Return of sacred mantle marks ‘new history’ for Brazilian indigenous people: Lula

Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday that the return of a sacred shroud that had been in a European museum for more than 300 years marks the beginning of a “new history” for the country’s indigenous peoples.

“The return of the sacred Tupinambá mantle, which was part of the collection of the National Museum of Denmark, marks the beginning of a new history of conquest of indigenous peoples,” said the president at a public event in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in Rio de Janeiro.

Made from red feathers from the guara bird on a cotton base measuring almost 1.80 metres long, the cloak returned to Rio at the beginning of July and is now in the library of the National Museum, located in the same park.

The exuberant piece had been in Denmark since 1689.

“Recognition and respect for indigenous peoples is a priority for my government,” the leftist leader emphasized.

He was applauded by a hundred indigenous people from the Tupinambá people, who travelled 1,200 kilometres by bus from the town of Olivença, in the state of Bahia (northeast), to see the mantle and attend the ceremony.

The natives also demanded the return of the cloak, formerly used in traditional ceremonies, to their “village”.

“It finally returned to its origin, Brazil, but the power structures do not allow it to return to its rightful owners,” said Yakui Tupinambá.

Lula said he had “the obligation and the historic commitment to build in Bahia a place” appropriate for the exhibition of the piece.

The return of the cloak, whose origins are unknown, is in response to diplomatic efforts by the leftist government of Lula, which describes it as a process of “historical restitution.”

– Land demarcation –

Before the president’s speech, the Tupinambás, covered in body paint and waving traditional incense burners, sang songs alluding to the delimitation of their lands in Bahia, a promise made by the government.

“I have been asking for the demarcation of our territories,” said Chief Jamopoty.

The Tupinambás are demanding the demarcation of just over 47,000 hectares, inhabited by some 8,000 families, whose livelihood is fishing and agriculture. The territory, they say, is being devastated by “mining” and “agribusiness.”

Native peoples – 1.7 million of Brazil’s more than 203 million inhabitants – are fighting to claim their lands amid a parliamentary advance that seeks to limit their ancestral spaces.

Lula blamed the conservative-majority Congress for slowing down the demarcation process.

“The majority of congressmen have no commitments to indigenous peoples, they have commitments to large landowners,” he said.

Lula took power in January 2023 after far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro kept his promise not to give “an inch” to indigenous peoples during his four-year term.

According to the left-wing executive, ten indigenous territories have been recognized in the last year.