An encounter with a beginning, a path and no end: Itaipu beach (Niterói, Rio de Janeiro), its fishermen and one anthropologist

Abstract

In this article, we present a narrative regarding Roberto Kant de Lima’s journey among the fishermen of Itaipu, beginning with his arrival in the field in the 1970s. Although this trajectory started with a specific purpose — a master’s thesis in social anthropology at the National Museum at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro focusing on the fishermen and fishing practices of Itaipu — subsequent developments expanded into multiple dimensions and involved numerous researchers and institutions. We revisit various conflicts that extended beyond the beach to reach the city and the forest, such as the Rio de Janeiro State government’s creation of the Itaipu & Piratininga Marine Extractive Reserve; the struggle of the Morro das Andorinhas Traditional Community to remain on their traditional lands, the Sítio das Jaqueiras (Jackfruit Place) and the defense of the Quintal dos Pescadores (Fishermen’s Yard) as tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the city of Niterói — a dispute characterized by an asymmetry of power between a Masonic Lodge and a family of fishermen within the Rio de Janeiro court system. Throughout these contexts — as well as in the authorship of this article itself — a constant presence has been the alliance between anthropologists from the Núcleo Fluminense de Estudos e Pesquisas at the Universidade Federal Fluminense and the traditional artisanal fishermen of Itaipu.