The Right to the Waves

Abstract

"In this thesis, we argue that surfing is not just about riding waves. It is involved with the construction of a surfer identity, transnational processes, conceptions of belonging and territorial narratives. We used these different concepts to operationalize the following main question: How do both expat and local surfers perceive, construct and narrate a sense of territorial belonging in Gigante, Nicaragua? We will explore what it means to be a surfer and how this is integrated in someone s identity. We also examine the relation between (im)mobility and transnational ties and feelings of belonging to a particular locality and how this is connected to the idea of being a local. Furthermore, how the feeling of belonging and being local may lead to territorialism and ownership and how this plays out in the water, while surfing.

Even though they will never reach the same degree of being a local as Nicaraguans that were born in Gigante, for expats an identity as a local can gradually evolve depending on multiple aspects. Belonging and being seen as a local gives someone a certain authority over a place (Garbutt 2009, 90). This comes together in a territorial form of belonging, in which locals or foreign locals set boundaries around the place they consider home. This plays out in the surf break, where (foreign) locals have the experience and the knowledge to be able to catch more waves and can therefore bend the universal etiquette to their benefit. Thus, by being a local, a surfer can narrate a right to set the local rules of behavior and therefore has the right to the waves."