Reasons for the Migration to Canudos, the Vale of Tears

438 Words1 Page

In order to describe the reasons of the migration to Canudos it is important to understand what Canudos was and was not. The population of Canudos was not a group of religious fanatics that came together to throw off their oppressors. Instead it was a group of people seeking a viable and dignified existence in a time of economic and spiritual alienation. The people of Canudos were not a homogenous group of barbaric savages, but a cross section of the sertanejo population (Levine p.158). While Canudos did threaten the labor supply of the oligarchy and supported the monarchy, it was not violent in nature. It attracted such a wide range of followers because the main purpose was not to undermine the political or economic order, but to provide survival and safety for pious Christians. The development of Canudos can be seen as a "desperate, yet eminently practical, collective decision to escape intolerable conditions" (Levine p.65).

The republic of Brazil was heavily influenced by positivism, which demanded order and progress. The liberal elite focused so heavily on progress that the underlying social problems of Brazil were ignored. The rural majority was marginalized and faced unemployment, drought, and a reforming state. The choice to defy the state and live in the community of Canudos was made because it offered a lifestyle that was out of reach elsewhere in the backlands. While Canudos was inspired by religion, it had several principal attractions that were socially based. Foremost, Canudos offered a sense of safety and order in a deteriorating environment. The high number of ex slaves is an example of this. With the abolishment of slavery, there was an immediate increase in the mobility of that population. With its geographic isolation it provided a safe place for them to go, opportunity, and a place to hide in case slavery was reestablished.

The most significant cause of the migration to Canudos lies in religion. While Vale of Tears makes clear the diversity of the pulls of Canudos, the attraction that precipitated migration for a large sector was Christianity. It was the heart of Christian belief, the focus on the immortal soul after death that represents the most prevalent reason for the move to Canudos. The prominence of the notion of individual, and not collective, salvation in the ideas of Conselheiro is crucial to understanding the attraction for such a diverse population (Levine p.

Open Document