Tobacco People Brazil (book preview)

Tobacco People

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Brazil Sarah Hazlegrove

Tobacco People is a trademark of Sarah Hazlegrove Inc. Photographs copyright Sarah Hazlegrove Inc. 2013 Text Copyright Sarah Hazlegrove Inc. No portion of this book can be reproduced without the written permission of Sarah Hazlegrove.

Book design by Sarah Hazlegrove

Tob acco Pe ople

S a r a h Ha z l e g rov e

Map titled: Brasilia et Peruvia circa 1593 by Cornelis De Jode

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Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps

www.raremaps.com

Brazi l

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It could be said that tobacco is at the heart and soul of Brazil. Scientists believe that the first tobacco plants, Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rustica took root in the Peruvian and Bolivian section of the Andes cordillera, an area that flanks the far western border of Brazil. From there it spread throughout the Americas as the many indigenous tribes who used tobacco migrated to other parts of South America, Central and North America, as well as the islands in the Caribbean.

A Mayan vessel holds the first physical evidence of tobacco in the ancient culture. Kislak Collection of the Library of Congress

Although vessels, stone pipes and other relics used for the consumption of tobacco in the Americas have been found that date back to as early as 700-900 AD, the earliest recorded information about its use in the Americas comes from the chroniclers who accompanied Spanish and Portuguese explorers. Columbus in the Caribbean (1492), Cortes in Mexico (1512), Pedro Alvarez Cabral in Brazil (1500) witnessed tobacco being used in a variety of ways by the individual tribes in the New World. They made note of it in their journals and official reports and The first published illustration of Nicotiana tabacum with a second illustration to the upper right shows how the Indians and sailors smoked Nicotiana leaves in a funnel.

(George Arents collection, New York Public Library)

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in some instances took the time to draw illustrations of it being used. Reactions to the tobacco habits of the Indigenous people varied.

Columbus took the gift of dried tobacco leaves given to him by Indians near the island of Ferdinandina and threw them into the sea; Cortes, after witnessing tobacco’s being smoked from long tubes and being incorporated into ceremonies that included human sacrifice and cannibalism, massacred thousands of indigenous people who partook of the weed. The act of smoking was seen as a satanic ritual, yet it was also used to seal peaceful relations and friendships. The use of tobacco as a cure for a variety of physical ailments was the most common observation and helped to secure tobacco’s place in early pharmacology.

When the Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral arrived on the shores of North Eastern Brazil, he was met by Tupi-Guarani Indians.

Tupinamba Shamans wearing feather cloaks, smoking a cigar and carrying rattles. (After Metraux 1928)

A Tapuya or Tarairiu Woman, 1641, Albert Eckhout

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Image of African slaves, making rope tobacco. Translation: 1. Black man who removes the tobacco’s stem.

2. Black man who twists the tobacco. 3. Black man who tightens the rope onto the roll. 4. Tobacco hanging.

Little has changed over the centuries. The same techniques are still used in Brazil, while adaptations of both forms can be found in remote places all over the world.

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Rope tobacco being made in the highlands of Southern Brazil.

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Rope tobacco. Amazon River basin, Acre

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Rope tobacco. Lagoa da Canoa, Alagoas

ROPE TOBACCO Amazon, Alagoas, Rio Grande do Sul It is fascinating to compare the variety of different forms of rope tobacco or fumo de corda found in Brazil. The time consuming and physically challenging work involved in processing the tobacco requires patience and craftsmenship.

Rope tobacco originated among the indigenous tribes and proved to be the best method for protecting the leaves in the tropical climate. By the late 16th century Europeans had acquired a taste for tobacco and brought it on board their ships.

The curing process which involved fermentation protected the leaves from rotting on the long voyage and the narrow sticks could be nestled into tight spaces.

Three distinct types of rope tobacco are still produced in Brazil: Amazonian rope, the large dark rope of Bahia and the blond rope of Southern Brazil.

Rope tobacco. Segredo, Rio Grande do Sul

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Making stick tobacco in the Amazon river basin. August 2012

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Once the hemp rope is removed, a hard compressed stick of tobacco is revealed.

