Inventing the savage: the Sapara people of the Ecuadorian Amazon in 19th-century travel writing L’invention du sauvage : le peuple sapara de l’Amazonie équatorienne dans les récits de voyage du XIXe siècle La invención del salvaje: el pueblo sapara de la Amazonía ecuatoriana en los relatos de viajes del siglo XIX

Rosado Valencia E, Jansen S, Gerique-Zipfel A (2024)


Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

Book Volume: 110

Pages Range: 201-226

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.4000/12KIG

Abstract

In this article, we examine the discursive construction of the Sapara people of the Ecuadorian Amazon in the writings of travelers who explored the region in the second half of the 19th century. We focus mainly on the ways in which these writings reflect prevailing ideologies of the time, according to which “civilized” human societies could be distinguished from “savage” ones. In doing this, we analyze the representation of different aspects of the Sapara culture, such as agriculture and working habits, gender relations and sexual practices and the art of war and leisure. We frame our analysis in the theoretical proposal of Irvine and Gal for the ideological construction of cultural difference through the semiotic processes known as rhematization, fractal recursivity, and erasure.

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How to cite

APA:

Rosado Valencia, E., Jansen, S., & Gerique-Zipfel, A. (2024). Inventing the savage: the Sapara people of the Ecuadorian Amazon in 19th-century travel writing L’invention du sauvage : le peuple sapara de l’Amazonie équatorienne dans les récits de voyage du XIXe siècle La invención del salvaje: el pueblo sapara de la Amazonía ecuatoriana en los relatos de viajes del siglo XIX. Journal de la Société des américanistes, 110(1), 201-226. https://doi.org/10.4000/12KIG

MLA:

Rosado Valencia, Erika, Silke Jansen, and Andres Gerique-Zipfel. "Inventing the savage: the Sapara people of the Ecuadorian Amazon in 19th-century travel writing L’invention du sauvage : le peuple sapara de l’Amazonie équatorienne dans les récits de voyage du XIXe siècle La invención del salvaje: el pueblo sapara de la Amazonía ecuatoriana en los relatos de viajes del siglo XIX." Journal de la Société des américanistes 110.1 (2024): 201-226.

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