Latin History

s0 I woMEN AND GENDER tN MODERN LATTN AN/ERICA

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2.I SEEKING RELIEF FROM "THIS HELLISH [MARRIED] LIFE,,: THE CASE OF DONA HILARIA HERNANDEZ OF MEXICO CITY, L839-78441

This excerpt from a lawsuit filed by Dona Hilaria Hernandez against her husband, Felix Morales

allows a glimpse of the process by which, in a society still dominated by the Catholic Church unhappy couples could obtain a legal separation or "ecclesiastical divorce" (real or modern divorce being nonexistent). Usually filed by women, divorce suits were elaborate proceedings

carried out in accordance with ecclesiastical court protocol and involving the potentially embarrassing testimony of eye-witnesses, They were a last resort-undertaken only after the failure of previous attempts to change a spouse s misbehavior. For the most desperate and determined, they also were a means of escaping the grip of an abusive spouse.2 More important, proceedings like this one shed light on the patriarchal nature of the institution of marriage which sanctioned the principle of male authority and demanded the subordination of wives to husbands. To what extent, if any, did divorce suits represent an effort to constrain that authority? What else does this document reveal about gender relations in postcolonial Mexico? About conditions affecting the lives of poor working women like Hilaria?

March 24,1839

Some days after attempting to comply with the reconciliation order, Dofra Hilaria Hern6ndez presents her formal petition for divorce before the ecclesiastical judge:

[], Dona Hilaria Herndndez, come before you and, it being within my right to do so, declare: that five years ago I contracted marriage lr,ith F6Ix Morales, a soldier in the Comparry of the Invalides of this capital city'. During this time, my life has been filled with bitterness and pain due ro rhe grievous conduct of n.ry spouse, who having forgotten entirely his obligations within the sacrament of marriage, has failed to provide for my subsistence. The daily wage l-re earned r,vhen rvorking as i1 tailor he spent on enjoyment with his lover; he hirs done likewise with what he earns as a soldier. Instead of providing for me, he has oifered me only continual beatings and rhreats at knifepoint. My compiaints, supplications, and sanmions always have been answered niti-r blows, even rhough I l-rave overiooked his profiigacy including his excess drinking and gambling-since his he:-rrt has becorr-re so insensitive to all n.rorality that, like an animal he exists only to gratify his plrysical desires, sparing no e-xpense to do so.

WOMEN AND ASPECTS OF EVERYDAY LjFE, 1820s c.1870 5l

This marr, whose behavior would be different were he to reflect on the favors that I have bestowed on him-irrcluding tl-re fact that, despite his former lowly status as my domestic servant, I chose to marry him-has had the monstrousness to spend my small inheritance, supporting his vices with it. He has had the audacity to bring his lover to my room to live rvith her, forcing me to serve her. When I did not do this punctually, the two struck me furiously. In 1836, several residents of La Palma, the neighborhood where I used to live, took pity on me and advised me ro consult a judge-advocate [attorney]. I did so with help frorn their ward captain ;rnd, after a trial in r,r.hich he [Morales] confessed all his crirnes, the judge put him in jail ... After serving his time, he [Morales] was set free. He then sought revenge bf immediately fetching his lover and together with her, entering tl.re house where I u'orked [as a servant] to support rnyself; after beating me, he took the clothing and money I had earr-red. I, thereafter, set up an Lttole\ stand to earn a iiving, but from ihis I gained nothing since when I least expected ir, my husband would appear and rrke my wares, thus ending this small enterprise.

My extreme need and misery and even the terror this rnan provoked in me forced nre ... [to seek] new elrploylrent and, to that end, I managecl to find a position in :he horne of Don Agustin Torres Torija rvhere rny husband [afterwirrd] shamelessly entered, abusing everyone rvho stood in his way; once inside, he [:rgain] beat me. I can verify this incident with the same Mr. Torija ancl will confirm the otl.rers I :lentioned in due time; along with the fact rhat neither respect for his superiors :or fear of irnprisonment, nor anything at all has sufficed to restrain my husband's -icentiousness. By way of errrmple, as an orderly in the house of the major of his :egiment, he rnade off with one of the latter's rnaicls, and in orcler to dress her, came :rd stole from me various pieces of clothing. I should rnake it clear that never, ever ,.:s he made [sewn] a single gannerlt for me.

Finally sir, I'11 say that since this hellish life has become unbearable for me and ^':r unable to carr), on rvithout risk to n.ry safet1,. I appeared before the constitutional ::.1\'or, Don Jos6 Mariir Martinez) at the recor-rciliation trial [hearing], in an effort : r obtain rn,v divorce. To sl-rt>w the legitirnate basis of ury request, I ilrr;rngecl for ::r'appearallce not only of rny husband but ... [o1] two of his lovers ... ar-rd he was r:lzen enough to confess his culpability ...