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Palmeira, Acre. August 2012

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Palmeira, Acre. August 2012

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Women in typical Candomble dress walk down a street in Salvador, Bahia. December 2011

NORTH EASTERN BRAZIL Although the first Portuguese explorers arrived in

As a result of the constant pouring in of Africans over

North Eastern Brazil in 1500, it would take at least

the centuries to work the sugar and coffee plantations

another 30 years before they returned as a coloniz-

and work in the mines, North Eastern Brazil saw a

ing presence. In spite of being few in number, the

fusion of African traditions and religions with those

earliest Portuguese settlers took over large tracts of

of the Catholic Portuguese and indigenous tribes.

land which they developed into sugar plantations. The

The most famous of these Afro-Brazilian religions

success of their venture hinged on a large labor force.

is Candomble. In Candomble minor deities are the

They were unsuccesfull in their attempt to enslave

intermediaries between man and the one supreme

the indigenous tribes of Brazil whose populations had

God. They call these lesser deities Orishas. The

been decimated by diseases brought by the settlers.

Orishas inhabit nature and natural forces. Tobacco is

Those that survived refused to work under force.

used in a variety of the rituals performed by practi-

Portugal turned to a familiar resource, Africa.

cants of Candomble. The Portuguese forbade slaves from practicing their animistic religion. They were

Prior to the arrival of the first slave in Brazil in 1538,

forced to be baptized into the Catholic church. Slaves

the Portuguese had enslaved Africans to work on their

arrived in Brazil, naked, without possessions. Their

sugar plantations on the Cape Verde, Madeira and

religious beliefs were the one thing that could not be

Canary islands. From the mid 1500’s till 1888, when

stripped from them. They continued worshipping their

slavery was abolished in Brazil, more than 4 million

African deities by disguising them, giving them the

Africans were imported.

names of Catholic saints. They were devoted to their Saints (Orishas) to such a degree that the Portuguese

Portuguese slave merchants brought tobacco to

mocked them and called them Santeria or Cadomble,

Africa to barter with coastal tribes. Coastal tribesmen

“people of the Saints.”

captured men, women and children from the interior and brought them back to the slave ships. Through-

In Candomble it is the women who are the high

out the slave trading years, Portugal was the only

priestesses. At public celebrations they wear large

colonizing country that used tobacco in exchange for

hooped skirts reminiscent of those worn by European

slaves. Records from early slave ships list clay pipes

women of the 19th century and adorn themselves with

and tobacco as items set aside for the slaves for the

elaborate jewelry; West African trade beads and Pen-

long passage. Also known as “The Middle Passage.”

ca de Balanganda (silver amulets worn at the waist), which are reminders of their enslaved ancestors.

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The town of Cachoeira sits between the Paraguacu river and the foothills of Bahia.

This rich agricultural area was one of the first places to be exploited and colonized by the Portuguese. It was established in 1698.

Sugar cane and tobacco made the area a major trading center. Cachoeira also has the second largest number of Candomble temples in Brazil.

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Cruz das Almas, Alagoas. November 2011

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Roping cattle on the Jappe farm. Herveiras, Rio Grande do Sul. November 2011

SOUTHERN BRAZIL Cattle was first introduced to Paraguay

They kept to themselves, tending their

in 1580 by the colonial expedition of the

land and herds. They held onto their

Spanish conquistador, Juan de Garay.

unique culture; a culture that has re-

Over the ensuing years, the cattle that

mained an important part of the lives and

were set free to roam the Pampas spread

communities of the people of Southern

throughout southern Brazil, Argentina

Brazil, Argentina and northern Uruguay.

and Uruguay. It wasn’t until the mid 18th

The freedom to roam and hunt wild

century that the lifestyle of a nomadic

cattle eventually came to an end. Land

community of cattlemen was recorded.

was sold to individuals and private inves-

They were of mixed ancestry: mostly

tors, and the once clear landscape of the

Spanish, Portuguese, Amerindian and

plains was parcelled, sold and fenced in.

some North African. They lived a simple life roaming the Pampas and hunting the

The Rio Grande do Sul region of

herds of wild cattle. Their diet consisted

Brazil carries on many of the gaucho

mainly of beef but was supplemented by

traditions. It is also the second largest

Yerba Mate, a tea that is made from the

producer and number one exporter of

leaves of the Yerba tree and is high in

tobacco in the world. Descendants of

caffeine and nutrients.

the early German, Pomeranian, Italian, Ukranian and Japanese immigrants that

After the war of Independence from

came to Brazil in the late 1700 and early

Spain in 1822, the independent minded

1800’s readily adapted to the rugged

gauchos stayed far away from the ever

lifestyle of the country, andmany adopted

growing population of Europeans.

the gaucho attitudes and ways of life.

A son I am of the rolling plain A gaucho born and bred And this is my pride; to live as free As the bird that cleaves the sky.

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Floating seedbeds. Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul. August 2012

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A gaucho farmhand drinks matte tea in the workman’s kitchen.

