Founded in 1966, Índia Vanuíre Historical and Pedagogical Museum, institution from the Secretariat of Culture from the State of São Paulo, in Tupã (SP), gathers one of the most important ethnographic collections of the country. With about 38 thousand pieces, which represent different Brazilian indigenous communities, from the Kayapó to the Yanomámi – including the Kaingang and the Krenak, people who still inhabit the west region of the State. In the collection there are hunting, working and domestic objects as well as other ones for everyday life activities on the indigenous lands, besides feathers, ceramic and objects used in religious rituals.
With a modern architectural design, made of concrete, the building was built in 1980 and, after being renovated, it was reopened in 2010 with a revitalized and long-term exhibition and changes inside and outside the building. Besides the exhibitions and the storage areas, the museum has also achieved an auditorium for 60 people.
At the new museum exhibition, it is possible to check concepts such as the interculturality, diversity and the difference. The first exhibition module shows the history of the city in a dialogue with the contemporaneous, the historic and the constitution of the city. The second and third modules show the Vanuíre indigenous lands and the Kaingang and Krenak ethnic groups, with their culture and resistance.
The museum still gathers pieces of information and objects from other 47 ethnic indigenous groups from Brazil. There is also a space dedicated to the “feather art” and the exhibition of fabric and basketworks, with multimedia resources texts.
The museum is managed by ACAM Portinari (Cultural Association to Support the Casa de Portinari Museum), a Social Culture Organization, through an agreement with the State Government.
Vanuíre is considered as the great pacifier of the conflicts between the white man and the Kaingang, in the west of São Paulo. She, according to researchers’ report, would have come from Paraná, but for lack of historical documentation, it is not possible to state where and when she was born. Vanuíre died in 1918, at the Icatu Kaingang Village, in Braúna city, region of Araçatuba.
According to reports, as she was tired of seeing her people being decimated, Vanuíre climbed a ten-meter-tall Cariniana (jequitibá) trunk, where she would stay from daybreak to sunset, singing peace songs. On March 19, 1912, she experienced the result of her efforts in aiding the pacification. On that occasion, ten Kaingang warriors went to the white men camp, as a sign of peace, and they were received as brothers.
Índia Vanuíre Historical and Pedagogical Museum
Address: Rua Coroados, 521 – Centro – Tupã/SP – CEP: 17600-010
Working Times: from Tuesday to Sunday, from 9.00 to 18.00
Entrance fee: free
Information: +55 (14) 3491-2333
contato@museuindiavanuire.org.br
www.museuindiavanuire.org.br
Take a virtual tour and get to know the Índia Vanuíre Museum.