For all this I con.re to ask Your Grace that, having dulv placed ml,self in the home : rhe r.rotarl' Don Ram6n de la Cr,reva, where I anr norv employed as a servant, lny

::lr.r€st be e-xpedited so that with the necessary justifications, Your Grace may grant : ... I ;:m unablc to sigrr.

l*-:ember, 1839

-'.:-: Hilaria requests that her "divorce be verified, or that the dep6sito ::,..i.ltory confinement at the home of a local citizen] be ended" since she rc:i! ro work in order to earn a living and the dep6sito ir-r which she finds :::::-i is "so rigorous, not allowing her a means to pay for basic expenses such

52 I WOMEN AND GENDER IN IMODEHN LATIN AMERICA

as cigarettes, clothing, etc." The husband was unable to be found in order to serve him notice.l This is the last action in the case for almost three years.

November 76,1,842

Dofia Hilaria again attempts to comply with the reconciliation order. The husband did not appear, thus renouncing the benefit of reconciliation. A few days later she presents a second petition for divorce, similar to the first although this time making adultery the principal cause for her request. She also asks that she be allowed to stay at the home where she is now located (which is not the same as the previous dep6sito) and that she be aided [financially] due to poverty; this was so decreed.

September 13, L843

Dofia Hilaria requests that the case be taken to trial, since the petition was answered by the fact that her husband has taken no action in ten months' time, but instead refused the notice that was served him in July. This was so decreed.

October, 1843

Statements from four witnesses are taken in response to the following questions: 1) "If they can give evidence of having seen or having reason to believe that ... even before entering into divorce proceedings, my husband mistreated me by inflicting beatings on me." 2) "If they can by like means give evidence that he presently keeps a woman as a lover, with whom he has sexual relations."

The witnesses, two women and fwo men, all friends of the spouses, respond in the affirmative to the questions. One declares that one day when he was going to eat at the house of the couple, which was a house in his neighborhood on the street Puente de Correo Mayor, said witness saw in the entry hall of said house a commotion; that F6lix Morales had hit her with a belt, to the point of having injured her on the right arm. [He saw] that at another time, he [Morales] beat her on Mesones Street, said witness advising that the first instance he saw first-hand, and [in the case ofl the second instance, he only saw that when both spouses entered a tortilleria on Mesones Street, the aforementioned Hilaria was already bleeding freely from a blow to the head that her husband had inflicted.

On the alleged adultery another witness declares that

one day when he was in the plaintiff's house, F6lix Morales entered in a rather heated state and asked Herndndez to serve him lunch. Among the several insults

WOMEN AND ASPECTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE, 1820s-c.1870 I 53

he [Morales] hurled at her was 'that he wasn't going to bother the other woman he had because it was her [Hernandez's] obligation to help him and not the other woman's; and that even if they were to kill him he would not leave her.' This lover is a stall keeper ...

.There follows further eye-witness testimony regarding Morales' close relationship with a stall keeper of the local market.l

January 22,1844

Dona Hilaria Hern6ndez requests that the evidence be published, and it was .o decreed after consulting with the public prosecutor who called Morales' .:bandonment "criminal" and "against his best interestsr" adding that -rhe tenacious refusal of Morales to answer ... gives more credence to the :ilegations of his wife for divorce." Upon serving notice to the husband, the -.rrter responded that Hilaria HernSndez was his wife, whom "he loves, cares :or, and with whom he wishes to be united," [adding that] "not even the Pope :.1s the right nor the authority to take her from him." He did not sign the :otice since he is unable to write.

July 3, 1844

Dona Hilaria presents the allegation as honestly proven, insisting that she :.lnnot, because of her husband's extreme cruelty and adultery "continue :rarried life, because these circumstances can only produce continual discord in :he marriage. In order to avoid these evils and preserve the spiritual tranquility ,.n rvhich the salvation of my soul depends, it is necessary to turn to the source ri the remedy, which is divorce. And, as I have proven well and legally that -.ihich I intended to prove, and... my husband offered no evidence [to the :ontrary] ... divorce should be declared; and I, therefore, not be obliged to -ontinue married life." This time, on being notified, Morales said that he .greed with the divorce being declared.

