L'Orénoque et le Caura
Relation de Voyages Executées en 1886 et 1887

The nineteenth-century French anthropologist Jean Chaffanjon vividly describes Venezuela's Orinoco Delta, its geology and peoples in this 1889 book.

Jean Chaffanjon (Author)

9781108006484, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 November 2010

360 pages, 150 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2 cm, 0.46 kg

Jean Chaffanjon (1854–1913) was a natural history teacher in the French colony of Martinique who was commissioned by the French minister of state education and fine arts to explore the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela. The Orinoco had an almost mythical reputation as a source of gold and coffee, and Chaffanjon in 1886–1887 was the first European explorer in the region in almost 100 years. Landing in the city of Guayra, he travelled up two of the continent's largest rivers, the Caura and the Orinoco, documenting the region's geology and his encounters with the indigenous population. His account of the journey was published in Paris in 1889, at a time when adventure literature was hugely popular in Europe. The book includes 56 engravings and two maps drawn by the French travel and nature artist Auguste Morisot. Chaffanjon's adventures were the direct inspiration for Jules Verne's Le Superbe Orénoque.

Part I. Voyage sur le Caura: 1. But du voyage
2. Caractères anthropologiques des Guaraunos
3. Le Macareo
4. Une excursion dans la montagne
5. Moitaco
6. Santa Cruz
7. Les savanes de Caicara
8. Départ de San Pedro
9. De las Bonitas à Caicara
Part II. Voyage aux sources de l'Orénoque: 10. Les Guaharibos épouvantés par des légendes relatives aux sources de l'Orénoque
11. Sur l'Orénoque
12. Départ de Caicara
13. Les monts d'Atures
14. Les Piaroas
15. Caractères anthropologiques du Baniva
16. M. Mirabal
17. Fuite de nos compagnons
18. L'exploration des forets par les gomeros
19. Le rio Cunu-Cunuma
20. Le cassiquiari
21. Réorganisation de l'expédition
22. Le Mavaa
23. L'expédition divisée
Linguistique
Table des matières.

Subject Areas: Anthropology [JHM]