Honor
I have adopted the concept of honor as defined by Pitt-Rivers, one of the pioneers in this line of investigation: “the nexus between the ideals of a society and their reproduction in the individual through his aspiration to personify them” (1977: 1).
The discussion will develop along two analytical axes: one emphasizes the function of the individual psyche, personal pride, and the effort to ennoble one's self-image through socially established norms; the other focuses on a code for social interaction where personal pride is bargained as the fundamental symbolic item of exchange. The notion of honor may seem somewhat out of place in this analysis of urban poor. However, Pitt-Rivers allows for this sort of possibility, affirming that the question of honor tends to stand out among brigands as well as aristocrats—there where “might makes right,” where people are outside and not necessarily above a central law.The vila residents enjoy close ties with friends and relatives in other urban neighborhoods with more of less the same profile. The upper classes, however, hardly ever penetrate into their space. Brazilian social workers are few and overworked, with little time or disposition to make “home visits.” In fact, aside from two Catholic-sister volunteer workers from the local parish and a stray university student doing social sciences research, representatives from the mainstream society simply avoid the vila. Several residents claim that their better-off cousins refuse to set foot in the place, others admit that they are ashamed to give their address to friends. Truck drivers refuse to enter the vila to make deliveries since the local youth find it great sport to jump on the moving vehicle in order to carry off merchandise (beer and soft drinks are a preferred target.) Thus, despite their ties to global society, this group remains relatively isolated.
Here, mechanisms of social control have little to do with those witnessed in the dominant sectors of society. It is inconceivable for a vila resident to go to the police for protection against his neighbor. The avoidance of theft or bodily harm is each man's own affair. According to a young woman who, after leaving the vila, began to date a policeman, the Vila do Cachorro Sentado is referred to by the police as “The Lawless Vila” (A Vila Sem Lei). The strong men of the group are those who are able to impose their will on others, either through physical violence, or through financial holds, such that there emerges a political pyramid with shopkeepers, armed men, and young delinquents at the top, and with the old and timid, as well as women in general, at the bottom. This political order does not, however, function mechanically. For, as we will see, to redress the balance of power, the meek may resort to the language of symbolic exchange, using the code of honor, and thereby neutralize the advantage others hold over them.