Cangaço is the name given to a form of "social banditry" in the
NordesteThe Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....
of
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
in late 19th and early 20th centuries. This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hardships, and in a form of reaction against the domination of the land owners, the government and the European colonizers, many men and women decided to become nomadic bandits, roaming the
sertõesIn Brazil, the sertão once referred to the vast hinterland of Brazil away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America. Then, they thought of themselves as crabs, clinging to the shoreline and trying to make inroads into the terrifying sertão...
, seeking money, food, and revenge.
By 1834, the term "cangaceiro" was already used to refer to bands of poor peasants who inhabited the northeastern deserts, wearing leather clothing and hats, carrying carbines, revolvers, shotguns, and long narrow knives known as peixeiras.
"Cangaceiro" was a pejorative expression, such as
jagunçoJagunço, from the Portuguese zarguncho was the name applied to armed hands or bodyguards, usually hired by farmers and "colonels" in the backlands of the Northeast of Brazil...
, cabra, or bandoleiro, meaning a person who could not adapt himself to the coastal lifestyle imposed by a new society, formed by people descending from European colonizers.
By this time, these misfits divided themselves into basically two groups – the jagunços, mercenary rude hitmen who worked for whoever paid the highest price, usually land-owners who wanted to protect or expand their territorial limits and also deal with farm workers; and the cangaceiros, "social bandits" who were supported by the poor, who fed them and protected them against the volantes of policemen sent by the government to stop them.
One of the most common reasons why young people joined the cangaço was to avenge the family honor.
Cangaço is the name given to a form of "social banditry" in the
NordesteThe Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....
of
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
in late 19th and early 20th centuries. This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hardships, and in a form of reaction against the domination of the land owners, the government and the European colonizers, many men and women decided to become nomadic bandits, roaming the
sertõesIn Brazil, the sertão once referred to the vast hinterland of Brazil away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America. Then, they thought of themselves as crabs, clinging to the shoreline and trying to make inroads into the terrifying sertão...
, seeking money, food, and revenge.
Origin of the word
By 1834, the term "cangaceiro" was already used to refer to bands of poor peasants who inhabited the northeastern deserts, wearing leather clothing and hats, carrying carbines, revolvers, shotguns, and long narrow knives known as peixeiras.
"Cangaceiro" was a pejorative expression, such as
jagunçoJagunço, from the Portuguese zarguncho was the name applied to armed hands or bodyguards, usually hired by farmers and "colonels" in the backlands of the Northeast of Brazil...
, cabra, or bandoleiro, meaning a person who could not adapt himself to the coastal lifestyle imposed by a new society, formed by people descending from European colonizers.
By this time, these misfits divided themselves into basically two groups – the jagunços, mercenary rude hitmen who worked for whoever paid the highest price, usually land-owners who wanted to protect or expand their territorial limits and also deal with farm workers; and the cangaceiros, "social bandits" who were supported by the poor, who fed them and protected them against the volantes of policemen sent by the government to stop them.
One of the most common reasons why young people joined the cangaço was to avenge the family honor. This was the case of Jesuíno Brilhante, a famous cangaceiro from
Rio Grande do NorteRio Grande do Norte is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the edge of the South American continent. Because of its geographic position, Rio Grande do Norte has a strategic importance. The capital and largest city is Natal...
who helped the victims of the great drought of 1877 and who died in a shoot-out with the police in
ParaíbaParaíba is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast, where lies the easternmost point of the Americas, a cape called Ponta do Seixas. Paraíba coast has clear, calm beaches, with a barrier of reefs and natural pools. The beaches within João...
. Another famous cangaceiro, Sinhô Pereira, joined the cangaço in order to avenge the murder of his brother, Né Pereira, in
Serra TalhadaSerra Talhada is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is located at 07º59'31" South and 38º17'54" West, at an altitude of 429 metres. As of 2008, its estimated population was 79,484 people. Its area is approximately 2980 km sq.-History:...
in the sertão of
PernambucoPernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about 187 kilometers of beaches, some of the most...
.
Lampião
The most famous cangaceiro of them all, the one who is often associated with the whole history of the cangaço, was a man called Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, better known as "Lampião". He began when he was just a boy, amongst vendetta plots of the Pereira and Nogueira-Carvalho families. When his parents were killed because of these disputes, some of his brothers ran away, but Antônio, Livino, and Ezequiel followed Virgulino into the cangaço.
Seen as a mixture of hero and bandit, Lampião became one of the most representative icons of Brazil. His face is still seen everywhere in Brazil, and he is often cited as a popular hero.
Wandering around Santa Brígida, in the state of
BahiaBahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast.It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, he met Maria Alia da Silva (a.k.a. Maria de Déia), wife of shoemaker Zé de Nenê. Later she would be better known as Mrs. Lampião,
Maria BonitaMaria Bonita is a romance novel, one of a trilogy, based on the story of Maria, the wife of João Lopes da Costa Pinho. João Lopes da Costa Pinho emigrated to Brazil from Vila Nova da Guia in Portugal. Some say he arrived barefoot but he went on to be immensely wealthy, owning some 32 cattle and...
.
Lampião was killed by the
police in 1938, in a region between the state limits of Bahia and
AlagoasAlagoas is a small state in northeastern Brazil lying between the states of Pernambuco and Sergipe; touching the state of Bahia along a part of its southwestern border. The southern border of Alagoas is defined by the Rio São Francisco...
