Mangroves voices. Where the Shrimp Swep and the Women Sing.
Marie-Christine CORMIER-SALEM
Abstract
The habitability of mangroves has long been called into question due to their severe constraints. The disparaging accounts, originating from outsiders (16th–19th century), advocating for a radical transformation of these coastal marshes and their inhabitants, gave way, starting in the 1960s, to representations that idealized these environments and led to protectionist policies, which disregarded local contexts. Not only are mangroves inhabited, but they are among the environments that have been occupied for the longest time. They serve as a reservoir of a vast array of resources, essential for the food security of local populations and often the sole source of income for women who lack access to land. In this paper, giving voices to inhabitants—and more specifically, of women who live in and from the mangrove—the aim is to demonstrate their attachment to these environments, the way in which they sustainably inhabit the mangrove and are, in turn, shaped by it, as well as their strategies of resistance in the face of environmental violence. After highlighting the multiplicity of mangroves voices and claims, I draw on in-depth interviews conducted with women in India, Senegal, and Brazil, and pay particular attention to their knowledge, practices, and sensibilities, inviting us to re-enchant the mangrove.