Abstract

ROVISCO, Eduarda. From Africanist resistance to African souvenir: handicraft, nation and phantasmagoria on the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde. Etnográfica [online]. 2017, vol.21, n.1, pp.05-26. ISSN 0873-6561.

In the last ten years, the growth of both tourism and immigration on the island of Boa Vista (Cape Verde) has led to the opening of an increased number of handicraft shops, mostly owned by Senegalese immigrants who sell artifacts which are either locally crafted or shipped from Senegal. These immigrants have been facing a number of discriminatory practices, while being systematically accused of “harassing tourists” and of selling objects that are not representative of Cape Verdean culture. This article proposes to reflect on this handicraft trade in relation to the processes of nation building in Cape Verde and on the role of crafts in these processes.

Keywords : handicraft; souvenir; national identity; Boa Vista; Cape Verde.

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