Les Wayana de Guyane française sur les traces de leur histoire

Abstract

The genesis of wayana people is located in the Tumuc-Humac area in the far south of French Guyana. In everlasting bond with the people of Brazil, living on the Jari (now abandoned), and Parou of Este, they lived a long time on both sides of the divide line between the tributaries of the Amazon and Maroni. This article is based on a participatory mapping work conducted with the Wayana between 2012 and 2015 to find and browse the oldest inhabited sites on the upper Litani. It is based on the oral tradition, but also the texts of the explorers and anthropologists who have travelled the area. It traces the gradual migration of Wayana from Tumuc-Humacs to low-Litani, where they still live today. The toponymy tells us about the perception of nature, the founders of the villages, and often conflicting encounters with other peoples and monstrous beings. Indeed, the migration took place in a context of war (ethnic and colonial), and attacks of aquatic monsters attacks symbolize the dangers of the river. It is a real conquest of the Litani that is delivered here through various accounts and cards and maps allowing us to spatialize the history of the Wayana on this river.

Keywords

• Wayana
• Litani
• history
• participatory mapping
• toponymy
• French Guyana