On October 18, 2024, indigenous representatives of the Waurá and Kuikuro from the Brazilian Amazon region of the Rio Xingú visited the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut (IAI).
Autaki Waurá, Hukai Waurá, Kamiha Kuikuro and Yamalui Tuxutapanipi Kuikuro Mehinaku, together with Carlos Fausto and Thiago da Costa Oliveira(Museu Nacional of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) and Aristóteles Barcelos Neto(University of East Anglia), were able to gain an insight into the extensive holdings of the IAI's library and special collections on Amazonia and the Rio Xingú region.
Of great interest were the historical maps, the diverse visual materials and audio recordings on the region, but also the books and journals on the history, economy, environment and cultures of Amazonia and the Rio Xingú. Many of these materials complement the collections of the Ethnologisches Museum SMB SPK (Ethnological Museum SMB SPK) and were created in the same contexts of interaction.
Photographs from the first Xingú expedition (1884-1885) by Karl von den Steinen, for example, or the diary of Paul Ehrenreich, who took part in his second Xingú expedition (1887-1888), are important historical and cultural documents for the Waurá and Kuikuro that complement the ethnographic-historical objects in the Ethnologisches Museum . Some of these materials are already digitized in the Digital Collections of the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut to facilitate location-independent access.
The debate about greater participation of indigenous communities in the collections from their regions of origin has so far focused primarily on objects in museums. However, the visit by the indigenous representatives of the Waurá and Kuikuro makes it clear that it is important to consider a broader spectrum of materials.
The curiosity and enthusiasm of Autaki Waurá, Hukai Waurá, Kamiha Kuikuro and Yamalui Tuxutapanipi Kuikuro Mehinaku have encouraged the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut to continue working on networking the collections on Amazonia. This is also the aim of the project funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation: “Networking – Understanding – Communicating: The Amazon Basin as a Laboratory for the Future” (coordination: Ethnologisches Museum), in which the IAI is involved.
