the Piio Jaguaribe and its tributaries to the west and north of Sao Matheus (renamed JucSs in recent years). Historically, it is the area which was settled chiefly •under the domination of the Feitosa family and in which that family maintained preeminence for many years thereafter. 1, The Inhamuns is currently divided into the Municfpios of Tau£, ParambiS, Cococy, Arneir5s, Aiuaba, and Saboeiro, 111 — Within the confines of these definitions, at least three limitations have been imposed. First, the area of Sao Matheus has been excluded. Although it was considered a part of the Inhamuns in the era of colonization, its subsequent development was but little related to the history of that ccmriunity. Second, although Saboeiro is included, it is given less attention than other portions of the area. In the first place, it was the initial part of the Inhanuns to be separated from the dominion of the Feitosas, after which it tended to evolve as a distinct community. Considerable attention is devoted to Saboeiro only in the period of the Empire, years in which political factors often brought it into conflict with the remainder of the Inham-uns, In addition, the lack of attention given to the intenial development of Saboeiro was not wholly determined by choice, for the sources for the study of that area were found to be less abundant than those for the other areas. Third, this study is, in many ways, a history of the Feitosa family. Entirely apart from the fact that the Feitosas have constituted the most colorful element in the history of the Inhamuns, they were, for many years, the dominant one, A termination date short of the present was imposed not by a lack of interest in the more recent years but largely by the limited amount of time which could be devoted to the research. The year chosen—1930 was not entirely arbitrary, for it appears to be a convenient point at which to close out a period in the history of the Inhamuns, as well as of the nation. Certain difficulties may present themselves in the study, the first of which might well be organization, A chronological organization was judged to be unfeasible, while, on the other hand, the long time span did not lend itself to a topical arrangement. The resolution of the iv problem, a shifting corabiiiation of the two which often leans heavily toward the latter, is not wholly satisfactory, and, to partially com- pensate for the difficulties, cross-referencing frequently has been utilized. Second, the wealth of names of persons and of references to kinship relations is certain to bewilder all but the most painstaking reader; but, for those who have the interest and fortitude to wind through the maze, many of these references document the importance of the family in the society of the Inharauns, For others, they may be skipped over as just so many extraneous data. Third, an explanation regarding names is necessary. Parents not infrequently assigned them arbitrarily to their offspring. Thus, Manoel Ferreira Ferro was the legitimate son of Francisco Alves Feitosa, just as EufrSsio Alves Feitosa and JosS do Vale Pedrosa were the legitimate sons, respectively, of Joao Bezerra do Vale, and Jose Alves Feitosa, In addition, other inhabitants of the Inhamuns also were acknowledged members of families whose names they did not bear, a situation resulting from the tendency of the dominant families to absorb the descendents of male outsiders who married into them. Thus, regardless of their legal names, the descendents of Leandro Cust5dio de Oliveira Castro, an outsider who married a Feitosa, were popularly known as Feitosas rather than Oliveira Castros, Fourth, variations in spelling, including usage of distinctive markings, of Portuguese words will be noted. No alternations of words appearing in quotations have been made from the original, while, outside of quotations, current usage in regard to persons' names usually has been adopted. Finally, a glossary of Portuguese words used frequently in the text is appended. The debts of gratitude which I incurred to people and institutions during the course of ray research are numerous. The initial plan for the project was worked out in collaboration with Dr. Jos§ Arthur Rios, a