Abstract

MVENGOU CRUZMERINO, Paul Raoul. The (slave) ship in image, word and action. Notes on considering the memories of the African diaspora in Latin America. Cuicuilco. Rev. cienc. antropol. [online]. 2018, vol.25, n.73, pp.211-232. ISSN 2448-8488.

This paper examines how the experience of slavery and its memorial dimension is constructed among the Afro-descendant diaspora through the symbol of the slave ship. In particular, two previous papers are analyzed: that of a German traveler and 19th Century artist in Brazil (through his vision embodied in a lithograph entitled “The slave market”), the other regarding the Afro-descendants located along the Costa Chica of Mexico (through their narratives that seek to identify their origins). Based on anthropological research work carried out in these communities, and through the analysis of a pictorial piece by Johann Moritz Rugendas -from 19th Century Brazil- we wish to highlight the emblematic role of the symbol of the ship in the memorial stories regarding their origins, and how the said image expresses the particular sense of identity among Afro-descendant communities in Latin America. The ship (whether ‘slave’ or not) seems to establish a powerful form of identification and, thus, appears as a form of transnational memorial.

Keywords : Anthropology; interdisciplinary; memories; Afro-descendence; Rugendas.

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