Great Czech travelers in Latin America
Memories, important aspects and cultural
impacts of their journeys
MSc, Spyridon Triantafyllakis
Faculty of Humanities, U Kříže 8, 15800, Praha-Jinonice
Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic
e-mail: [email protected]
INTRODUCTION
D
uring the second half of the 19th century a number
of Czech travelers carried out voyages to unknown
or little known places. Their journeys, which can be
characterized as extraordinary, significantly influenced the people in their own land and opened gates to further exploration of
the world by next generation travelers such as the adventurer
A. V. Fric (1882-1944), the legendary duo J. Hanzenka (19222003) and M. Zikmund (*1919) and the adventurer M. ZelenyAtapana (*1943).
The short article presented at this forum is derived from
a broader study, which explores the unique travel experience of the above mentioned three cases of 20th century
outstanding Czech travelers. The goal of the current article
is to outline some important aspects concerning their expeditions in Latin America in particular.
METHODOLOGY
For the purposes of our broader study we have gathered
all the relevant information, which is necessary for analysis.
We use evidence provided to us by the explorers themselves
in the form of collected material, scientific reports, journals,
maps, photographs, wonderful books they wrote inspired
from their voyages. We also use audio-visual evidence in
the form of archival photographs, documentary films, interviews, as well as data available on the internet.
Actual interviews were given to the author by the two
living travelers M. Zikmund and M. Zeleny-Atapana, which
highlight important aspects of their voyages and their life.
Yvona Fric, who is in charge of the A. V. Fric archive and is
the wife of the explorer’s grandson, also gave an interview to
the author about the adventures and personality of A. V. Fric.
In order to understand the gathered documents and information and to interpret the sources themselves, an hermeneutic approach is used by the author.
PERSONALITIES
The adventurers were driven by a passion to see, to discover and to fulfill their dreams. All of them shared a passion
to report about the lands and the cultures they explored. As
we read their books and their reports we realize that almost
every human emotion was experienced by these individuals.
Under the surface of these voyages to the unknown, we can
catch a glimpse of a complicated internal journey towards
self-discovering. These colorful personalities combine special qualities such as observance, will, creativity, courage.
Despite the differences in character, they shared common
moral values. This explains the similar responses they had in
critical ethical situations they found themselves in.
JOURNEYS IN LATIN AMERICA
The focus of A. V. Fric’s and M. Zeleny’s expeditions
was mainly in Latin America. Each spent about 9-10
years in total in Latin American countries. The exploring duo J. Hanzelka and M. Zikmund, spent less
time in Latin America (a little more than two years)
since their goal was to travel all over the world. These
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journeys to the unknown have common characteristics
such as that they were long, dangerous and fruitful.
A. V. Fric arrived to Brazil in 1901 at the age of 19. His
original motivation was to find and to study exotic plants
and especially cacti. In Brazil he encountered the indigenous people and soon his interest shifted towards the exploration of life and culture of the natives. He undertook eight
long journeys in a period that spans almost thirty years. He
met and lived with many Indian tribes in Brazil, Paraguay,
Argentina and elsewhere. Due to his interest in cacti he also
travelled to Mexico. During this period he collected an enormous amount of ethnographic material, he studied the life
of Indian tribes and enriched ethnology with unique information he brought back to his own country. These journeys
also influenced his personality and increased his awareness
about the impact of our civilization on the traditional way
of life of the indigenous people. In many cases he took the
ethical responsibility to speak out about the rights of the natives and tried in many ways to protect these people.
The legendary duo J. Hanzelka and M. Zikmund undertook their long journey to Africa and Latin America in the
middle of the 20th century, 1947 to 1950. Driven by curiosity, the two friends travelled through deserts and jungles to
fulfill their dream to see the world. They managed to cross
the African continent by car, a Tatra 87, from Casablanca to
Cairo and finally to Cape Town. In the summer of 1948 they
arrived to Argentina from where they continued their voyage to other Latin American countries. In South America
they found themselves in very dangerous situations but the
most risky and exciting was their decision to see the Shuar
tribe in Ecuador. The dangerous Shuar were famous for their
custom of hunting and shrinking the heads of their enemies.
The two friends were the first who managed to visit them,
to live with them and to document their life and their customs. They continued their journey to Central America and
they finished their Latin American exploration in Mexico.
