RENATO MONTEIRO ATHIAS

At the turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries, indigenous villages in the Upper Rio Negro region faced violent persecution from religious missions. Communal houses were burned and ritual objects were seized, often sold to museums in Brazil and abroad. This, and the creation of boarding schools for indigenous children at mission posts, led to significant changes in the social structure of these indigenous groups. Traditional communal homes were replaced by individual family houses, disrupting social organization and kinship networks. Ritual practices were banned, deemed part of a “cult to the devil”. This funding request aims to support the organization of two simultaneous meetings during which to document shamanic objects removed from the region and now held in museums. The main promoter of this initiative is the Virtual Museum of the Indigenous Peoples of the Upper Rio Negro (FOIRN), with support from researchers from the UFPE, the University of Bologna, and the Missionary Museum of Colle Don Bosco (Asti/Italy). The first meeting will take place in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, State of Amazonas, and the second at the Missionary Museum in Italy. The goal is to create detailed museological documentation to support the virtual repatriation of these objects.