{.ugust 5, 1844

-Editor's note: The last entry in the ledger is that the proceeding was senr ro ::'le public prosecutor for him to review and recommend a sentence. It is not .nown whether divorce was ever decreed.l

54 I WOMEN AND GENDER IN MODERN LATIN AMERICA

Notes

3

4

From "Doiia Maria Hilaria Hern6ndez, Sirviente y Atolera, Contra su Marido Don Jos6 F6lix Morales, Soldado, sobre Divorcio, 1839-1844" in Silvia M. Arrom, La mwjer ntexicana ante el diuorcio ecclesiastico, 1800-1 857 (Mexico City, 1977), 796-202. Tianslated by Lynda Jentsch. For a thorough discussion of the practices associatecl with ecclesiastic:rl divorce cases like this one in the contexr of broad trends shaping early nineteenth century Mexican society, see Silvia M. Arrom, Tbe Women of Mexico City, 1790-1857 (Stanford, 1985), Chaprer 5, "Marital Relations and Divorce". Of related interest is Sonya Lipsett-Rivera, "Marriage and Family Relations in N{exico during the Transition from Colony to Nation," in V Uribe-Uran, ed., State and Society in Spanisb America during the Age of Reuolution (Wilmington, 2001 ), 121-48. Atole is a corn gruel eaten for breakfast. A u,oman who initiated a divorce suit was required to leave her home and be pl:rced in a "dep<isito," that is, be entrusted to the care and supervision of a member of the community for the duration of the trial; this person tvpically u,as chosen with the approval of her husband. For more on this cllstom. see Arrom, 212-15.

2-2 FLORA TRISTAN, THE FREE WOMEN OF LIMA'

ln 1833-34 French-born author, feminist and future labor rights activist Flora Tristan y Moscozo traveled to Arequipa, Peru, in a bid to claim a paternal inheritance from her deceased

father's wealthy Peruvian family, During her year-long stay, Tristan traveled around the country,

recording her impressions of people and customs including those in the capital of Lima. As

her account of them below makes clear. she was especially taken by Lima's women whose

freedom to move about the city contrasted sharply with the restrictions typically placed on women elsewhere, at least among the middle and upper classes; indeed, in most of Latin America-as in Europe at this time-"respectable" ladies seldom appeared in public without a

chaperone, e.g. a brother, older female relative, or trusted servant, to accompany them. While

not the first travel account to comment on Limenas, Tristan's stands out for its vivid, detailed portrait of them, including their traditional outfit, A carry-over from the colonial era, the "saya

y manto" was surely liberating-it allowed a lady not only to go where she pleased without being recognized. but to effectively elude the control of her husband or other legal male guardian.2 How does this situation contrast with the one portrayed in the previous reading?

What does this suggest about the nature of patriarchy? Are there aspects of Peruvian gender

relations the author may have overlooked?

There is no place on earth where women are so free and exercise so much power as in Lima. They seem to have absorbed for their use alone what little energy the warm, heady climate allows the fornrnate inhabitants. In Lima the women are as a rule taller and better built than the men. At eleven or twelve they are fully developed; nearly all of them marry at about this age and are very fertile, commonly producing from six to seven children. They have healthy pregnancies, give birth easily, and are quick to recover. Nearly all of them nurse their babies, but they are always helped by a wetnurse, a custom

WOIVEN AND ASPECIS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. 1820s-c.1870 s5

which comes to them from Spain, where the children in well-to-do families always have two women to feed them.

The women of Lima are not as a rule beautiful, but there is something irresistibly attractive about their faces; there is no man whose heart does not beat faster at the sight. They are not dark-skinned, as many Europeans believe; on the contrary, the majority are very white, while the rest are different shades of brown according to their diverse origins, but their skin is always smooth as velvet and their complexion glowing with vitality. Their colouring is rich: bright red lips, Iovely black hair which curls naturally, admirably shaped black eyes, and an expression of mingled wit, pride and languor hard to define, but in which lies all their charm. They express themselves with great facility and their gestures are no less eloquent than their words.

Their costume is unique. Lima is the only city in the world where it has ever appeared. People have consulted the most ancient chronicles, but in vain; nobody has yet discovered its origin. It has nothing in common with the r.arious Spanish costumes, and it is quite certain that it was not brought from Spain. It was found on this spot at the time Peru was discovered, and it is at rhe same time common knowledge that it has never existed in any other South -\merican city. This costume, called the saya, is a skirt, worn with a sort of sack called a manto, which envelops the shoulders, arms and head. I can hear our elegant Parisiennes protesting at the simplicity of this style of dress; little can rhey imagine the advantage it gives to the coquette. It is only in Lima that you can have it made; the women there claim that only a woman born in Lima is capable of making it, and that a woman from Chile, or even from Arequipa or Cuzco, could never acquire the art of pleating the saya.

