What can a map do? Agency in the traits and paths of the drawings of the Hupd’äh people

Abstract

This text describes and analyses maps drawn by communities of the Hupd’äh indigenous people during the Plano de Gestão Territorial e Ambiental da Terra Indígena Alto Rio Negro (PGTA), between 2015 and 2019. Recently, participatory mapping has gained prominence in the communities, either as a demand for incorporation into school activities or as mediation in broader discussions. The purpose of the exercise is an ethnographic description of the production of these drawings, seeking to outline possible anthropological readings. This article is divided into four parts. Initially, contextual information is presented, followed by a brief description of the work carried out in the PGTA. The core of the text analyses the maps, describing the process of drawing, the territoriality that indicates their traits, the places, toponyms and stories that form these iconographies of n¯ih s’ah (‘our land’). The final topic highlights some possible readings of these iconographies both as shared experiences between elders and young people and as a possible language to assert territorial rights.

Keywords
Hupd’äh; Upper Rio Negro Basin; Participatory mapping; Drawing; Ethnography