Biography from AFamiliaJuramidam
Dona Percília Matos da Silva, caretaker of the work of Mestre and general manager of the hinários of his doctrine began to drink Daime still very young. Becoming fatherless as a young girl, she came to live as Mestre’s daughter in his house. As she attests, years later, on her last moment with the great leader: “Then I took his blessing and he made a recommendation like he had never done before. I didn’t understand it at all. I saw him so happy that I did not suspect a thing. He advised me to be very happy in life. I left in peace and satisfied. He was like my father, for I was raised by him.”
Percília studied, graduated as a teacher and married Raimundo Gomes in the 40s. The marriage did not work out and she moved back to Mestre’s house until she found a new companion in the person of Mr. Pedro.
As she was responsible to write down the base hymns of the doctrine, she became the general manager of the hinários, and so she was in charge of reviewing the received hymns, or, in other words, to correct them. She herself self-questioned her own hymns, as demonstrated by this excerpt from an interview of Clodomir Monteiro with her about the hymn that introduces her as Taio Ciris Midam.
Clodomir “Did you receive this hymn inside the miração?”
Percília “Yes, inside the miração…I had such a fever in that day!”
Clodomir “And was it an entity saying that to you?”
Percília “I listened to it but I didn’t see; I listened to the music….And when I realized I was already singing it”
Clodomir “That you were indeed this entity…”
Percília “Yes… Taio Ciris Midam…”
Clodomir “And everyone in Alto Santo recognizes that you really are Ciris Midam…”
Pedro (her husband) “Because Mestre himself acknowledged it… revised the hymn… your higher self…”
Percília “Yes, my higher self… then it means that I am of the same family… of Midam… isn’t that right?”
Clodomir “You are linked to his other half…”
Percília “Yes… that’s correct”
Clodomir “Indeed, one is Jura and the other is Midam; the masculine and the feminine…”
Percília “It was revised together with Mestre…”
After Mestre’s death she supported Padrinho Sebastião when of the creation of Cefluris, and she carried out, while in that church, modifications in the farda (blue ties and white shoes for the male farda) that were former wishes of Mestre. Three years later she left the Cefluris, together with Daniel Serra, Luiz Mendes and others who did not accept some other ritualistic changes.
Despite eventually taking part in works, be it in the church of Tetéo, be it in the first aid center of Mr. Raimundo Lorêdo, she never returned to take charge in the conduction of the works as before. It was in a rare opportunity that I witnessed her in the church of Mr. Luiz Mendes, accompanying a work held in July 6th (Mestre’s passage), when Mestre’s hinário was integrally sung (all the hymns, even the special ones) without dancing and with the same lines formation that were made, standing, when the deathwatch of 1971. She wouldn’t hold her tong about what she knew and what her thoughts were, in all her vehemence,
“That nobody assumes to have already learned. Whoever wants to learn, is dedicated to the Daime. Prepare yourself and drink it. I am not going to say that everyone can reach it because ‘not everyone is in the grace’, as tells that hymn of Sebastião Mota.”
Below are some extracts of Percília Matos da Silva’s account, also available in full in the section “Personal Accounts“:
The position that I had, given by Mestre’s hands, was of general commander of the feminine’s wing and the hinário’s general manager. I would conduct every hinário. When the male wing wasn’t quite right I would call the guardian. Everything was with me, and until today this position of general commander is in my hands. He didn’t take it away. Everything that arrived in the colony [mission] passed through my hands. Mestre held much esteem for me and every hymn that he received passed through me. He would say: “If it is not right you can ‘weed it’ [review it].” But I never did that. He would drink Daime and correct it by himself.
I started to attend the session when my father met Mestre, in 1934. I was about eight to nine years old. With Mestre were only a handful of people: José das Neves, Zé Afrânio, João Pereira, the so called Zé Capanga, Maria Damião and Germano Guilherme. After this period is that Antônio Gomes arrived. Daddy died three years later, in 1937. I was the first born. Two weeks after the death of my father’s, Mestre said that he had appeared to him five times in miração. My father said,
“Mestre, I walk and walk in this God’s world and I see so many wonders, so many beauty that I didn’t expect to exist, but when I think of you I try to visit you”
So he came five times. Until when Mestre asked,
“Ribeiro, what do you want from me? You can tell”
“Mestre, I want you to have more patience with my family than you had with me”
And Mestre said,
“It is done! Don’t you worry and follow your journey”
And mestre blessed his spirit.
During this time we lived in Vila Ivonete, very close to Mestre. There wasn’t yet a headquarters and the ceremonies were held at his house, with that little group. So he proceeded giving assistance to us. My mother, poor thing, had no bearings, was illiterate and could not handle money. I was the one who had a little more knowledge, making the home buying. At that time, with eleven years old, I was already tailoring as a self employed. I started tailoring for women only, then to everyone.
He always called me as Mrs. Percília, since I was little. One day daddy asked him: “But why do you call a child of ‘Mrs’.?” He replied: “I call to get used to, because when she gets married I don’t know if her husband is going to like if I call her ‘Percília’.”