To make an ordinary saya rt takes between sixteen and eighteen yards of satin and some lightweight silk or cotton fabric for the lining. In exchange the seamstress brings you a narrow skirt which reaches from waist to ankles and is so tight that it allows just enough room to put one foot in front of the other :nd to take very little steps. Thus you are encased in this skirt like a sword in -r sheath. It is entirely pleated from top to bottom with very narrow pleats so iinely worked that it is impossible to see the stitches. However, these pleats rre so firmly made and give the skirt such elasticity that I have seen fifteen- . ear-old sayas which were still flexible enough to reveal the whole shape of the body and to give with every movement of the wearer.

The manto is pleated in the same way, but as it is made in a very light :raterial it is not as durable as the skirt, and the pleats cannot stand up to the .onstant movements of the wearer and the humidity of her breath. 'Women

:n good society have their sayas made in black satin, while fashionable ladies :lso have them in less common colours such as violet, maroon, bright green -,r deep blue, but never in light shades, as these are favored by prostitutes. The manto is always black. It completely covers the bust and most of the :ead, leaving only one eye uncovered. The women of Lima always wear a little :odice, of which only the sleeves are ever seen, and whether they are short or

56 I WOIVEN AND GENDER lN IvIODEBN LATIN Alv'lEBlCA

long, this bodice is made of some rich fabric sr-rch as velvet, colourecl satin or tulle; although in fact most women have their arms bare in all seasons. Their footwear is elegant enough to catch e\rery eye: they rvear pretty ernbroiderecl satin slippers in every colour, rvith ribbons in some contrastillg shacle, and finc silk stockings in various colours with richly embroidered clocks.

The u,omen of Lima wear their hair partecl in tl-re middle ancl falling in nvo immaculate tresses tied in a big bunch of ribbons. Horvever, this is not the only style, as sorne wolnen wear their hair like Ninon dc Lencios, in long clusters of ringlets right down to their bosom, u,l-rich in accordance rvith the custom of the country they nearly always leave bare. A ferv years ago the fashion for wearing big embroidered cr€pe-de-Chine sharvls rvas introduced. This has rnade their costunle rnore decent by hiding their nakedness and any part of their bodies rvhich was a little too promir-rerrtly outlincd. A furthcr luxr-rry, they' affect is to carry an exquisite embroidered handkerchief trimmed with lace. Oh! lrou, enchanting tirey are, rvith their: beautiful black saya shining in the sun; how graceful the movements of their shoulders are, as first they cirar,v their ruonto right over their face, then slyly c{rarv it aside! What fine supple figures they have, ancl how sinuously they sn'ay as the),rvalk! Horv pretty their tiny feet are, and rvhat a pity they are just a littlc too plump!

Put such a wornan in a Pirris gown, and she is no longer the same person: one looks in vain for thc seductive \\roman one ellcoulltered thar morning in the churcir of St Mary. For in l-ima foreigners go to church not to hcar the monks sing mass but to adrnire these unique worren ir-r their national costulnc. A nurnber of f'oreigners have told rne what a rnagical effect rhe sight of these wolrlen produced on their imagination. They fancied they hacl landcd ir-r Paraclise, and thar it u,rrs to compcnsate them for thc hardsliip of a long voyage that God had set them dorvn in this enchanted land. These flights of fancy are not implausible rvhen one sees the follics and ertravagances tl-rat these bear-rtiful womerl leacl foreigrlers to conrnrit. Men lollow them out of :r burning desire to see their feirtr"rres, rvhich they so carefulll, hide from vierv; but it takes an expert to follow a wornan in a saya, a1s the costume tends to make all womerl look alike. I can say rvithout fear of contracliction that if a lovely forrn and ir magnetic glance were sr-rfficier-lt to ensure women the suprenracy they irre destined to possess, the lvomen of Lima in tl-reir sayas rvoulcl be proclairned queens of the earth; but rvhile this kind of beauty may excite the setrses, only' spiritual, moral and mental qualitics can prolong its reign.

For God has endorved lvoman r.vith a heart more ioving ancl devoteci tl-ran that of man; and if, as there can be no doubt, it is through love and devotion that lve honour the Creator, then worlan has an incontestable superiority over man, bnt she must cultivate her intelligence and exercise her self-control in ordcr to retain it. Only on those conditions can she acquire thc influer-rce wirich comes from the power God has given irer. But when she fails to recognise her mission, r,vhen, instead of being the inspiration of man and improving his character, she seeks only to seduce him, her authority disappears together

WOMEN AND ASPECTS OF EVERYDAY Llr=E, lB20s c 1870 57

with the desire she has aroused. Thus. when these enchanting women of Lirna, rvho have never directed their lives tor,vards any noble purpose, first electrify the imaginatior-r of young foreigr-rers and then proceed to show themselves as they really are, he:rrtless, uncultivated, sl-rallow, and above all, mercenar),, the powerful fascination produced by their charms is immediately destroyed.

