The month of April is dedicated to the struggle and political and cultural resistance of indigenous peoples. To this end, the Casa do Maranhão – a cultural institution linked to the State Secretariat of Culture (Secma) – located in São Luís, has prepared a special program on the theme "Indigenous Peoples and the Museum Space: A reinterpretation of socio-museological practices in the face of traditional knowledge and practices". A series of activities, some with the support of ISPN, have been planned for this occasion, including exhibitions, documentary screenings, discussion groups, and other educational spaces.
“The goal of the program is to demystify the figure of the indigenous person as something romantic, exotic, with only folkloric importance to the culture. It is a moment to narrate the history that the books don't tell,” explained the director of Casa do Maranhão, Iguatemy Carvalho.
The program includes the screening of the short film and the photographic exhibition “Wyra'u Haw – The Great Feast” from the locality of Piçarra Preta, Rio Pindaré Indigenous Land, in the municipality of Bom Jardim (MA) – which portrays the ritual of the Guajajara indigenous people when a girl enters her menstrual cycle for the first time and a boy enters puberty. The initiative was supported by ISPN and Vale, within the scope of the Basic Environmental Plan – Indigenous Component (PBACI), through the Cultural Strengthening Subprogram.
The exhibition is the result of the work of the Pinga Pinga communication collective. The group brings together 10 young people from traditional and indigenous communities in the Pindaré Valley region. Some of them participated in audiovisual training through the NGO Vídeo nas Aldeias (@videonasaldeias), as part of the PBACI, implemented by ISPN.
These 23 images capture scenes from the Moqueado Festival, also known as the "Ritual of the Young Girl"—a centuries-old tradition preserved by the Guajajara people in Maranhão, one of the largest indigenous groups in Brazil. The event symbolizes the transition from childhood to adulthood. After undergoing the ritual, the girl is ready to perform all the duties of adult women in the village.
Genilson Guajajara (@genilsonguajajara), a young indigenous man from the Piçarra Preta Village (Rio Pindaré Indigenous Land), is a member of the Pinga Pinga collective and is very proud to see his work exhibited in a large cultural space in the capital of Maranhão. “The exhibition, both of the short film and the photographs, is important to us because it tells the story of my people. It shows my culture. And it is also a form of resistance,” he explains.
The program at Casa do Maranhão runs until the 30th of this month, with free admission. The venue is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 9 am to 18 pm, and on Sundays from 9 am to 13:30 pm.
For more information, click here.
Check out more photos from the exhibition, also by the young artist Genilson Gajajara:
