PARIS.- Through the perspectives of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon, the exhibition sheds new light on a region often reduced to the stereotype of an exotic nature disconnected from the contemporary world.

Resulting from a double curatorship, the exhibition focuses on the concepts of creations and futures from the point of view of its inhabitants. The richness and diveristy of Amazonian arts are also brought to light through a dialogue between the collections of the musée du quai Branly and the works of contemporary Indigenous artists. An important place is given to intangible heritage and ephemeral arts : oral traditions (music, songs, linguistic diversity, etc.), body painting, drawings and graphics expressions, and traditional knowledge.

Creating the Forest, Inhabiting Worlds

According to Amazonian mythologies, the world emerges from a constant process of transformation, rooted in the continuity of a cycle, and the extension of what previously existed. Unlike Western scientific and religious accounts, there is no absolute origin, no first world, no primordial being who is not itself the outcome of renewal, or of prior realities and entities.

The creation of the world is a dynamic in perpetual motion. After the intervention of the first creator beings who shaped this world and its inhabitants – humans, spirits, animals, and plants – creation continues. Humans therefore have the responsibility of maintaining the vitality of the world. Through shamanic knowledge, rituals, and ceremonies, they act to ensure that creation endures and that life never ceases to circulate.

The first section of the exhibition presents two creation myths: that of the Iny Karajá, which explains the aquatic origin of humanity; and that of the peoples of the Rio Negro (Tukano, Desana, Barasana, Tuyuka), according to which humans were created from the ornaments of the Thunder people.

A special focus is given to various conceptions of the beauty of creation, such as those of the Baniwa and their relationship with sacred animals – beings that can be heard but not seen. Through an immersive installation, visitors are invited to listen to the music of the demiurge Kowai, whose body is composed of the sounds of forest animals.

The exhibition also features recent archaeological discoveries that offer a deeper understanding of how Amazonian landscapes have been shaped by human intervention.

Making humans

In the Amazon, conceptions of human beings go far beyond mere biological characteristics. From birth, individuals possess multiple potentialities, and their destinies may evolve toward humanity or toward other forms of existence, whether animals, spirits, or outsiders. Becoming human is a lifetime process, shaped by naming ceremonies, rites of passage, shamanic or secular care, and relationships with non-human beings.

Humanity is thus constructed through relationships, practices, and the transmission of knowledge. It is founded on an ever-evolving network of interactions rather than on an immutable essence.

This section showcases the renowned art of featherwork, presenting the rich diversity of Amazonian peoples and their ceremonial adornments, alongside Marajoara funerary urns from the pre-Columbian era. Body painting is explored through the photography of Iano Mac Yawalapiti and a site-specific intervention by Clarisse Taulewali. Oral traditions are also brought to the forefront in a sound installation where both human and non-human languages are presented.

Creating the Forest, Inhabiting Worlds

According to Amazonian mythologies, the world emerges from a constant process of transformation, rooted in the continuity of a cycle, and the extension of what previously existed. Unlike Western scientific and religious accounts, there is no absolute origin, no first world, no primordial being who is not itself the outcome of renewal, or of prior realities and entities.

The creation of the world is a dynamic in perpetual motion. After the intervention of the first creator beings who shaped this world and its inhabitants – humans, spirits, animals, and plants – creation continues. Humans therefore have the responsibility of maintaining the vitality of the world. Through shamanic knowledge, rituals, and ceremonies, they act to ensure that creation endures and that life never ceases to circulate.

The first section of the exhibition presents two creation myths: that of the Iny Karajá, which explains the aquatic origin of humanity; and that of the peoples of the Rio Negro (Tukano, Desana, Barasana, Tuyuka), according to which humans were created from the ornaments of the Thunder people.

A special focus is given to various conceptions of the beauty of creation, such as those of the Baniwa and their relationship with sacred animals – beings that can be heard but not seen. Through an immersive installation, visitors are invited to listen to the music of the demiurge Kowai, whose body is composed of the sounds of forest animals.

The exhibition also features recent archaeological discoveries that offer a deeper understanding of how Amazonian landscapes have been shaped by human intervention.

Making humans

In the Amazon, conceptions of human beings go far beyond mere biological characteristics. From birth, individuals possess multiple potentialities, and their destinies may evolve toward humanity or toward other forms of existence, whether animals, spirits, or outsiders. Becoming human is a lifetime process, shaped by naming ceremonies, rites of passage, shamanic or secular care, and relationships with non-human beings.

Humanity is thus constructed through relationships, practices, and the transmission of knowledge. It is founded on an ever-evolving network of interactions rather than on an immutable essence.

This section showcases the renowned art of featherwork, presenting the rich diversity of Amazonian peoples and their ceremonial adornments, alongside Marajoara funerary urns from the pre-Columbian era. Body painting is explored through the photography of Iano Mac Yawalapiti and a site-specific intervention by Clarisse Taulewali. Oral traditions are also brought to the forefront in a sound installation where both human and non-human languages are presented.

Understanding and exploring worlds

Amazonian people share certain practices with Western science, such as empirical experimentation. For instance, they may predict the arrival of the rainy season by observing the migration patterns of specific bird species. Their ecological knowledge is grounded in careful observation of the relationships between animals and plants interactions that often escape scientists.

However, Indigenous knowledge systems also draw on other forms of knowledge production, such as dreams and visions. A hunter may, through a dream, persuade the game he wishes to hunt to offer itself to him, while a shaman may, through visionary experiences, visit the dwelling of a spirit to seek guidance in healing an illness.

These knowledge systems are dynamic: they evolve in response to changes in the world, adapt to emerging challenges such as climate change, and are enriched by exchanges with Western science.

Multiplying futures

Indigenous Peoples continue to live, create and transmit their cultures.

Even after facing colonial violence and major changes, they have managed to keep their traditions alive and adapt them. Their cultures are not set in stone. They transform, adapt and recompose.

Not content merely surviving, they affirm the vitality of their knowledge, their links with the land, and their connections with other living beings. Living in the present with their own landmarks, imagining the future from their own worlds, they show that other ways of living and thinking are possible.

Rember Yahuarcani's work highlights the threats facing the Amazon, including the risks posed by epidemics, and the destruction of the environment.

This section also presents the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples, based on their close relationship with nature. The world of indigenous gardens is highlighted by a selection of objects - basketry, tools, ornaments, ritual masks - accompanied by creations by contemporary artists such as Inga artist Carlos Jacanamijoy, Yanomami artists Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe and Joseca Mokahesi, and performers Uyra Sodoma and Zahy Tentehar. This last section includes an exceptional loan from Brazil, a rare collection of objects from the “isolated” peoples, who have chosen to live without contact with the outside world.