For all that, the women of Lima c'lominate the men because they are so firr above them in intelligence and will-power. But the stage of civilisation the Peruvians have reached is still far behind ours in Europe. Nowhere in Pem is there any institntion for the educ:rtion of eitl-rer sex: the intelligence can develop only through its native resources. Thus the pre-eminence of Lima's women, however ir-rferior they may be to European women from a morerl aspect, must be attributed to the superior intelligence with which God has enclowed them.

However, I must point out how much their style of dress has contrihuted to the great freedom and porverfr,rl influence they enjoy. If they shor-rld ever lbandon it, they rvouid have to adopt an entirel). different set of values. To prove my point I will touch briefly upon one or two cLrstoms of Lima society so tl'lat the readcr r.vill be able to appreciate the jr.rstice of rny observatior-r.

The saya, as I hirve said, is the national costume; all women wear it whatevcr their rank, and it is respected as part of the culture of the country just as tl-re ^\,luslim womau's veil is in the Orient. Ar all times of the year the women of Lirna go out in this disguise, and if anybody ever dared to lift the manto which covers the rvhole of her face exccpt one eye, public ir-rdignation would be rroused and tl-rat person would be severely pur-rished. It is acceptedthat euery tt,otndn may go ctut alone; the majority have a negress following beirind, but rl-rey are not obligcd to do so. This costume so alters a woman - even her voice, since her mouth is covered - that unless she is very t:rll or very short, lame, hunchbacked or otherrvise conspicuous. it is impossible to recognise her. I am :Llre it needs little imagination to lppreciate the col-lscquerlces of this time- honoured practice lvhich is sanctioned or at least toleratecl by larv-. A woman oreakfasts rvitlr her hr-rsband in her little French peignoir, her hair pinnecl up e\actly like a Parisienne's; and later on, if she wants to go out, she slips on he r s.tyd - without a corset, as the underskirt is qr-rite tight - lets down her hair, pnts on her mdnto and goes wherever her fancy takes her; she meets her husbaricl .n the street, ancl hc does not recogr-rise herl she flirts u,ith him, leacls iritn on, -ers him offer her ices, fruit, cakes. gives l-rim a rendezvous. leaves hin-r, and .nrmediately starts :1 ne\\/ convcrsation u,ith an officcr passing byl She can let :iris new adventure go as far as sire plearses without evcr trrking off her nmtlto, :iren she goes to visit frier-rds, takes a rvalk, and is bacl< in time for dinner. Hcr rLrsbar-rd does not ask where she has been, for he knows perfectly well that if it :',rits her better to hide the truth from him, she will lie, ar-rd as l-re has no Ineens ,f restraining her, he takes the rvisest course, u,hicl-r is not to worry. So these ,rdies go out alone to the theatre. to bullfights, to public gatherings, to balls, to :irurches and to pay visits; and they are accepted evcryu,here they go. If they,

58 ] WOMEN AND GENDER IN MODERN LATIN AMERICA

wish to speak to anybody they do so, then take their leave, so that they remain free and independent in the midst of the crowd, far more so than the men. This costume has the enormous advantage of being at the same time economical, very clean, comfortable, ready to put on immediately and never in need of the slightest attention.

There is one further custom I must not omit to mention: when the women of Lima want to make their disguise even more complete, they put on an old bodice, an old manto, and an oldsaya which is falling into rags and losing its pleats; but to show that they come from good society they wear immaculate shoes and stockings and carry one of their finest handkerchiefs. This is a recognised form of disguise and is known as disfrazar. A disfrazada is looked upon as eminently respectable, so nobody ever accosts her; indeed, people are very timid about approaching her, and it would be improper and even dishonourable to follow her. It is supposed, and rightly, that if she has disguised herself it is because she has important reasons for doing so, and consequently nobody should claim the right to investigate her movements.

From what I have ;ust written about the costume and customs of the women of Lima it is easy to understand that they must have a completely different outlook from European women, who from their earliest childhood are the slaves of laws, morals, customs, prejudices, fashions and everything else whereas beneath thet sayas the women of Lima are free, enjoying their independence and confident in that genuine strength which all people feel within them when they are able to act in accordance with their needs. In every situation the woman of Lima is always herself; never does she submit to any constraint. 'When she is young she escapes the domination of her parents through the freedom her costume allows her; when she marries she does not take her husband's name but keeps her own; when she is tired of staying in, she puts on her saya and goes out, in the same way as a man does when he takes up his hat. Freedorn of action characterises everything she does.