, when an informer, Pedro de Cândido gave away their location to the police. A massive offensive led to bloodshed, and the whole band was killed: Lampião, Maria Bonita, Luís Pedro, Caixa de Fósforo, Mergulhão, Cajarana, Differente, Enedina, Ângelo Roque and Elétrico.
Coiteiros
Coiteiros were people who helped the cangaceiros, giving them shelter and food. They did this for many reasons – they could be relatives of a cangaceiro, friends, ex-neighbours, or simply had some interest in their power, or they were afraid of them.
Volantes and monkeys
The volantes were small bands of troops – around 20 to 60 – of government soldiers sent to seek out and destroy the cangaceiros. The cangaceiros often referred to them as "monkeys", because of their brown uniforms and their willingness to obey their bosses. Some of them carried modern (back then)
Hotchkiss machine gunHotchkiss machine gun:*Hotchkiss M1909, light machine gun also known as the "Hotchkiss Mark I" in British service*Hotchkiss M1914, medium machine gun*Hotchkiss M1922, medium machine gun*13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun, heavy machine gun...
s, weapons that the cangaceiros quickly learned to fear – but were always willing to steal for their own use.
Cangaceiro style
The cangaceiros had very specific notions of how to behave and dress. First of all, most of them, even being rude murderers, knew how to sew quite well. Living in the desert lands of the northeast of Brazil, they had to survive amidst spiky dry bushes. Despite the heat during the day, the cangaceiros preferred to wear leather clothing, embellished with all kinds of coloured ribbons and metal pieces.
They also used leather gloves with coins and other pieces of metal sewn onto them, almost like armour.
Because of the heat and the absence of water, and also because of some kind of secret desire to be fancy and rich, some cangaceiros -–especially
LampiãoLampião was the nickname of "Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, the most famous leader of a Cangaço band .-Biography:...
-– wore French perfume. They often stole it from rich people's houses, and used it in large quantities.
Cangaceiro weapons
The weapons of the Cangaceiros were mostly revolvers, shotguns, and the famous "pára belo". It is claimed that like
macaco (monkey),
belo (beautiful) was another slang term for the policemen. Hence, pistols and
WinchesterThe term Winchester Rifle is frequently used to describe any of the lever-action rifles manufactured in the United States by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, although the name is usually more specifically used in reference to the Winchester Model 1873 or the Winchester Model 1894...
-like rifles were called "pára belo" (belo
stopper). However, the name seems to be actually a derivation of the Latin expression
ParabellumThe word Parabellum is a noun coined by German arms maker Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken and is derived from the Latin saying si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning If you wish for peace, prepare for war. The term has been used in the naming of a number of cartridges...
, which means "prepare for war" and was used to refer to the then official sidearm used by the Brazilian governmental troops and by some of the law enforcement soldiers, the
Luger pistolThe Pistole Parabellum1908 or Parabellum-Pistole , popularly known as the Luger, is an iconic, toggle locked, recoil operated, semi-automatic pistol. The design was patented by Georg J...
, which was produced by the German arms maker
DWMDeutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktien-Gesellschaft , known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when Ludwig Loewe & Company decided to unite its weapons and ammunition production facilities within one company...
.
They also made famous a thin, long, and very sharp knife called a "peixeira", a fish-cleaning knife, used mostly to torture or cut the throats of their victims.
Famous cangaceiros
LampiãoLampião was the nickname of "Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, the most famous leader of a Cangaço band .-Biography:...
,
CoriscoCorisco, or Mandj, is a small island of Equatorial Guinea, located 29 km southwest of the Rio Muni estuary that defines the border with Gabon...
,
Cabeleira,
Adolfo Meia-Noite,
Antônio Silvino,
Jesuíno Brilhante,
Lucas da Feira,
Sinhô Pereira,
and Diogo da Rocha Figueira aka "Dioguinho" (in São Paulo).
The Cangaço in film
- O Cangaceiro, Lima Barreto 1953 (original score by Riz Ortolani
Riziero "Riz" Ortolani is an Italian film composer.In the early 1950s Ortolani was founder and member of a jazz band of national Italian renown...
)
- A Morte comanda o Cangaço, Walter Guimarães Motta 1961
- Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol
Black God, White Devil is a 1964 Brazilian film directed and written by Glauber Rocha. Considered Rocha's masterpiece, the movie stars Othon Bastos, Maurício do Valle, Yoná Magalhães and Geraldo Del Rey. It belongs to the Cinema Novo movement, addressing the socio-political problems of 1960s Brazil...
, English title: "White God, Black Devil" Glauber RochaGlauber de Andrade Rocha was an influential Brazilian film director, actor and writer, best known for his movie Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol from 1964.-Biography:...
1963
- O Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro
O Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro is a 1969 Brazilian film directed by Glauber Rocha. This sequel to Black God, White Devil stars Othon Bastos, Odete Lara and Hugo Carvana...
, Glauber Rocha 1968
- Baile Perfumado, Paulo Caldas and Lírio Ferreira 1997
See also
- History of Brazil
The History of Brazil begins with the arrival of the first indigenous peoples, over 8,000 years ago by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska and then entering the rest of North and Central America....
- Land reform
Land reforms is an often-controversial alteration in the societal arrangements whereby government administers possession and use of land...
- Landless Workers' Movement
Landless Workers Movement, or in Portuguese Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra is a social movement in Brazil; it is the largest in Latin America, with an estimated 1.5 million landless members organized in 23 out of Brazil's 26 states. The MST states it carries out land reform in a...