In Atouguia da Baleia, the whale is a founding myth perpetuated in the name of a town that was an important maritime and fishing Portuguese medieval port and that is now five kilometres from the coast. The whale is part of the collective identity, memory, and imaginary of its inhabitants.
Remains of these ancient whales resurface and reach our days through bones that are now being found with intriguing regularity in the village and in the municipality of Peniche. Whaling on this coast is witnessed in historical documents from medieval and modern times and the animal itself has been a creative inspiration and an element of construction of knowledge about the natural world. Both in Portugal mainland as within the context of the Portuguese Expansion overseas, whaling was conducted along centuries with strong impacts on the natural populations of North and South Atlantic, not to say at a global level.
The research work of Nina Vieira and Cristina Brito, researchers from CHAM – the Centre for the Humanities of NOVA FCSH, respond to social and environmental questions and contributed to cultural and natural heritage preservation. It evokes regional and national changes by rescuing collective memory about an activity (whaling) and an animal (whales), through the study of history and material remains.
Together with the technicians of the municipality of Peniche, the researchers have been collecting and analysing historical data for the last two decades, conducting new archive research for novel documentary materials about whaling in the village and in Portugal mainland. Together, the researchers understand that everything about the whale must be preserved – stories of its past, material traces for the future and the species that inhabit the ocean in the present while still recovering from interactions with people.
Under the funding of the ERC Synergy Grant 4-Oceans, so far, the only one for the Humanities in Portugal, the researchers have been developing narratives about human and nonhuman historical realities that were materialized in the two initiatives, the exhibition ‘The Whale in Atouguia’ and the open access online course (MOOC) ‘Whale hunting and the Portuguese’.
The research team was invited to participate in the research and curatorship process of the exhibition launched on March 31st, 2023, at Centro Interpretativo de Atouguia da Baleia. Outstandingly, up to 15 June it had already 1709 visitors! During that period, more than 20 visits organised by Raquel Janerinho and accompanied by municipal technicians and/or researchers from NOVA FCSH were organised. Additionally, the MOOC, led by Gonçalo Melo da Silva, researcher of IEM, was launched on December 13th, 2022, and run until May 31st. During that period, 453 participants from 10 different countries were counted. Both activities aimed not only the public at large but also scholars and teachers, and professionals linked to heritage management, whale watching and other creative industries.
– What is the first word that comes to your mind when you think of WHALE? – My grandfather’s backyard.
Anonymous visitor of the exhibition ‘A Baleia em Atouguia’
Transfer of knowledge about the long-lasting relationships between humans and marine animals, collaboration with communities through whale bones’ identification, sharing oral histories, and actions of safeguarding the oceans’ cultural and natural heritage were promoted. Similarly, the exhibition and the MOOC assumed environmental drivers as relevant as economic, social and political ones, addressed marine concerns in relation to past extinctions and the degradation of habitats, and advocated the ocean literacy.
As such, societal changes are expected – a more informed society at local, national, and international levels; one that is sensible to current day environmental and climate challenges, and to the conservation of natural populations; one that values the importance of history, heritage, and memory. Overall, understanding the role of people and whales, and their entangled interactions, shows the direct contribution of the Humanities (and, particularly, History) to the current global environmental challenges. Through the researchers personal and scientific lens, people and whales are seen as co-protagonists of historical narratives and of ecological processes, reinforcing the importance of these animals for the regional identity and culture.