Comercialización de artesanía indígena y noción de tradición en Guayana francesa: hacia una nueva terminología

The current context of modernity which lives the Amerindian societies of French Guyana infers indisputably a change in their handicraft practice. Few techniques disappear others persist but almost the marketing of objects, initially used for domestic purposes, increases a lot. Collectively, this craft production supports more and more an ethnic identity that it is claimed by the peoples himself either recognized outside of their community. The vague desires of valuation of a "traditional" handicraft, of "ancestral" knowledge are daylight. So, we shall discuss the contemporary marketing of this handicraft by pressing our examples on the activity of basketwork. Through examples drawn to diverse Amerindian communities living in French Guiana we shall approach the ambiguous notions of "traditional" and " modern" item. Finally, we shall propose a new terminology to dread better the contemporary reality of the Amerindian handicraft.