Glossary

arroba	Old measurement, equivalent to 14.7 kilograms.
bandeirante	A man who took part in a bandeira (flag) expedition during colonial times. Bandeira expeditions originated in São Paulo and traveled west, north, and south enslaving Indians and looking for precious minerals.
barracão	House where the owner of a rubber plantation lived. It also served as a warehouse for the rubber collected by the tappers and as a shop where the rubber tappers were obliged to buy their everyday goods.
caboclo	Indian-white mestizo.
casa do paricá	Among the Mura and the Mawé, the house where the ritual of paricá was held. Paricá was a narcotic substance derived from the fruit of the paricá tree. The fruit was reduced to ashes by burning and then inhaled in rituals held in a special house, hence casa do paricá.
Castiloa	Short for the scientific name for caucho, Castilloa ulei.
cauchero	Collector of caucho.
caucho	Rubber collected from the Castilloa ulei. Collection involves felling the tree.
Cearense	From the state of Ceará in the Northeast of Brazil.
chicha	Alcoholic beverage made from fermented manioc, corn, or fruit.
cholo/a	Person of indigenous origin.
estancia	Farm or rural house.
firmes	Higher lands.
furo	Water path through vegetation that serves as a link between rivers.
Hevea	Short for the scientific name of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis.
igapó	Region of the Amazon that remains flooded during the dry season.
igarapé	A stream that originates in the forest and runs toward a river.
jagunço	A bandit or violent man from the sertão.
maloca	Native house.
mondongo	Low, swampy land covered with vegetation.
Paraibano	From the state of Paraíba in the Northeast of Brazil.
peón (Spanish)	Worker.
puesto cauchero (Spanish)	A center where caucho is stored and negotiated.
sacado	Lake that forms during the Amazon flooding season near the banks of big rivers.
salão (pl. salões)	Lowland that has become virtually impermeable to water.
seringa	Rubber from Hevea brasiliensis. It is collected from small cuts made in the bark of the tree, which is not felled.
seringueiro	Rubber tapper.
sernambi	Low-quality rubber that coagulates in the bowl before it is processed.
sertanejo/a	Person from the sertão.
sertão	Drought-ridden territory in the interior of the Brazilian Northeast.
tambo	Rustic house with thatched roof.
tejúpar	House made of palm leaves.
torrão (pl. torrões)	Clay lowland.
várzea	Flood plain.