In their more intimate relationships, whether these are casual or serious, the women of Lima always preserve their dignity, although their conduct in this regard is certainly very different from ours. Like all women they measure the strength of the love they inspire by the scale of the sacrifice their lovers are prepared to make; but just as ever since their country rvas discovered, only its gold has had the power to lure Europeans so far from home; gold alone, to the exclusion of talent and virtue, has always been the sole object of consideration, the sole motive for every actiont and the women of l,ima, consistent in their conduct and acting on the same principle, recognise no proof of love except the masses of gold they are offered, and their vanity is satisfied in proportion to the size of the sum or the cost of the gift. 'When anybody wants to give some idea of the violent love a gentleman feels for a lady, the expression ttsed is always: "He gave her gold by the sackful!" just as we would say: "He killed himself for love of her!" So the wealthy woman always accepts money from her lover, even if she ends up giving it to her servants, for to her it is a proof

WOIV1EN AND ASPECTS OF EVEFYDAY LlFE ]B2Os-c,1B7O

of loue, the only, thing rvhich can convince her that she is loved. Tl-re varnitl, of foreign travellers blinds them to tl-ris truth, i-tnd r'vhen anyone told us about the success he had had u,ith the rvonren of Lin-ra he did not mention that it l-rad cost him a small fortnr-re, right down to the valr-rable keepsake he gave his beloved rvhen he left. These customs arc very strange, but they are real enough: I sau, severirl laclies in high socicty werring nlen's rings, r,vatches arnd chains...

The rvornen of Lima spend little time on their hor-rseholds, but as they are very energetic, this is sufficier-rt to keep everything in order. They have a rnarked inclination for politics and intrigue; it is they r,vho find posts for their l-rusbands, sons and all the rnen who take their fancy, and there is no obstacle rhey cannot overconre to achieve their ends. Men do not nreddle in this sort of business, and they are right: they wor-rld not acquit thcmselves nearly as well. The womcn are \rery fond of pleasure and festivities, ancl love social gatherings, ri,here they ganrble for high stakes ancl smoke cigzrrs. Tliey go riding, not side- saddlc iike English \\/omen, Lrut in breeches like the men. They have a passiort for sea-bathing and swim ertremely r,vell. As for their accomplishrnents, they pl;rv the guitar, sing rather badl1, (though a ieiv are good rnusicians) ancl dance rheir native dances with a charm it is impossible to clescribe. These women ir:rve no education as a rule, the1, do not reard at arll, and they are ignorant of cverything tl-rat is happening in the u,orld. They harve much natur:rl rvit, a quick -rnderstanding, a good rnerrlorlr and ir surprising amor-urt of intelligence.

I have dcscribed the women of Linra exactly as they are and not as certain :ravellers clepict rhem; it has hurt me to do so, as I was deeplv grateful for their lenerous hospitality, but n-ry role of couscientious travcller rrade it my duty to :ell the lvhole tmth.

\otes

Frcrnr Olraptcr 16: "l-irne: its N,llnners rrnd Nlorals" in Flora Tiistln, l'eregrirrrttiorrs ol a ktri,tb, 18-i.i-.14 [1838]. Trrrnsl,rted, editecl & introducccl b1'Jean Hnvkes. Boston: Berrcon press, 1987, 269-77. Reprintecl bv pennission of Jean Hawkes. ,\mong Pemviens, \\,carers of this outfit u ere knox'n rs "tapaclas." For a he lpful discussiot-t placing the srry,ir and rranto in the context of Peruvian history, sec I-uis Nlartin's engaging DLlughtars of the CottqtristLt(lores: \Yontctr of tlte Vicaro1,,tlt1' of /'cllr (Dallas: Southern Nlethoclist University Press, 1983), Chapter 10: "Beatrrs and Trrpadas".

60 i WONIEN AND GENDER lN I\iODERN I-ATIN AMERICA

2-3 SABINA DA CRUZ, A MERCHANT'S LEGACY LAST WILL AND TESTAMENI WITH NOTES FROM AN ESTATE TNVENTORY TAKEN IN SALVADOR, BAHIA (1868)'

ln nineteenth-century Brazil, matters of personal and conjugal property. inheritance, probate, and the like, were administered by civil iaw, the Codigo Philippino Promulgated in Portugal and adopted by Brazilians after their independence in 1822, the Codigo assumed that a married couple's property was common property, each spouse owning one half. unless they had signed

a pre-nuptial agreement. lf the couple had children, it required that two-thirds of each spouse's

half of the property, at the time o{ the spouse s death, be divided among them, male and female

children inheriting equally. Each spouse could freely dispose of one-third of their haf of the property. A person who had never married, however, or whose spouse had died, and had no living children could dispose of all their prope(y as they saw frt. ln this circumstance, the state could clarm the property unless there was a will in which heirs were named and instructions for distributing the property were set out. Sabina daCruz, having no husband and no children, was not unusual in wanting to oversee her property even after her death. What do we learn about her

from this will? From the inventory of her estate taken after her death? What seems to have been the main source of the wealth she bequeathed to her heirs?

