Indigenous people from Venezuelan Amazon: life and culture and the translation process

Abstract

This article is a reflective presentation of the translation process of the text Vidas Indianas, published by the Venezuelan Martín Matos Arvelo in 1912. The work recounts the lives of the indigenous peoples of the Venezuelan Amazon, from the upper Rio Negro, covering different aspects of their daily lives and customs. For the translation, which is still unpublished in Brazil, some chapters of the work - I. Daily life, II. Birth and education, XI. Customs and XII. Customs - continued - were chosen because they represent fundamental aspects for a first approach to the groups portrayed. We begin by introducing the author and the work, describing in greater detail the context in which it was published, as well as other texts by the poet. Next, we discuss each of the chapters selected for translation, briefly detailing their contexts, as well as the images that accompany the translated volume and aspects of the author’s language. In the third part of the article, the translation process is described, highlighting aspects that were considered more challenging, such as the choice of terminology and the treatment of paratexts, as well as the sources used to arrive at the final translation result.

Keywords
translation; indigenous life; the Venezuelan Amazon; indigenous customs