Colourful Neck covering Headdress "Myhara" , Rikbaktsa People, Brasil.
67 x 23 cm
293
Copyright The Artist
€ 6,990.00
Further images
The ethnic group of the Rikbaktsa lives in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil. They use the natural resources within their territory to survive. They hunt, fish, grow crops and gather their food. Ribaktsa men and women don’t believe in a supreme God. They assume that nature is inhabited by countless mythical and supernatural beings. Shamans play an essential role in their community. Sometimes they are paid for their services in feathers and feather crowns. The feather headdresses of the Shamans can, for example, denote their connection with bird spirits. Ceremonies of all kinds are linked to the agricultural cycles of growth and harvest. For instance, on the occasion of a celebration in May/June, clan members show their body paintings and feather ornaments, play the flute and sing songs etc. Feather diadems express a person’s stage in life. A boy, who hasn’t been initiated to adulthood, wears a crown made by small bird feathers (e.g. parakeet feathers) during ceremonies. This colourful headdress (20th C) is made out of a woven crown, decorated with feathers of the blue Ara, the Cracis and the Agami and intertwined with human hair.