Weaving fibres of resistance: Tikuna tree bark and identity in the Amazon
This project will investigate and document different aspects of the production of material culture and practices associated with the ‘Festa da Moça Nova’ (Young Woman’s Festival).
The Tikuna are the most numerous indigenous nation in the Brazilian Amazon and live in communities adjacent to the borders between Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
This collaborative project, led by Renata Peters with Antonio Reis (UCL) and the Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS) with indigenous partners, will investigate the ‘Festa da Moça Nova’ (Young Woman’s Festival), with a focus on the use of tree bark known as ‘tururi’.
This three-day Tikuna rite of passage aims to protect young women from evil spirits during puberty, which also brings harmony to the community. Preparations start with the first menstrual cycle, when the young woman goes into isolation and the community starts the arrangements by carefully choosing the guests, who will produce musical instruments and dance masks made out of tururi and other natural materials.
The term ‘tururi’ is attributed to different artefacts and plants used in their production - but no rigorous botanical identification exists. Besides performing botanical identification, we will document continuity and change in the procurement, choice and extraction of tururi, manufacturing technologies and socio-cultural practices associated with the festival, current uses and significance, as well as choices and uses of natural pigments.
This project is also related to the research theme Material Worlds.
Related outputs
- Peters, R. F. et al. (eds.) 2020. Heritage Conservation and Social Engagement. London: UCL Press. https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/168814
- Peters, R. (2018). Conservation in the contemporary world. In Ethics and practice of conservation. A handbook for the conservation of ethnographic heritage’. Rome: The Vatican Press
- Delgado Vieira, A. C., Xavier Cury, M., Peters, R. F. (2017). Saving the present in Brazil: Perspectives from collaborations with indigenous museums. In (Ed.) J. Bridgland, ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference Preprints, Copenhagen, 4–8 September 2017, art. 1201. Paris: International Council of Museum. Available from: http://icom-ccpublications-online.org
/PublicationDetail.aspx?cid=6c43bbd7-13bb-45f9-90d1-1887afe755f8
Funding
- British Museum Endangered Material Knowledge Programme (EMKP award, 2024-26)
Project website
