Landscape, Tourism and Storytelling ^†

Abstract

When landscapes tell stories about people, the physical context, and how they become part of the identity of the inhabitants, the land acquires meaning for tourists due to their authenticity. Monument Valley and Alentejo are places where identity and landscape are crucial for touristic activity. It remains to be seen whether the future is massification or whether it will be able to maintain a balance between landscapes, culture, and sustainable tourism. From a Humanistic Geography point of view, we have conducted research based on in-depth interviews that show an unstable balance between a way of life and having economic income.

1. Introduction

A key aspect of the success of tourism is the landscape and the experiences it provides. The landscape’s ability to tell the visitors a story, valuing the populations that frame the destinations, completes the attraction of those regions. Landscapes are not static photographs; they tell the story of people and their relationship with the physical context. When landscapes become identity for populations, they also acquire meaning for tourists due to their authenticity.

We focused on two regions, Monument Valley, USA, and Alentejo, Portugal, where the identity of the populations, the physical context, and their history are responsible for the sustainable development of the tourist activity.

Using a perspective linked to Humanist Geography as a theoretical framework, we developed a set of interviews with privileged actors of these two destinations to try to understand how the tourist phenomenon is accepted in these territories.

2. Brief Theoretical Framework

The concept of landscape appeared by the end of the 15th century and was essentially related to rural, bucolic, and natural places. Nowadays, landscape has a double meaning. On the one hand, we can define it as a portion of the Earth’s surface that people contemplate, made up of natural and/or human elements; on the other hand, the concept is more complex; the [1] European Landscape Convention (2000:2) defines it as “part of the territory, as perceived by populations, whose character results from the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors”. Quoting [2] Barata Salgueiro, “If the starting point is an objective observation of a portion of the Earth’s surface, the need to explain the visual elements transports us to cultural aspects, territorial organization, or other equally significant aspects”.

We align our methodology with the Humanist and Culturalist Schools, which look at reality in an individualized way and within a cultural context. These schools state that the concept of landscape is not only a cultural product but also the result of an individual experience, which comes from the senses, the way we feel and connect with the space that surrounds us. The subjective, sensorial, and individual elements make people build their relationship with the area where they live. The landscape influences the behavior and way of life of a population; the territory acquires multiple meanings, like a sense of belonging and a collective and individual (hi)story; the landscape also becomes an identity. In this approach, we highlight [3,4] Yi - Fu-Tuan.

Monument Valley and Alentejo are demonstrations of this symbiosis between space and people, and both are isolated spaces. Our aim here is to attest the following statements:

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The landscapes where the Navajo and Alentejanos built their way of life are closely linked to the construction of the identity of these populations;

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The culture of these people only acquires meaning in a specific territory;

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Isolation causes an intimacy with space that leads to the construction of a world view inseparable from the man/space relationship;

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Tourism is an activity that allows for the maintenance of particular cultures.

3. Methodology

In this investigation, we adopted a qualitative approach based on interviews with privileged resident observers and actors with influence in the territory, in addition to bibliographical research and direct observation. The qualitative research and content analysis allow us to see extracts from conversations and interviews: [5] ((…) “causal explanations (...) of objects, events or situations not necessarily considered representative”, making them advantageous because of the fact that “relationships can be established in many and varied situations” According to [6] Krippen-droff (2004), content analysis is an investigation technique that allows for validating information obtained through multiple resources, whether texts (books, newspapers, or interviews) or the meanings that we can extract from the narratives that express the visions of the actors interviewed.

We conducted eight interviews (4 in Monument Valley and 4 in Alentejo) with tour operators, tour guides, wildlife photographers, and prominent members of the community; we also consulted storytelling books by members who are unanimously considered to be guardians of traditions by the council of elders of the Navajo people.

In the interviews and documents, we were privileged to see the messages and reflections related to the concept of topophilia and sense of place, expressed by [3,4] Tuan. Refs. [7,8] Haesbaert (2003, 2004) also states that territoriality is based on the emotional and affective relationship that the individual establishes with the territory on a daily basis; from this relationship, a sense of place is and becomes identity.

In the case of the Navajo people (Diné, as they call themselves), the connection to territory is intensely experienced and very clear in the interviews, as well as in the narrative of John Holiday [9]. One of the memories that persists is the “Long Walk”. Between 1863 and 1866, the Diné were forced to leave their territory to Bosque Redondo. The US military coerced men, women, and children to walk 400 to 725 km (depending on the route) from their homeland. Despite the iron fist to which they were subjected, after many revolts, they managed to return. According to them, the Navajo people emerged from the lower world to its current territory (Dinétah), the place on Earth where the people and the “Holy People” interact. It is this relationship that still sustains and bases their culture and way of life.

