OUT OF THE AMAZON 91 FIG. 16: Ceremonial tunic worn by shamans and adult men. Shuar, Zamora, and Morona provinces, Ecuador. Before 1958. Collected by Donald H. Biery, Ecuador, 1955–1958. Barkcloth, toucan pelts, parrot feathers. H: 82 cm. Collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, inv. 2011.1879.01. Gift of Melza and F. T. Barr. body ornaments used during the different stages of name-giving ceremonies were also featured (fi gs. 4 and 6).* A section representing the Ticuna tribe emphasized the body costumes associated with the moça nova initiation into adulthood of adolescent girls (fi g. 8). The Shipibo-Conibo were represented by a wide array of large clay vessels (fi g. 10), as well as an important group of woven, stitched, and painted textiles. Also shown was a complete set of fi shing and hunting utensils, collected in the 1970s and gifted to the collection by Carlin Otto, who visited the exhibition at the Cantor Center of the Arts. Vanishing Worlds concluded with a display of Shuar material culture, which also featured newly identifi ed tunics and pectorals of the Mayna tribe, formally considered Shuar (fi g. 9). With its exposure at so many venues, Vanishing Worlds inspired considerable public interest and additional donor gifting to HMNS. During the opening night at the Houston venue I met a lovely couple, Melza and F. T. Barr. Melza told me about her father, Donald H. Biery, who collected Shuar objects and photographed Shuar people and shamans between 1955 and 1958 while working in Ecuador (fi g. 12). Her father’s collection of thirty-six objects, along with associated photographs, was later gifted to the museum. They are featured in the present exhibit. Around the same time, the museum received the Baker-Belanger Collection of twenty-seven beautiful Ye’kuana baskets, which were accompanied by valuable and complete documentation of their mythical interpretations. A collection of great importance was formed in situ during the 1970s by Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs Milliken. It consists of 422 Piaroa and Ye’kuana objects. Dr. Milliken donated 125 pieces to HMNS in 2000, and additional gifts were made in 2013 and 2015. This collection includes superb Ye’kuana examples of beautifully carved wooden shaman stools, carvings of the primordial shamans, headdresses, utilitarian objects, weapons, and shaman baskets, the latter accompanied by the utensils used in healing rituals. Among the Piaroa materials are rare redyo spirit masks, representing the spirits of bees, Orinoco crocodiles, howler monkeys, tarantulas, deer, and forest spirits, all worn during the warime ritual. The Piaroa material from this
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