Brazil Officially Welcomes Return of Sacred Indigenous Cloak from Denmark

Brazil officially received an Indigenous cloak from Denmark on Thursday, crafted from 4,000 red feathers of the scarlet ibis, a significant cultural artifact that was taken during the 17th-century colonial period.

The ceremony at Brazil’s National Museum in Rio de Janeiro was attended by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, highlighting the importance of the cloak’s repatriation to Brazil. The feathered ceremonial cape is traditionally used in religious rituals by the Tupinamba people of Bahia, located in northeastern Brazil, and was removed during the Dutch occupation of the region.

The cloak was first documented in a Danish inventory in 1689, although it is believed to have been taken from Brazil approximately 50 years earlier. By the 21st century, it was part of Denmark’s National Museum collection. In 2000, the museum lent the cloak for an exhibition in Sao Paulo, where a Tupinamba leader saw it and called for its return. After extensive diplomatic discussions, Denmark agreed to return the cloak, which was repatriated in July.

Around 170 Tupinamba individuals traveled from southern Bahia to Rio for the celebration of its return. Cacique Jamopoty Tupinamba expressed the importance of reclaiming such artifacts, stating, “It is crucial they return what isn’t theirs and rightfully belongs to us. Our heritage strengthens our identity.”

From the early Portuguese expeditions in the 16th century, Indigenous cultural items were taken to Europe as representations of new territories and subsequently entered museums and private collections. A notable fresco painted in 1674 in the Palace of Versailles illustrates the newly discovered America represented as a woman adorned with a Tupinamba cloak.

Cultural heritage activist Gliceria Tupinamba noted that there are still 10 more such cloaks in Europe, preserved in various museums and libraries across Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Denmark. She remarked, “It took more than 20 years to get the cloak back. Its return is a symbol of the protection of our cultural and land rights that are under threat today in Brazil.”