Travels in Brazil

by Henry Koster

THE MANDIOC PLANTS.

The mandioc requires good land, and the same spot will not produce two crops successively; it must be allowed to rest for one or two years or more. The operation of planting it is simple, and differs in no respect from that which was practised formerly by the Indians[173]. The flour which is made from this root is called farinha de pao, or stick flour[174]. There are several species of the mandioc plant, of which some are adapted to high lands, and others to low and moist situations; but when the plant is cultivated upon the latter, hillocks must be raised, else the root would decay. Cattle are fed upon the root and stalk: these are first prepared by being cut into small pieces and exposed to the sun for several hours; if this was not done, the food would be injurious to them. I have however seen some of the draught oxen that have become so habituated to it as to eat the root quite fresh, without receiving any apparent injury;—in the manner that the human body becomes callous to the most violent medicines by long custom.

I had in my possession, whilst I resided at Jaguaribe, one of these animals, who generally once in the course of every week at least contrived to get out of the inclosure, and pass part of the night in some neighbouring mandioc ground. He was so dexterous in tearing up the stalk with the root attached to it, that the marks of his footsteps alone made us quite confident of the nature of the thief. Whilst I was at Itamaraca, I lost a sheep, which had drank of the juice of the mandioc. The negroes and other persons were making farinha, and a trough stood under the press for the purpose of receiving the juice. The sheep were attempting to come under the shed for the purpose of reaching some of the roots, of which they are extremely fond; one of them approached the trough, which was filled with the juice, and although it was almost immediately perceived and driven away, still the effect of the small quantity which had been taken began to shew itself in a very few minutes;—the animal tottered and fell, rising again, and again falling. Oil was poured down its throat in considerable quantities, but to no purpose. The body swelled to an enormous size, and the animal was dead in about ten minutes after it had drank of the juice.[175]

The insect which is mentioned by Piso (quoted by Mr. Southey) under the name of tapuru, and is said to be generated by the juice of the mandioc, after it has become putrid, I have often seen. It is still known under the same name, which however is not peculiar to this worm, but it is likewise applied to maggots of every kind. The juice is not kept for any purpose, but it remains in the trough occasionally for some days, owing to the carelessness of the person under whose care these things are placed[176]. Of the deadly nature of this worm I never heard any mention. The species of mandioc which is called manipeba is prohibited, owing to the greater activity of its poisonous juice, and it is now almost extirpated; it had the advantage of greater durability under ground. Those kinds which are usually planted decay if the stalk is broken off, but the stalks of the manipeba may be cut away, and the root will still continue sound until, on the following year a new stalk springs up. I have heard it said, that in the dry soils of the Mata a few of the other varieties of this plant will allow of the same treatment. Although the mandioc plant requires a dry situation, still when the rains fail in January the crops fall short, for it is in this month, immediately after the first waters, that the principal plantations of it are made. The Brazilians have a peculiar name for each part of this plant; the root is called mandioca, the stalk maniva, the leaves manisoba, and the juice manipueira. There is one species of the plant, of which the juice is harmless; it bears the name of macaxeira. Its root never grows to a great size, and it is therefore rather planted as an article of luxury than as regular food. From this species less juice is extracted than from the roots of equal dimensions of any of the other kinds of mandioc[177]. The rind of those species of mandioc which are in general use is of a dark brown colour, but there is one kind of which the rind is white.

The most expensive part of the process of making the flour of the mandioc, consists in disengaging the rind from the root; this is done with difficulty, by means of a piece of a broken blunt knife, a sharp pebble, or a small shell, with one of which each person is supplied; in this work a considerable number of persons must be occupied, to furnish employment to the wheel which grinds the root. This wheel is placed in a frame, and a handle is fixed to it on each side, by which it may be turned by two men, one of them working at each of the handles. A trough stands under the wheel, and the wheel is cased in copper, which is made rough by means of holes punched in it, the sides of the holes are not filed smooth. The mandioc is thrust against the wheel whilst it is turned with great velocity, and being by this means ground it falls into the trough underneath. From hence the ground pulp is put into a press, that the juice may be extracted; and after it has undergone sufficient pressure this pulp or paste (maça) is removed on to a hot hearth, upon which a person is employed to keep it in continual motion, that it may not be burnt; when quite crisp it is taken off the hearth, and on being suffered to cool is in a state to be made use of.[178]

There is another mode of preparing the mandioc for food; it is put into water in a pannier or closed basket, and is allowed to remain there for some days, until the root becomes soft, from which the mandioc, when in this state, is called mandioca molle. It is prepared in this manner for the purpose of making cakes, &c. but not generally, for food. I tried to introduce the farinha, made from steeped mandioc, among the slaves whilst I resided at Jaguaribe; the flour which was made from it, was much finer than that which is obtained in the usual manner, but the negroes did not like it so well, and I did not think it wholesome for them on consideration, and therefore the old way was continued. The mandioc must have made a certain advance towards putrefaction before it becomes sufficiently soft to be bruised, and this cannot fail I should suppose to be injurious. The smell from the mandioca molle is extremely offensive, and is one of the annoyances in walking the streets of Recife, in which it is sold. The smell is however entirely removed after the farinha has been for some minutes upon the oven.[179]