| Piauí
Piauí
is located in the northeastern part of Brazil.
The
state has the shortest coastline of any of the coastal Brazilian
states, just 66 km, and Teresina, the capital, is the only
state capital in the north east not loacted at the coast.
The reason for this is because, unlike the rest of the region,
Piauí state was first colonised inland and slowly expanded
towards the ocean, rather than the other way around.
In
the Southeast of the State it is the National Park of Serra
da Capivara, considered Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO.
The park has more than 400 archaeological sites and the largest
concentration of rupestres paintings in the planet, in a landscape
dominated for canyons and caatinga.
History
Piauí
has many important archaeological sites, including the Sete
Cidades National Parkand Serra de Capivara National Park ,
which are rich in remains of prehistoric Amerindian civilisations.
The
first settlers in Piauí were bandits fleeing from São
Paulo, notably Domingos Afonso Mafrense and Domingos Jorge
Velho. Mafrense founded what is today Oeiras, whilst the first
herds of cattle were taken there by Velho.
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In
the 1600s, many impoverished noblemen and Jesuit priests,
as well as black and Amerindian slaves, settled there.
The first large-scale cattle farming also arrived with
these settlers. Large estate owners seeking new pastures
for their livestock arrived from neighbouring states
such as Bahia and Maranhão.
At
the beginning of the 20th century, the principal industry
of the state was stock-raising, which dates from the
first settlement in 1674 by Domingos Affonso Mafrense,
who established here a large number of cattle ranges.
A secondary industry was the raising of goats, which
were able to stand neglect and a scanty food supply.
The agricultural products were cotton, sugar and tobacco.
Forest products included rubber, carnauba wax and dyewoods.
The exports included hides, skins, rubber, wax, tobacco
and cotton.
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Teresina
was the first Brazilian city to be planned. In 1852, an architect
designed it, after being inspired by a chessboard. Situated
at the mouth of the Parnaíba and Poti Rivers, Teresina
was (and still is) known as the Green City because of the
countless mango trees that line the city's streets.
Climate
The
climate is hot and humid in the lowlands and along the lower
Parnaíba, but in the uplands it is dry with high sun
temperatures with cool nights.
Culture / Events
Festa
Junina was introduced to Northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese
for whom St John's day (also celebrated as Midsummer Day in
several European countries), on the 24th of June, is one of
the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently,
of course, from what happens on the European Midsummer Day,
the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the summer
solstice but during the tropical winter solstice. The festivities
traditionally begin after the 12th of June, on the eve of
St Anthony's day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint
Peter's day.
During these fifteen days, there are bonfires, fireworks,
and folk dancing in the streets (step names are in French,
which shows the mutual influences between court life and peasant
culture in the 17th, 18th, and 19th-century Europe). Once
exclusively a rural festivsl, today in Brazil it is largely
a city festival during which people joyfully and theatrically
mimic peasant stereotypes and clichés in a spirit of
joked and good times. Typical refreshments and dishes are
served. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these
festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant
costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles
(fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on
Midsummer and St John's Day in Europe, bonfires are a central
part of these festivities in Brazil.
Carnival
The four-day period before Lent leading up
to Ash Wednesday is carnival time in Brazil. Rich and poor
alike forget their cares as they party in the streets.
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