Sertão

What is sertão?

Sertão (Portuguese for “backwoods” or “bush”) refers to the dry interior region of northeastern Brazil. It is characterized by a semiarid climate and is largely covered by caatinga, a type of scrubby, thorny vegetation that often loses its leaves during the long dry season.¹²³

The region is known for its harsh environmental conditions, including prolonged droughts that can lead to famine, economic disruption, and significant migration of rural populations. Topographically, the sertão is often described as a barren wasteland during the dry season, though it may be relieved by vegetation along riverbanks and on mountains.⁴²

Beyond its specific geographic location in Brazil, the term is also used more broadly to describe sparsely populated wilderness areas beyond regions of permanent settlement, similar to the Australian “Outback” or the Canadian “bush”. The region has also been a significant subject in Brazilian literature, most notably in Euclides da Cunha’s Rebellion in the Backlands, which brought national attention to the struggles of this neglected interior.¹⁵

What is the Caatinga biome and how do its plants survive droughts?

The Caatinga (from an Indigenous term meaning “white forest”) is a unique biome located in the semiarid interior of northeastern Brazil. It is characterized by stunted, sparse, and thorny vegetation, including leguminous trees, bromeliads, and a wide variety of cacti.⁴⁶

Plants in the Caatinga have evolved specialized survival strategies to endure the region’s prolonged droughts:

• Deciduousness: Many trees are leafless for long periods, a physiological adaptation that helps them resist drought by reducing water loss through transpiration.⁴
• Water Storage and Protection: The landscape is dominated by cacti, such as the xiquexique, which are well-adapted to arid conditions. Other plants, including members of the Euphorbiaceae family, have developed structures that allow them to thrive in water-scarce environments.⁴
• Growth Patterns: In areas where moisture is more available, such as near the São Francisco River or on elevated slopes, these plants can grow up to 30 feet (9 meters) high, forming dense, impenetrable thickets that protect the soil and retain moisture.⁴⁶

How have droughts in the sertão influenced migration patterns in Brazil?

Droughts in the sertão have historically served as a primary catalyst for domestic migration in Brazil, forcing rural populations to seek survival and economic opportunity elsewhere.

• 19th and Early 20th Century: Severe droughts in the 1870s and 1880s triggered mass departures of farmers from the sertão. Many of these migrants resettled in the Amazon region, where they found employment tapping rubber trees during the rubber boom.⁷
• Mid-20th Century: Northeasterners participated in another major wave of migration, moving to the country’s central interior to assist in the construction of Brasília. Others migrated toward the northern Brazilian Highlands and frontier zones in Rondônia and Acre.⁷
• Ongoing Trends: Variable climatic conditions, combined with limited landownership and low rural incomes, continue to drive migration. Families from the drought-prone heart of the Northeast, such as those from Piauí and eastern Maranhão, frequently move toward frontier areas or urban centers in search of work.⁸

These patterns reflect a long-standing struggle of the sertanejos to escape the economic depression and environmental instability inherent to the region.⁸⁷

What role does the sertão play in Brazilian literature and folklore?

The sertão—the arid, sparsely populated interior of northeastern Brazil—has served as a profound source of inspiration and a critical subject in Brazilian literature and folklore. It represents an “other” Brazil, often neglected by the government, whose inhabitants and struggles have been central to defining the nation’s identity.¹¹¹

Literary Significance

The sertão gained national prominence through works that explored the social and economic tragedies of the region:

• Euclides da Cunha: His classic historical narrative, Rebellion in the Backlands (1902), provided an eyewitness account of the War of Canudos. It was the first major work to protest on behalf of the forgotten inhabitants of the frontier, challenging contemporary prejudices against the region’s mixed-race populations.¹¹¹
• Regionalist Novelists: During the 1930s, writers like Rachel de Queiroz and Graciliano Ramos dramatized the decline and climatic hardships of the Northeast. Ramos, in particular, used a terse, pungent style in novels like Barren Lives to denounce the social and economic suffering of the impoverished backlands.¹¹
• João Guimarães Rosa: A pivotal figure who revitalized Brazilian fiction by incorporating the oral tradition of the sertão into his prose. His epic novel, The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, explores the conflicts of backlanders adjusting to a modernizing world.⁵

Folklore and Culture

The sertão is deeply linked to Brazil’s folklore, as intellectuals like Mário de Andrade studied the region’s culture to define an authentic national identity. The oral traditions, unique social structures, and the resilience of the sertanejos (backlanders) remain foundational elements in the study of Brazil’s cultural and racial heterogeneity.¹¹⁵