Tchayoualé lives between Iracoubo and Awala Yalimapo (French Guiana). An Amerindian from the Kali’na community—one of the groups that has inhabited the Guianese plateau for millennia—he knows a thousand and one secrets of the forest and the Amazonian rivers. Tchayoualé is a hunter, fisherman, gatherer, boatman, and accomplished cook. His name, which means “the spirit of the forest” in the Kali’na language, was given to him by his grandfather, who introduced him to its mysteries, telling him that if one learned how to read it, the forest would provide food, drink, medicine—and much more.But Tchayoualé also bears a French civil name: Sylvain-Gérard Paul. He has lived in Brazil and in Cayenne, and speaks French, Portuguese, and three Amerindian languages. He has worked as a machine operator, a shrimp fisherman, and a taxi driver—never ceasing to think of the forest.Tchayoualé straddles multiple worlds.
