Circulations and exchanges of medicinal plants and associated knowledge on the french-brazilian border

Pharmacopoeias are, like any kind of cultural production, living and dynamic objects that constantly change and reinvent themselves through continuous contacts and exchanges between different social groups. Medicinal plants are “biocultural objects” (Pordié, 2002) because of the richness and the complexity of relationships that societies develop with them. In French Guiana, especially in its cross-border areas, cultural interactions are common. Plants and associated knowledge circulate among communities, contributing to a permanent renewal and a continuous hybridization of herbal medicines. These material and immaterial flows form the cultural reality of cross-border areas on the Guiana Shield.

This paper focuses on the border between French Guiana and Brazil, which is made tangible by the Oyapock River. This border is a relatively recent political construction as it was only established in 1900 after a Swiss arbitration ended a long diplomatic conflict b...