Maître Contout - Mémoire de la Guyane

Overview

Born in 1925 into a modest Guyanese family, Auxence Contout studied in Paris on a scholarship at a time when few ultramarines were so fortunate (a decade after Léon Gontran Damas and Aimé Césaire). He has dedicated his life to exploring the Guyanese Creole culture, a counter-culture born of the deprivation of the basic rights of slaves from Africa, which has been enriched by Amerindian, European, Indian and Chinese influences... A man of transmission, he has tirelessly shared his knowledge of tales, proverbs, language, dances, carnival... In order to find its origins, he had to undertake a fascinating journey into the cultures of the whole world.