I

"ln the name of the Most Holv Tiinity. I, Sabina da Cruz, finding myself somewhat unwell, but in full use of rny mental abilities, and after careful thought, set out my w-ill in the follou,ing manner.

2

I declare that I am Catholic and profess the Religion of Jesus Christ, because since I carne frorn my land of Africa, where I was born, arriving in this capital rnany years ago, I was baptized in these very beliefs of the Holy Catholic Religion, the faith in whicl.r I have ahvays lived and wish to die, imploring the Supreme [illegible] tl-rat rvhen He calls me to His Supreme Presence, He will forgive rny sins by the love of l-ris Most Holy Mother Mary, to whom by the Passion of His Most Holy Son I commend my soul.

aJ

I declare that having been the slave of Senhor Manoel GonEalves da Cruz, now deceased, I freed myself from his power many years ago, giving him two slaves in exchange for rny liberry. Always remaining single, whether as a slave or a freed woman and witl-rout children, either natural or legitimate, I have no necessary heirs with rights to my properry and so can dispose of my goods as it suits r-ne.

WON/EN AND ASPECTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE, 1820s-c 1B7O I 61

4

I declare that my executors are, in the first place, JoSo Baptista de Faria, in the second, Placido Felir de Nascimento, and third Joao Luiz das Virgens, whr)rn, in this order, I beg to accept my nomination to fulfill all my dispositions declared beiow

5

I declare that my burial will be done at the discretion of rny first executor in keeping with my circumstances, ordering on the day of my death three masses, one to the Virgin and Our Lady,, another to the Passion of Jesus Christ, ar-rd .rnother to the Saint for rvhom I am named.

6

I declare that the goods I possess consist of the slaves, that is, Lino Gege, Maria Luiza Nag6, Antonio of the same nation [i.e., Nag6], Mauricia e Francisca creoles [i.e., born in Brazil], which slaves I own free and clear.

I declare that the house in which I live on the rua Direita da Saude, bought .: the name of Maria Cezaria da Cruz ancl her daughter, Seraphina Maria do \ascimento, and also Felix Sabino da Cruz, Idalina da Cruz and Simplicia cla Crr.rz, all have the same right to this property that I conferred on them at the :ime I bought this property, which took place in the year 1860. I have the deed, -:s recorded by the notary Manoel Lopes da Costa, now deceased.

S

. institute as my universal heirs Maria Cezaria and all her children, fto receive] '.i'hat remains from my property after my reqllests hirve been fulfilied anci any :ebts beloi-rging to my business dealings satisfied, such as to the merchant Jolo :o Prado de Carvalho and other persons, whom my executor will recognize -:nd confirm the accuracy of such debts, and pay all those who have the right : r be paid.

q

, declirre that my executor u,ill take charge of my ferv goods to fulfill my -:spositions and carry out the inventory and division to my said heirs.

62 ,

WOI/EN AND GENDER IN N/ODERN LATIN ANIERICA

10

I lcave to my godclaugther, the ciaughter of my [forrner] mastcr Manoei Gongalves cla Cruz, a gold necklacc of trvo strands for her adornment, itnd as lvell. I leave to the minor Leocadio[a], son fdaugl-rtcr] of my first executor, an equivaler-rt golcl chain of two strancls.

t1

My erccutor r,vill order a chapcl of masses [50 masses] for rry Soul irs soon rls possible and frorn the customary alrns, will distribute to the poor the au.lour-lt of 20 mil-rdis. [He also u,ill] give to thc creole Maria Agostinha, daughter of the deceased Beneclito Antonio de .f esus, the anrour.rt of 50 rnil-r6is.

And ir-r this way I conclude my last will arrcl testament which is the only vrrlid one, having rcvoked any others I rnadc prcvior"rsly; ancl, because I do r-rot knorv how to read or write, I asked the Scribe of this Parish to write for nre zrncl N1ar-roel Joz€ do Sacrarnento signed for me, Bahia, l3 August 1U68."

