Projects

Indigenous Wayana- Apalaí knowledge – A new approach to restitution and its implications for forms of transmission

The goal of this project is the empowerment and restitution to the Wayanas and Apalaís of sound, film, and photographic collections documenting the knowledge of these indigenous people of Guyana. The project also proposes a reflection on restitution practices and their impact on the transmission of “traditional” knowledge. Its originality lies with the central role accorded the studied populations – a Wayana-Apalaí team is actively participating in the conception of the portal (the tool of restitution) as well as defining selections, modalities of analysis, and conditions of access to the data.

Responding to local demand, the project includes collaboration with the Wayanas and Apalaís on a book documenting an important body of ritual chants and a study of Wayana museum collections, particularly those of the Quai Branly Museum, which holds ancient ritual objects referenced in the chants. The Amerindian Ethnological Teaching and Research Center is leading programs to develop audiovisual collections in collaboration with the societies being studied and this project will integrate the creation of modes of interactive distribution of synchronized sound and text along with multimedia links to texts and objects. The project unites domestic cluster partners (Laboratory of Ethnology and Comparative Sociology, Quai Branly Museum) with those in Guyana, Germany, and Brazil.

Lead researcher: Eliane Camargo (EREA/LESC) (2014-2018)