OUT OF THE AMAZON 9933 their daily life. It also records the complete marake ritual initiation into adulthood. Over the years the museum has continued to receive donations of documentary material, among them a generous gift from the Bowers Museum of reels of fi lm taken in the 1950s pertaining to various Amazon tribes. The present exhibition, Out of the Amazon: Life on the River, is organized along roughly the same lines as previous exhibits. It focuses on the rituals and lifestyles of thirteen different tribal groups and is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog. This exhibition features some 300 objects divided into seven display areas within 6,500 square feet of display space. It has several signifi cant highlights, which we will briefl y describe. The Shuar display features an extremely rare shaman’s toucan-pelt tunic (fi g. 16), a pectoral, gender-specifi c headdresses, and body ornaments, all from the Barr Family Collection. A replica of a Shuar dwelling contains a men’s loom, weavings, and weapons on one side and women’s skirts and utilitarian baskets on the opposite side. Another part of the exhibit showcases Enawenê Nawê ceremonial headdresses (fi g. 11), clan-specifi c fl utes, neck ornaments, a loom, and fi shing gear. Film footage graciously provided by UNESCO illustrates Enawenê Nawê daily life and rituals. A display of beautifully carved Ye’kuana shaman stools in the shape of jaguars and a crocodile also features a carved fi gure of the primordial shaman (fi g. 15). A group of decorated baskets depicting images of mythological beings and animals is displayed next to rare carved ceremonial daggers. Tiriyo headdress/body costumes and a collection of headdresses are displayed together on a platform against the backdrop of the marake initiation section of the 1940 Hardenbrook fi lm. This leads into the Wayana Apalai presentation of the complete array of orok, or headdresses/ body costumes (fi g. 13). Scepters, ant shields, fl utes, rattles, and body decorations, including beaded waist ornaments worn by initiates and participants alike during the marake ritual, complete this section. Nearby we fi nd the mask/body costumes and a maruana disc used in the consecration ritual of a new dwelling. An extremely rare Mashco ritual instrument known as tómbi, worn on the arm by initiates during initiation ceremonies into adulthood (fi g. 7), appears in the following section. Extensive displays of material culture by the Yanomamö (fi g. 14), Campa (fi g. 18), Wai Wai, Bororo, Rikbaktsá (fi g. 17), and Pa’ikwené (fi g. 19) lead to the fi nal highlight of the exhibition: objects of the Piaroa culture, all from the Milliken Collection and described earlier. While Out of the Amazon represents a milestone in the display and interpretation of Amazonian material culture, HMNS realizes that not everyone can travel to Houston. With this in mind, the museum is preparing online exhibits of its widely varied holdings, including its Amazon collection. This endeavor embodies the museum’s mission: “To preserve and advance the general knowledge of natural science; to enhance in individuals the knowledge of and delight in natural science and related subjects.” Out of the Amazon: Life on the River Through October 16, 2016 Houston Museum of Natural Science hmns.org NOTE * The HMNS installation of Vanishing Worlds also included an impressive photographic display by Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier, which provided additional insight into the daily lives of Kayapó women. PROGRAMMING The Houston Museum of Natural Science is within walking distance of the campus of Rice University. Over the years the museum and the university’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies have collaborated on lecture series to accompany its exhibits. From September 29, 2015, to November 3, 2015, fi ve speakers presented on a broad array of topics related to the Amazon. • Dr. Dirk Van Tuerenhout lectured on Amazon region prehistory. Many were surprised to hear that recent discoveries suggest that portions of the Amazonian rainforest looked very different just 500 years ago. • Dr. Nancy Greig, director of the museum’s Cockrell Butterfl y Center, talked about the biodiversity of Amazonian plants and the wide range of plants traditionally harnessed for medicinal purposes. • Dr. Alida Metcalf, professor of history and chair of the History Department at Rice University, discussed how sixteenth-century patterns of colonization and the expansion of the frontier continue to shape life in the Amazon, from urban areas to the Amazon’s most remote regions. • Dr. Scott Solomon, professor in practice in the Department of BioSciences at Rice University, explored animal diversity in the Amazon. He reviewed some of the unique species that inhabit Amazonian forests and explained why their evolutionary origins continue to puzzle biologists. • Dr. Amy Dunham, assistant professor in the Department of BioSciences at Rice University, described the impact humans have had on tropical ecosystems over time. She also shared promising strategies for grounding conservation in an understanding of local cultures. FIG. 19 (above): Ceremonial headdress. Pa’ikwené. Urucauá River, Brazil or French Guiana. Second half of the 20th century. Balsa wood, cotton fi ber, bee’s wax, annatto pigment, seedpods, feathers. H: 102 cm. Collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, inv. 40.2015.22. The wooden nape may be a crosscultural infl uence stemming from the French Foreign Legion hat, kepi, which had a pronounced nape.
T81E
To see the actual publication please follow the link above