Visiting Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida in 196^, He suggested Cear^ as the area for the study, and, after my arrival in Brazil, aided ny efforts in many ways, I am deeply indebted to my super- visory committee, particularly to its chairman. Professor David Bushnell, whose wise and friendly counsel made the task much more pleasant, as well as profitable, I am grateful to Professor Alfred Hower, who, in addition to teaching me Portuguese, first urged me to choose Brazil as my field of research, and to Professor L, N, MoAlister, who has worked on my behalf in numerous ways, I also wish to acknowledge my debts to the two organ- izations which jointly sponsored my research in Brazil: first. The Henry L, and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation, Inc., and, second, the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange program of the Department of State of the United States Government, After vjy arrival in Brazil, personnel at the following institutions lent me valuable assistance: the Biblioteca Nacional, Institute His- torico, Arquivo Nacional, and the library of the Institute Brasileiro de Geografia e Estat£stica (all located in Rio de Janeiro) ; the Biblioteca Publica, Arquivo PtTolico, Institute do Cear5, the archives of the Assemblea Estadual, Institute de Antropologia of the Universidade Federal do Cearfi (all in Fortaleza); the two cartorios and the prefeitura in Taui and the first cartSrio in Saboeiro. In addition, special mention should be made of the following persons: General Carlos Studart Filho, Professors Francisco de Alencar and Kozart Soriano Aderaldo, and Antonio Teixeira Cavalcante, all of Fortaleza, Dr, Derval Peixoto, of i Crato, and Manoel Gomes de Freitas, a former state deputy from the Inhamuns who now resides in Rio de Janeiro, I am very much indebted to two sons of the Inhamuns, who currently reside in Fortaleza, for sharing with me their knowledge of the area and enabling me to use their personal historical collections: State Deputy Antonio Gomes de Freitas and Judge Carlos Feitosa, Above all, I remember nostalgically the many residents of the Inhamuns who made ray stay in the area in November, 1965, and from l>Iarch to August, 1966, the most pleasant and rewarding part of the 15 months which I spent in Brazil. Especially, I acknowledge my gratitude for the gracious hospitality and warm friendship of: Colonel Antonio Vieira Gomes of TauS; Dr. Louren^o Alves Feitosa and Dona EufrSsia of the Fazenda Cana, Cococy; Colonel Armando Arrais Feitosa of Aiuaba; and Oziel Freire Cidrao and his numerous and charming family of the Fazenda Alagoas in the Marruiis area of Tati£, Finally, I wish to thank Dr. Charles Nissly, for his direction of the preparation of the maps, and Mrs, Mary Alice Cullen, for the dis- criminating care with which she typed the manuscript. vii TABLE OF CONTEJITS 1707-1832 ^ I. THE SOCXETY TAKES SHAPE, The Kontes and Feitosas Government J^^ The Formal Structure of Local Capitao-nor Jose Alves Feitosa Aspects of Social and Economic Life DUPJNG THE EMPIRE ^3 II. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 6^+ The Formal Structure r,r, and Parties Families ^^ "By the People" ^-^ Conclusion . ll'^- m. CRU-IE AND JUSTICE, 183^-1916 11^ Lawless .. Land of the ^-^^ from Within The View ^^^^ Politics ^^2 The family | •j_i^.^ Private justice ^cg Conclusion 158 DURING THE OLD REPUBLIC IV. GOVERNMENT AND POLETICS 159 _ ^ The Structure ^^2 Colonel Louren^o, 1889-1912 . rg 1912-1919 .rZ Transition, ^'^ Colonel Domingos, 1919-1930 189 V. THE SOCIETI AND ECONOM 189 The Distribution of the Land - The Fazenda and Its Inhabitants • ' * ^ Tne Economy 21Z4. Culture: The School and the Church 219 VI. NEGRO SUVERI 235 VII. THE SECAS PQ-TOR IN A BRAZILIAN VIII. EXTERNAL AUTHORITY AND PRIVATE COKOTiaH: AN OVERVIEW 254 GLOSSARY 257 BIELIOGRAPHI _„ 263 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH viii MAPS 1. CearS, 1930 2 2 . The Inhaimms , , .,.......,. 3 ix I. THE SOCrETT TAKES SHAPE, 1707-1832 Effective Portuguese colonization of CearS, located on the upper side of Brazil's Northeast, began in the last quarter of the 17th cen- tury.

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