Addencla I frotn translatorl :

The notary recorded the rvill in the Parish of Santa Anna, on the ruar Dircita da Saude, in the housc of the tcstator, Sabina da Cruz, where he found her "ill but on her feet ancl of perfectly souncl mind." She gave hir-n tr,vo sheets of paper r,r,ritten on four sides. He describes her as illiterate. The pages folcled in four had written on thern, "Last 'S7i11 and Tcstament of Sabina da Cruz, accepted, put together, tied up in the style of this city of Bahia and Parish of Santa Anna" (fls. 3,4). [All of this encircled in 10 dots of recl rvax.]

Estate Inventory Notesr

The notarized deed recorded that on 14 Marcl-r 1860, in Salvador, Sabir-ra, described as a benefactoress, bought a house in the name of those she later named as her heirs for the amount of 5:500$000 [or, -5,500 mil-reis, the equivalent of about 11 able slave rvomen]. (fl. 5)

The house rvas described as being ".34 palmos," about 22 feet rvide [a palmo as measured by the spread of a hand from thumb to little finger was about B or 9 inchcs], with a covered entrance, two bedrooms in front, ir finished floor and cciling, the rest of the house tiled in brick, another five bedrooms, dining room. kitcl-ren, palrtry, an upstairs rvith two sitting rooms, three bedroot-ns with dormer windows looking out over the roof to the back garden. (fl. 5v)

Sabina paid the full amount in c:rsh, as well as the 6 percent tar. The deed inclucled the stipulation that those for whom the house lvas bor"rght cor-rld

WOIVEN AND ASPECTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. 1820s c 1870 63

assume ownership only after her death, and further that no one could sell it on any pretext before all the beneficiaries and their descendents had died, the last heir being able to sell it as his owr-r. In this way the beneficiaries would always have a place to live as long as they lived. (fls. 5v, 6v, 6)

Two of the beneficiaries, the minors Idalina and Sinrplicia da Cruz are the "natural daughters of Jesuina so-ancl-so," later ide ntified as Jesuina cla Cruz, a fon-ner slave of Sabina and now deceased. Placido Felix Nascimento, the seconcl executor, is a shoemaker. (fl. 55)

Sabina's property, appraised in July 1872, cor-rsisted of: the slavcs Maria Lriza, African,50 yearrs old, wl-ro works on the street [probably selling fruits and vegetables or sweets], and Jos6, African, 90 years old, unfit for any rvork, and so appraised for 40$000 [40 mil-reis]. (fl. 10v)

Because of his advanced age, Jos6 asks to pay that arnount for his freedom and receive his letter of manumission. His request is approved, 15 July 1872. Maria Luiza also buys her freedom by depositing on<: mil-reis more than the amount of her appraised value in the "public cofer," the money, going ro cover debts of the estate. (fls. 13, 17,28)

Sabina's debts included u,hat she orved at the time of her death to variolrs merchants for merchandise frorn Africa that slie thcn re-sold, mainly woven cotton cloth, callecl panno da Costa and much worn by African women in Brazil, crates of cola nuts used both in cooking and in divination ccremonies, er-rd gourds of different sizes. She "lived from dealing in goods from Africa," and sl-re "sold on trllst," but because she r,r,as illiterate, she kept uo names or records. (f\s.22,25, 33, 39,39v, 57)

The executor submitted the adclitional expenscs for two doctors who irttended Sabina, tl-re pharmacist who supplied rnedicines, fees for the priest, the re ntal of a carneiro or "burial niche " lvhere tl-re body u,ould be placed from the brotherhood of Our Lady of rhe Rosary [a sodality for blacks], the casket, .rnd wax for candles. (fl. 38)

There was not money enough to cover all the debts, and creditors were paid roughly one-quarter the amount owed to them. (fl. 61)

In the end, the house was auctioned in order to pay Idalina and Simplicia rhe rent owed to them. (f1. 118) The case finished in 1882. (f1.137v)

Notes

1 Source: Juiso dos Orphrros, Inventiirit.r, Sabina da Cruz, Airicanr.r Liberta, Fallecicla, Placido Felix do Nascitnent<.r, Inventariante, Ilahia, 1ti72, Arquir.o Pirblico do Estldo da Bal.ria - JLrdicidria, Inventririos, Africanos, 0-l/1100/1596107, fls. l-137v. Tharrks to historian Slndra Lauderdale (irll-rarn for contributing this docunrent and translatir-rg it for use in the present volume ris well rrs for providing the notes on Da Cruz's estate inventory.

2 l'he inventory was tal<en after her death or.r 3 July 1872, as prrt of tl're probrrte of her will. Nores provided by Sandra Lauderdale Greham.