Further, determining the precise number of African descendants among Brazilians is a complicated task. Personal classifications vary widely and official classifications included in the census do not offer a solution, as the census depends on personal declarations and classifications, by the interviewee or by the agent in charge of collecting and registering the data. When, in 1976, the census allowed respondents to declare their race freely, no fewer than 190 different nuances of colour were registered, including expressions of colour, fruit, drinks, such as coffee or chocolate, and other varieties heavily influenced by Brazilian imagination and humour (Piza and Rosemberg, 1998-99, p. 130). Most of the classifications could also be shaped by notions of class, education,  
and politics, for example, while avoiding direct affiliation to blackness but at the same time recognizing the impossibility of identifying as white. ${ }^{4}$  
In 1996, another survey found that, among the 51 per cent of the population considered Afrodescendent, 43 per cent of respondents classified themselves as morenos and only 8 per cent self-declared as black. ${ }^{5}$ Moreno (male) or morena (female) is a category that is widely used among Brazilians. Historically, it refers to a person related to the Moors, a people of northwestern Africa (of mixed Berber and Arab descent) who inhabited the Iberian peninsula during the Middle Ages. In Brazil, it is popularly associated with someone of darker skin, eyes and hair, and can be used to define anyone who is not blond or red-haired. In 1954, Nogueira explained that Brazilians mostly used the word negro in conflicts, as an offensive remark, while in other situations people would use, among other terms, moreno, mulato, caboclo, or preto to minimize what is seen as a problem. In addition, confirming the above expression on the subject of Brazilian differentiation between colour and race, Nogueira argued that in Brazil, colour prejudice is much more prevalent than racial discrimination.