The interviews show that even though they returned to their homeland, there was a modification of the traditional form of life. This fact led to a disruption of the social pattern and opened up the door for an assimilation of cultural traits of a white and capitalist America, leading to a hybrid cultural path, although with a Diné identity.

In Alentejo, the reality of the traditional way of life and the landscape that shaped it are still present. The region is one of the poorest and isolated of Portugal. For decades, these people were exploited by the Terratenientes, who owned thousands of hectares and forced the workers to put up with hard work, from sunrise to sunset, for little money, under the harsh southern sun. Their diet was poor and based on dry bread, wild herbs, eggs, and some animal fat. The extensive peneplain of Alentejo calls for calm, and the gastronomy, somewhat modified, but not too much, is a hymn to the survival capacity of the people. They also have a unique musical expression (Cante), World Heritage by UNESCO, which reflects the sadness of their landscape and depicts everyday scenes of an experience of the past, but that still fits in its surroundings.

These people have a strong attachment to their origin and way of life, which is embedded in the landscape. They have a feeling of topophilia and sense of belonging, which is something that amazes tourists and is appreciated and valued. Tour operators condense the story of the territory and emphasize the quietness and immensity of the landscape, where everyone has time to calmly enjoy the peace, soft light, wine, and gastronomy, or just to be with the family.

4. Results and Discussion

Geographically, in their specific territorial contexts, the two regions are isolated and forgotten by the policies of regional and central governments. The isolation of these spaces in relation to the national whole is accentuated. The dimension of the USA in relation to the Navajo Nation is more significant than in Alentejo, but both have a landscape, origin, and geostructural dynamics that are different from the rest of the national territories, which makes them unique in their contexts.

The isolation of these spaces led to the genesis of different cultures and ways of life in relation to the rest of the countries. Although the Navajos people have a specific culture and way of life, they have some common traits with other native Americans tribes; however, they are distinctive enough not to share a single cosmogony and beliefs. In fact, the Navajo cosmogony comes from the landscape itself.

From the interviews, literature review, and direct observation, the main ideas that emerge are related to a strong feeling of belonging and topophilia. Ways of life and traditions only acquire meaning in these landscapes’ contexts. Those who move away from these territories due to isolation and lack of economic and work opportunities remain linked to their place of origin and are, in a way, ambassadors and promoters of their cultural traits and landscapes.

Diné interviewees assume two positions with points of contact, but with significant differences. The elderly feel that “they were not able to do a good job on passing on the traditions to the younger ones”. Young people and adults feel discouraged, unable to be Navajo but not feeling like Americans either. In the reservation, unlike other American citizens, they do not have the same opportunities of getting a job or having access to housing, water, electricity, or education. They feel discriminated again and complain of having been exploited by uranium mining on their lands without having received proper compensation. The government of the Navajo Nation does not fulfill the expectations of the majority of the population, getting lost in bureaucracy that increases distances between Dinè and their representatives. From the central government, through the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs), they do not receive answers to the widespread poverty of the population living in their territory. Tourism, while not being a solution to their problems, manages to provide some employment and visibility to these people and their heritage, attracting attention to their reality.

In Alentejo, the situation is different. The territory and population, although with levels of development below the national average, have undergone positive changes that raise the standard and quality of life not comparable to the reality of the past. Tourism has not only been a path to economic growth and improved standards of living but it has also contributed to the maintenance and appreciation of traditions and ways of life. The region has managed to obtain significant gains from tourism and simultaneously preserve its cultural heritage, having been considered Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO (the Cante Alentejano, Figured in Clay of Estremoz, the production of rattles, and, in another field, the Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve).

In both regions, tourism has been growing and providing increased visibility to these territories. Tour operators have constructed a narrative based on lifestyles, traditions, and landscapes that appeals to the unique and, in some way, exotic nature of the regions within the national whole. If in the Navajo territory the regional government and tourist operators have managed to maintain a relatively balanced tourist flow, with the persistence of the traits that make them unique, in the case of Alentejo, due to the smallness of the national whole, tourist flows have been increasing due to the national and international dissemination of the history of a population still linked to tradition and framed in a calm, peaceful landscape.

5. Conclusions

The culture, history, and way of life of the populations that inhabit the territories in question are a result of the isolation and the landscape, which became identity for them. Outside their territory, all the references disappear due to the absence of geographical contexts.

The Diné population feels somewhat abandoned and with no government support.

In Alentejo, however, there is a general appreciation of its culture and heritage.

Tourist activity could end up being a sword of Damocles. If, on the one hand, it allows for the maintenance of these realities, on the other hand, a lack of moderation of the tourist load could jeopardize these unique people’s way of life and their territorial framework.

The main conclusion is that both populations show a deep sense of belonging and a topophilia connection to their territory of origin.