PAC 2017: Amazonia

 AMAZONIA:
The Shaman and the Mind of the People
April 20 - October 22, 2017

Journey to the Heart of Amazonia: its River, Forest and People

Pointe-à-Callière, the Montreal Archaeology and History Complex, is presenting a new exhibition on Amazonia. The exhibition represents a journey along the Amazon River, through the heart of the Earth’s largest rain forest. It is also an introduction to the history of the Indigenous people living in those far away and not well known places.

The Museum is transformed into the Amazon forest in an immersive and multi-sensory experience that showcases the shamanism and mythology of traditional Amazonian societies, at the same time focusing on their rights, the defence of their ecosystem, and their ways of life. 

Adapted by Pointe-à-Callière from an original concept by the Musée d’ethnographie de Genève (MEG) and with the participation of the Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH) of Brussels, the exhibition features over 500 remarkable objects from some thirty different ethnic groups, and from nine countries in the Amazon basin. For the first time, the unique and fragile splendours of Amazonia cultures are on display in Montreal. On display are shimmering feathered finery, blowpipes, bows and curare-tipped arrows, everyday objects, basketry, masks, musical instruments, and items required by shamans in their use of hallucinogens.

Feathers play a big role in this collection, not just for their colours and ornamental qualities, but because of the fascination they have always held among European collectors. Along with the aesthetic and decorative aspects, practical and sacred elements are also revealed. Arrows coated in curare, a deadly poison used in hunting and made from unique recipes that vary from one village to another. The sources of these poisons can also be employed—in smaller doses—in hallucinogenic powders used by shamans to contact the invisible world.

The exhibition focuses on what is common to Amazonia many ingenious people – shamanism – and on the great diversity of their material culture. The objects come from different communities dotted across the vast forested territory, comprising parts or all of Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Surinam, Guyana and French Guiana. 

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For more information about the museum and its 2017 activities, visit the PAC Museum's website.