The Waurá belong to the so-called Xingú Indian tribes, who live at the upper waters of the Rio Xingú in Brazil. Their area of settlement, the Parque Indígena do Xingú, is some kind of reservation in which also other indigenous ethnic groups reside. They were able to preserve wide parts of their traditional culture. Holger Franke from the Saxon town of Zittau travelled to this region on several occasions and established contact to the Waurá.
During his travels, he observed everyday life as well as celebrations of the people in one of the settlements. Several photographs, videos, objects and many authentic drawings by Waurá Indians of different age groups illustrate contemporary life of indigenous people in the Xingú region. Life in the village is documented as well as the preparation of manioc tuber, pottery and different celebrations and ceremonies. Myths of Waurá mirror life and fauna in the tropic woodland in manifold ways.
At the Völkerkundemuseum Herrnhut several exhibitions (1989, 1995/96) dealt with different ethnic groups of the Xingú region. This special exhibition, however, shows the current situation. With this presentation of an ethnic group of the tropic rain forest of South America, visitors are able to compare objects of the permanent exhibition. Here, similar people of the neighbouring Suriname with their historic culture from the 19th century are presented.
in GRASSI Museum Leipzig
