The Amazon

Exhibition of the MEG – Musée d’ethnographie de Genève

The Musée d’ethnographie de Genève houses one of Europe’s largest collections of Amazonian objects. Today, they are showcasing them in this exhibition, which presents a large share of their collection, including many never-before-seen objects.

Jewellery, weapons, musical instruments and everyday use objects are just so many illustrations of the most refined arts of some fifteen populations, including the Wayana, Yanomami, Kayapó and Shuar. These material manifestations of Amazonian culture are an expression of a certain symbiosis with the spirit and forest world, which allows visitors to explore the practice of shamanism, common to all populations in the Amazon Basin.

As an introduction, one section is devoted to the Amazon’s pre-Colombian history, ranging from its origins to the conquest, as well as to the history of the collections echoing it, right up to the present day. Testimonies by the Amazon’s inhabitants ultimately allow us to broach the issue of preserving the forest from extinction. 

Thanks to the wealth of visual objects presented here, as well as the sound installations that recreates the atmosphere of the Amazon rainforest, this exhibition offers visitors an immersive experience where films and photographs complete the tour.