In class, we have discussed the term “cultural literacy” and attempted to come up with a definition. The term refers to the ability to understand a culture and engage in the practices of its people. We have also talked in class about the idea of a “contact zone,” or the place where two cultures collide. These two terms are at play in History of a Voyage to the Land of Brazil. Specifically, the careful ways in which Lery records and describes the language of the Tumpinamba people not only represents an exercise of cultural literacy, but also highlights the way in which the Protestant French contact zone with native peoples in the “New World” is distinct from those of the Portuguese and Spanish in previous texts.  Lery’s “mapping” process differs from those of previous texts we’ve read; for example, when he maps the language of the Tupinamba, he even considers the way he, himself, would fit into this map. In a later chapter of the text, Lery explains that the natives would not be able to remember or pronounce his name if he were to tell them. To avoid confusion,  he calls himself “Lery-oussou” (big oyster). This demonstration of cultural literacy goes beyond mere fluency in Tumpinamba culture–here, rather than merely mapping natives in European terms as Columbus does, Lery maps the Tupinamba culture onto himself. True cultural literacy, then, seems to include the act of reflection upon, and assessment of one’s own culture while mapping a new one.