Indigenous people from the Tupinambá tribe in Brazil celebrated the return of a sacred cloak made from feathers of the scarlet ibis, which had been absent for almost four centuries. The artifact, residing in Copenhagen, was donated by the Danish National Museum back to Brazil. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Indigenous Peoples Minister Sonia Guajajara participated in a ceremony at Brazil’s National Museum in Rio de Janeiro to mark the cloak’s homecoming.
The Tupinambá people conducted rituals and prayers with the cloak, viewing it as a living ancestor. The emotional reunion symbolized a reconnection with their cultural heritage that had been taken away during colonization. Efforts to repatriate cultural objects have been growing globally, with Denmark’s National Museum receiving and accepting the request from Brazil as a way to help rebuild Brazil’s national museum that was destroyed in a fire in 2018.
The return of this significant Indigenous artifact holds great importance for the Tupinambá people as they continue to fight for their land rights to be recognized and protected. Despite the slow progress in expelling illegal miners and establishing Indigenous reserves, the cloak’s return is seen as a source of strength and hope for the demarcation of their territories. The ceremony highlighted the unity and determination of the Tupinambá tribe in reclaiming their cultural heritage and land rights.
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Photo credit wtop.com
