Event date:
Thursday 14 June to Friday 15 June
Time:
13:00
Location:
Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, 2 Hope Park Square
Making Sense of Malabar: The Major, the Menon, and the Meanings of Plants
Abstract: Cunhi Coroo was interpreter and clerk working with Alexander Walker (1764-1831), then major and administrator for the East India Company on the Malabar Coast. Cunhi's profusely-illustrated collections of botanical drawings, games and pastimes, castes and occupations are currently part of Walker's manuscripts at the National Library of Scotland and Edinburgh University Library. I will use these materials to explore how Cunhi and Walker navigated the processes of interpretation, collaboration, and translation between south Indian and British natural history and culture.