Trois Sauts Explained

Official Name:Trois Sauts
Native Name:Ɨtu wasu
Settlement Type:Cluster of villages
Pushpin Map:French Guiana
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in French Guiana
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:France
Subdivision Type1:Overseas region
Subdivision Name1:French Guiana
Subdivision Type2:Arrondissement
Subdivision Name2:Cayenne
Subdivision Type3:Commune
Subdivision Name3:Camopi
Leader Title:Chief
Leader Name:Jacky Pawey[1]
Population As Of:2012
Population Footnotes:[2]
Population Total:c. 590
Utc Offset:-3
Elevation Footnotes:[3]
Elevation M:138

Trois Sauts (English: three waterfalls) or Ɨtu wasu is a cluster of four Amerindian Wayampi and Teko[4] villages on the Oyapock River in French Guiana near the border with Brazil. Trois Sauts contains the villages of Roger, Zidock (also Zidok), Yawapa, and Pina.[5]

History

Trois Sauts has been established in the 1950s,[6] and named after a waterfall near the source of river. The name was a mistranslation, because the waterfall has four levels making it impossible to pass by boat, and thus isolating the upstream area in Brazil from the downstream in French Guiana. The people living in Trois Sauts came from the upstream areas. It was not until 1969, that the villages of Roger and Zidock were established. As of 2012, the villages are in a sustainable local development area of the Guiana Amazonian Park and has a park office.[7]

Even though Trois Sault is an isolated community and far from the gold fields of Camopi, the population of the villages had the highest contamination with mercury, because they live on cassave, hunting and fishing without access to supermarkets.[8]

Overview

Trois Sauts has a school, a clinic, and since 2013, an annex of the commune.[5] In 2020, a hydroelectric power plant in the waterfall was completed in order to provide electricity for the villages.[9]

Transport

The villages can only be reached via the river. It is located two days by boat from Saint-Georges or one day from Camopi.[5] The villages may only be accessed with a special permit from the Prefecture.[10] [5]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Grand Conseil Coutumier : les membres élus. Collective Territorialé de Guyane. 21 February 2021. fr.
  2. Comparaison des écosystèmes éducatifs chez deux groupes d'Amérindiens: les Wayãpi et les Wayana. Maurizio Alì & Rodica Ailincai. 2012. 3 August 2020. fr. Table 1 (based on registrations at the local clinic).
  3. Web site: Os Treis Saltos, Brasil. Geonames. 3 August 2020.
  4. Spectrum of skin diseases in Amerindian villages of the Upper Oyapock, French Guiana. Thomas Malmontet. 2020. International Journal of Dermatology. 59. 5. 600. 10.1111/ijd.14848. 32227343. 7217172.
  5. Web site: Les amérindiens Wayampis, citoyens français d'Amazonie. Medium. 29 April 2015 . 1 August 2020. fr.
  6. The problem of suicide among Amerindians in Camopi-Trois Sauts, French Guiana 2008–2015. BMC Psychiatry. 2018. 10.1186/s12888-018-1670-6. Pacot. Rémi. Garmit. Basma. Pradem. Marianne. Nacher. Mathieu. Brousse. Paul. 18. 1. 99. 29642878. 5896108 . free .
  7. Web site: CAMOPI TROIS SAUTS - Parc Amazonien de Guyane. Parc Amazonien Guyane. 1 August 2020. fr.
  8. The effects of gold mining in rivers in French Guiana. Institut de recherche pour le développement. 19 May 2020. 1 August 2020.
  9. Web site: Project Guyane 2019-2020. Piles Solidaires. 17 February 2021. fr.
  10. Web site: Musiques et danses Wayampi. Une Saison en Guyane. 1 August 2020. fr.