In the city of Para, the provincial government assists to augment the splendour of the religious holidays.The processions which traverse the principal streets consist, in the first place, of the image of the saint, and those of several other subordinate ones belonging to the same church; these are borne on the shoulders of respectable householders, who volunteer for the purpose--sometimes you will see your neighbour the grocer or the carpenter groaning under the load.The priest and his crowd of attendants precede the images, arrayed in embroidered robes, and protected by magnificent sunshades--no useless ornament here, for the heat is very great when the sun is not obscured.On each side of the long line the citizens walk, clad in crimson silk cloaks and holding each a large lighted wax candle.Behind follows a regiment or two of foot soldiers with their bands of music, and last of all the crowd--the coloured people being cleanly dressed and preserving a grave demeanour.The women are always in great force, their luxuriant black hair decorated with jasmines, white orchids and other tropical flowers.They are dressed in their usual holiday attire, gauze chemises and black silk petticoats;their necks are adorned with links of gold beads, which when they are slaves are generally the property of their mistresses, who love thus to display their wealth.
At night, when festivals are going on in the grassy squares around the suburban churches, there is really much to admire.Agreat deal that is peculiar in the land and the life of its inhabitants can be seen best at those times.The cheerful white church is brilliantly lighted up, and the music, not of a very solemn description, peals forth from the open windows and doors.
Numbers of young gaudily-dressed negresses line the path to the church doors with stands of liqueurs, sweetmeats, and cigarettes, which they sell to the outsiders.A short distance off is heard the rattle of dice-boxes and roulette at the open-air gambling-stalls.When the festival happens on moonlit nights, the whole scene is very striking to a newcomer.Around the square are groups of tall palm trees, and beyond it, over the illuminated houses, appear the thick groves of mangoes near the suburban avenues, from which comes the perpetual ringing din of insect life.The soft tropical moonlight lends a wonderful charm to the whole.
The inhabitants are all out, dressed in their best.The upper classes, who come to enjoy the fine evening and the general cheerfulness, are seated on chairs around the doors of friendly houses.There is no boisterous conviviality, but a quiet enjoyment seems to be felt everywhere, and a gentle courtesy rules among all classes and colours.I have seen a splendidly-dressed colonel, from the President's palace, walk up to a mulatto, and politely ask his permission to take a light from his cigar.When the service is over, the church bells are set ringing, a shower of rockets mounts upwards, the bands strike up, and parties of coloured people in the booths begin their dances.
About ten o'clock the Brazilian national air is played, and all disperse quietly and soberly to their homes.
At the festival of Corpus Christi, there was a very pretty arrangement.The large green square of the Trinidade was lighted up all round with bonfires.On one side a fine pavilion was erected, the upright posts consisting of real fan-leaved palm trees--the Mauritia flexuosa, which had been brought from the forest, stems and heads entire, and fixed in the ground.The booth was illuminated with coloured lamps, and lined with red and white cloth.In it were seated the ladies, not all of pure Caucasian blood, but presenting a fine sample of Para beauty and fashion.
The grandest of all these festivals is that held in honour of Our Lady of Nazareth: it is, I believe, peculiar to Para.As I have said before, it falls in the second quarter of the moon, about the middle of the dry season--that is, in October or November--and lasts, like the others, nine days.On the first day, a very extensive procession takes place, starting from the Cathedral, whither the image of the saint had been conveyed some days previous, and terminating at the chapel or hermitage, as it is called, of the saint at Nazareth--a distance of more than two miles.The whole population turns out on this occasion.All the soldiers, both of the line and the National Guard, take part in it, each battalion accompanied by its band of music.The civil authorities, also, with the President at their head, and the principal citizens, including many of the foreign residents, join in the line.The boat of the shipwrecked Portuguese vessel is carried after the saint on the shoulders of officers or men of the Brazilian navy, and along with it are borne the other symbols of the miracles which Our Lady is supposed to have performed.The procession starts soon after the sun's heat begins to moderate--that is, about half-past four o'clock in the afternoon.When the image is deposited in the chapel the festival is considered to be inaugurated, and the village every evening becomes the resort of the pleasure-loving population, the holiday portion of the programme being preceded, of course, by a religious service in the chapel.The aspect of the place is then that of a fair, without the humour and fun, but, at the same time, without the noise and coarseness of similar holidays in England.Large rooms are set apart for panoramic and other exhibitions, to which the public is admitted gratis.In the course of each evening, large displays of fireworks take place, all arranged according to a published programme of the festival.
