Gratuitous and Reciprocal Forms of Collective Labor in Portugal and in Brazil

The Brazilian mutirao, a form of mutual aid among neighbors consisting in the collective performance of certain agricultural chores, is here compared with similar customs in Ru Portugal. Some of the latter are described in detail, and interpreted functionally and historically. The principle underlyi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista de antropologia (São Paulo) 1955-06, Vol.3 (1), p.21-43
Main Author: Veiga de Oliveira, Ernesto
Format: Article
Language:Portuguese
Subjects:
Agricultural Collectives
Brazil
Communitarianism
Cooperatives
Culture Contact
Portugal
Reciprocity
Rural Communities
Traditional Societies
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Summary:The Brazilian mutirao, a form of mutual aid among neighbors consisting in the collective performance of certain agricultural chores, is here compared with similar customs in Ru Portugal. Some of the latter are described in detail, and interpreted functionally and historically. The principle underlying such traditions, in various countries, is remuneration of labor by reciprocation in kind and a cooperative. These traits survive from an earlier subsistence and barter econ and a collectivistic type of society. In Portugal and Brazil, these neighborly get togethers for the joint accomplishing of work are frequently also occasions for public feasting and entertainment. Sponsoring such entertainment may amount to partial on-the-spot reciprocation for work assistance received. In those highlands of communitarian traditions and pastoral activities, instances of collective reciprocal labor merge imperceptibly with other aspects of communal life. In the lowlands, characterized by individualism and independent farming, such joint neighborly undertakings stand out more distinctly, and function more for the benefit of individuals than as civic affairs. But they are still very numerous, especially in the Minho region. By contrast, in the N. East and S. East portions of the country, characterized by large estates and migratory wage labor, mutual-aid traditions are disappearing. There is a particularly close resemblance between the mutirao as customary in certain parts of Brazil and the practices of collective mutualistic labor in the Minho region, in that the utilitarian motive seems to have become subordinate to the festive and warmly affective character of these events in both areas. Whether the mutirao is traced back to some native Indian institution or to Portugal, in its present form, it reflects the influence people from northern Portugal have had in shaping Brazilian customs and temperament. L. Pap .
ISSN:0034-7701