All these travel experiences were reported by Hanzelka and
Zikmund to the people in their homeland. During their trip
to Africa and Latin America they became famous not only
in their own country but also all over the world.
The explorer M. Zeleny-Atapana visited Brazil in 1969.
Influenced by the journeys of his precursor A. V. Fric and
driven by his curiosity and thirst for knowledge about the
culture of indigenous people, he undertook various trips to
their remote habitats. In a period of three decades he traveled and saw all the regions of his interest. He became
friendly with many tribes in South America and for a deeper
understanding of their life he lived with various indigenous
people for a long time. In 1989 a special event took place,
the Amazonian tribe of Yawalapiti adopted him and gave
him the name Atapana. He wrote many reports about his
journeys and significant books about the Indian cultures.
During the latest years the aim of his trips to Amazonia was
to help distinct tribes in Brazil and Venezuela to survive the
influence of Western civilization. Following the legacy of
A. V. Fric, he also took the responsibility to speak out about
the rights and the culture of indigenous people.
IMPACTS OF THE TRAVELERS’ JOURNEYS
The work of all these travelers is enormous. It includes
wonderful travelogues, plenty of reports from their journeys, significant books about the indigenous people, many
photographs, collected ethnographic material, scientific articles and books, documentaries, photographic exhibitions
and other. Their influence is obvious in literature, in science
and in cultural life of their country.
A. V. Fric contributed to ethnology with his study of
Indian tribes and to botany with his study of cacti. He also
enriched adventure literature with his wonderful books.
The ethnographic material collected by A. V. Fric can be
found in various museums around the world. Recently, in
the year 2004, an organization named Checomacoco was
founded with the aim to improve the life of the Indian tribe
of Chamacoco in Paraguay, following the legacy of A. V.
Fric. In September and October of the current year in the
Czech Republic, many events (lectures, photo-exhibitions,
new publications, meetings) will be organized to commemorate the 130 years anniversary of the great traveler’s birth.
J. Hanzelka and M. Zikmund contributed to travel literature with more than twenty books they wrote about their
adventures. Their encounter with the savage tribe Shuar in
Latin America resulted to a wonderful book, which apart
from its literal value, is also significant for the science
of ethnology. The work of J. Hanzelka and M. Zikmund
is preserved by the Museum of South-East Moravia. The
Museum’s permanent exhibition about their journeys is a
great inspiration for new generations of travelers and its
large archive is important for social sciences. Lately, many
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photo-exhibitions, festivals, and interviews about their journeys have been organized in the Czech Republic. Thousands
of people who visited these events have had the opportunity
to learn more about the journeys and the lives of the two
great adventurers.
M. Zeleny-Atapana contributed to ethnology and anthropology with his books. In the year 2002 he established the
Granamazonia foundation with the aim to help Indian tribes
and to document their culture. Furthermore he has agreed
with the authorities of the city Ústí nad Labem in the Czech
Republic for the foundation of a Museum about the indigenous people. The aim of the museum will be to serve educationally and to promote further scientific research about
Amazonia. During the last years, he has organized many
photo-exhibitions and lectures about his journeys. He continues to travel to Amazonia with various projects and through
the Granamazonia foundation he helps people who travel to
these regions to approach responsibly a culture in decline.
IN CONCLUSION
These voyages were and continue to be significant for
the Czech Republic. They took place in different periods of
the 20th century, by different personalities, under various
circumstances. One of the most significant common aspects
of the travel experience of Fric, Hanzelka and Zikmund and
Zeleny-Atapana is the realization that culturally different human beings such as Europeans and Natives can understand
and help each other. Another important aspect is that the
journeys can influence the personalities of the travelers in unpredictable ways. Upon their return to their homeland they
find themselves changed by the experience. On another level,
their life story continues to affect the present in the sense that
when various cultural events (exhibitions, festivals, lectures,
commemorative meetings, new books etc) take place, the
worldview of many people in Czech Republic is influenced.
Even though these extraordinary journeys substantially differ from contemporary tourism, both travelers
and tourists can learn from the philosophy of travel of the
adventurers and especially from the friendly way they
approached indigenous people, ordinary people and various cultures abroad. Following their legacy, people in
Czech Republic live their dream to see the world and at
the same time they experience travel activities that promote responsibility in tourism.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work is supported by the Charles University in
Prague, Faculty of Humanities, grant SVV-265701.
I would like to thank my supervisor, professor Helena
Haskovcova for her kind help.
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