Jappe farm. Herveiras, Rio Grande do Sul. December 2011

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FAMILIES

The Jappe Family has one of the largest tobacco farms in Rio Grande do Sul. They are second generation Germans whose family settled in Southern Brazil in the late 1800s. All of their children live and work on the farm with their individual families. Here they pose with musicians and friends who came to the farm for a gaucho celebration.

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UDO AND ELIDA KRUGER Udo and Elida Kruger live in a tiny village

early as the mid 1800s encouraged by the

called Morro do Inferno, or “Hill of Hell,”

Portuguese Crown who promised them

in the Arroio do Padre area of Rio Grande

property and benfits. Although the prom-

do Sul. How this hamlet tucked away from

ises were not kept, the early Pomeranian

the troubles of the world earned such a

immigrants thrived.

name is a mystery, and when you meet the Krugers, the name of their village

The country that was once the homeland

seems even more out of place.

of their ancestors is located to the south of the Baltic sea. From the 11th century

Udo and Elida are of Pomeranian

to the end of World War II, the mostly

descent. They met at a festa (dance)

agrarian people endured incredible hard-

celebrating their Pomeranian heritage.

ships. The ruling class, mostly noblemen,

Udo was not playing his accordion that

made it next to impossible for the farmers

night, but he caught the eye of the lovely

to own property. What property they did

Elida nonetheless. When he talks about

have was seized, and they were forced

courting his bride - how much they love

into labor and required to work as serfs.

to dance - he becomes animated, making

Things never got much better for the

Elida blush. They also love farming and

poorer classes and after World War II vir-

are proud of the 15 hectares that they

tually the entire population was expelled

own. Udo has a horse to pull the plow,

from their homeland by the Soviets. The

lots of chickens, turkeys, pigs and a few

majority moved to Brazil, smaller numbers

cows. They plant no more than 2 hectares

migrated to Australia and the US.

a year of tobacco but the profits from it have greatly improved their quality of life

Of all the resettled Pomeranians, those

over the years. Before they grew tobacco,

that live in Brazil have held onto their

they say, “we had nothing.”

language and culture more than Pommeranians living in other countries.

Virtually all of the 2900 inhabitants of

Today approximately 300,000 live in small

Arroio do Padre are of Pomeranian

agricultural communities very similar to

descent. The first immigrants arrived as

Arroio do Padre.

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Map of Brazil, higlighting the States of Brazil mentioned in the text.

Northeastern Brazil: Alagoas : Bahia : Cacheoira, Salvador Western Brazil: Acre :

Arapiraca, Cruz das Almas, Lagoa da Canoa,

Palmeira, Rio Branco, Amazon River Basin

Southern Brazil : Rio Grande do Sul :

Santa Cruz do Sul, Herveiras, Pinheiro, Sao Lourenco do Sul, Segredo, Rio Pardo, Centro Linhas, Arroio do Padre, Morro do Inferno Santa Catarina : Maravilha 116

It has been about 18 years since we stopped growing tobacco at Forkland, our family’s farm in Cumberland County, Virginia. The weathered old barns are still standing. The tobacco sticks piled in the corners of the tobacco barns are gathering cobwebs and make perfect fortresses for field mice. The fire pits which once cradled logs that would burn for days are now covered with tarps.

Empty seed bags, fertilizer and odd parts to old tractors litter the charred and pock marked floors; the sunken graves of our tobacco past. Tobacco

Sarah with gaucho farmers and Cleder, an agronomist. Morro do Inferno

was an integral part of the lives of my ancestors. The relationship between man and this plant was shared by nearly everyone in colonial Virginia and made a lasting mark on my own family for centuries.

My fascination with this powerful plant could be called an addiction. I miss the spicy smell of dark fired tobacco curing in the barns. I love the smell of cigar and pipe tobacco, but was never a real smoker. What draws me in to tobacco is its history, its resiliency against all odds. It is just a plant, but one that has shaped economically and historically almost every country on the planet for hundreds of years.

As a photographer I feel strongly that documenting the changes in tobacco cultivation is of historical significance. I realized, perhaps too late, the importance of photographing the changes that were taking place at our own famly farm. A big part of our family’s history disappeared before I was able to create an archive of images or preserve the stories. It was this realization that led me to begin a personal journey in to the lives of other tobacco growing families around the world.

Tobacco People started in Virginia, the Connecticut River Valley, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and The Dominican Republic. The project has expanded to include Brazil, Indonesia, Malawi and Cuba. Over the next five years, India, China, Turkey, Zimbabwe,Louisianna and the tobacco producing countries of the EU will be included.

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