VOLCANOES OF THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: A LOOK AT ITS SYMBOLIC DIMENSION

Abstract

The symbolic connection that inhabitants of the Galapagos archipelago cultivate with the volcanoes in their islands is not often the object of academic analysis. Attention is usually focused on issues related to the impact of tourism in coastal areas, and the conservation of the endemic fauna. This paper offers a preliminary anthropological look at the volcanoes in the Galapagos islands, which considers the use of space, the patrimonalization of the fauna, the rituals and the beliefs around the mountains of Galapagos. Research is based on field experiences gathered in 2018, which include ascents to the caldera of the Sierra Negra volcano and to the Orchilla hill on Isabela island, short hikes to the viewpoint at the top of Bartolomé Island, to the Tijeretas hill in San Cristóbal, to the lava tubes and Twin craters in Santa Cruz and to the so called “mysterious heights” of Floreana Island. Additionally, the author visited breeding stations of chelonians in different islands, the Visitor Center in San Cristóbal, the Darwin Station and the MUPRAE museum in Santa Cruz, and hiked to the historical site of the Wall of Tears in Isabela. Research also involved the analysis of informal interviews and spontenaous testimonies by tour guides, park rangers, naturalists, boat captains, school teachers and foreign visitors. Results convey a diversity of strategies in the symbolic construction of landscape which include the mithologization of the heights in Floreana, the ritual celebration of the volcanic eruptions in Isabela and the utilitarian and aesthetic appropriation of the hills in Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal and Bartolomé.