Photographs of watercolor paintings by Feliciano Lana, a member of the Desana tribe in Brazil, made at the request of Dr. Berta Ribeiro in 1985 while she was studying the tribe. The paintings illustrate three stories, narrated or translated by Ribeiro: "The Story of Gain Panan and of the Peach Palm that He Brought from the Invisible Fish World," "Desana Genesis: The Beginning before the Beginning," and "The Creation of the World."
Biographical/Historical note:
Berta Gleizer Ribeiro (1924-1997) was born in Romania and moved to Rio de Janeiro with her family in 1933. She acquired a PhD in social anthropology from the University of Sao Paulo and took a position teaching at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) National Museum and School of Fine Arts. With her husband, Darcy Ribeiro, she coauthored several books on Brazilian tribes, including Suma Etnologica Brasileria, Arte plumária dos índios kaapor, and Dicionário do artesanato indígena.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 91-37
Location of Other Archival Materials:
"Antes o mundo nao existia: a mitologia heroica dos indios Desana / Umusin Panlon Kumu, Tolaman Kenhiri," with an introduction by Berta G. Ribeiro was also donated with this collection and has been relocated to the National Anthropological Archives Reference Files.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Watercolors
Citation:
Photo Lot 91-37, Berta Gleizer Ribeiro photographs of watercolor paintings by Feliciano Lana, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
