Brazil was the only region of the ethnically diverse Portuguese empire where the European model of the lay brotherhood was extensively adopted by a non-European population. Difficulty of access to, and destruction of, source materials have discouraged study of this important subject. Dr. Scarano’s essay on the Rosary of the Diamond District is the first book-length treatment of a non-white brotherhood in Portuguese America. After surveying the status of brotherhoods vis-à-vis Church and State and their socioeconomic position in Portugal, the author discusses the veneration of Our Lady of the Rosary by Blacks. Two central sections deal specifically with the Rosary of the Diamond District: the first emphasizes religious activities of the brotherhood and its role as a mutual protection society; the second treats the financial operation of the brotherhood. Finally, the author turns to the broader issue of the Rosary as a cohesive force and vehicle for group aspirations.
Hopes raised by the promise of a much-needed study based on extensive archival research remain unfulfilled. This essay adds little to our general knowledge of Black brotherhoods and opens up no new avenues of inquiry. Its value lies in the details it provides on the Rosary of the Diamond District. Sections on membership and finance suffer from lack of information, precluding an assessment of the representative nature of members or the drawing up of a fiscal balance sheet. Suggestions that brotherhoods were instruments of crown control, sources of collective dissent, or preservers of African traditions, remain hypothetical because of the dearth of substantiating evidence. That Black brotherhoods were more effective defenders of group interests in Portugal than in Brazil is not satisfactorily explained. That changing ideologies in the late eighteenth century (p. 100) had an impact on the Rosary is an intriguing hypothesis.
This essay underscores difficulties of research into this topic. First, little or no material of Black authorship, providing insights into Black attitudes or value systems, is available. Secondly, evidence predating 1760 is scanty; less than a score of codices are listed for the Rosary of the Diamond District in the colonial period. Dr. Scarano has “fluffed out” her basic data by digressions on topics tangential or irrelevant to the Rosary, e.g., royal patronage, militia, “fifths.” Thirdly, extant material exhibits a sameness—statutes, random account ledgers, records of elections and saying of masses. Statutes should be used with caution: a statement of intent is not tantamount to recorded action, e.g., recommendation that the brotherhood assist slaves in purchasing freedom is not evidence per se that such manumissions occurred, unless corroborated by minute books or fiscal ledgers. This essay is welcome for giving attention to a long-disregarded theme and for focussing on archival depositories demanding scholarly scrutiny. It also serves as a word of caution for those tempted to see in the non-White brotherhoods of Portuguese America a virtually limitless field for dissertations or monographs.
