Sensing Like a Shaman, Seeing Like a State: Guayana According to Rómulo Gallegos

Rómulo Gallegos's 1935 novel Canaima redefined the cultural and geographical identity of Venezuelan Guayana, a region where the Orinoco and Amazon river basins converge. The study reveals how Gallegos creatively adapted the pan-Indigenous concept of 'kanaima' to construct a resistance narrative against national economic homogenization and standardized geographic education. This alternative geography, however, was later appropriated by the state, becoming a symbol of Venezuelan autochthony in Canaima National Parkand beyond. The research explores intersections between literary geography, cultural appropriation, and Indigenous deterritorialization, highlighting how narratives shape both local identities and national policies.

Smith, A. M. (2021). Sensing Like a Shaman, Seeing Like a State: Guayana According to Rómulo Gallegos. Mapping the Amazon, 61–100. https://doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781800348417.003.0003