Abstract

THIEBAUT, Virginie. Landscape and identity: Papaloapan river, functional and symbolic element of the Sotavento's landscapes. LiminaR [online]. 2013, vol.11, n.2, pp.82-99. ISSN 2007-8900.

Landscapes are tangible realities, but they're also elements of identification that participate in the conformation of social groups. At the lower basin of the Papaloapan, the river had great importance along the centuries. As an essential communication via, provider of foods and source for the land fertilization, it also was strongly related to the religious beliefs. During the 20th century, it lost almost all of these functions: meanwhile the land communication routes replaced the river, water contamination and sedimentation brought the decrease on the fishing activities. Trough this article, we will review the fluvial landscapes of the Papaloapan river in its whole scale to understand whether the functional changes had drove to the modification of the river's perception and the sentiment of identification by the river dwellers.

Keywords : landscape; river; identity; evolution; communication routes; waterways.

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