Collaborating on the Berlin Mazatec Collection

Abstract

In 2024, the Mazatec writer and librarian Gabriela García came to Berlin to study the Mazatec collection in the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Acquired by the museum from Wilhelm Bauer in 1903 and 1908, this ethnographic collection is a testimony to the past life of the Mazatec people, which has changed profoundly since then. In a joint project between the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, and the Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova, Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca, Mexico, a travelling photographic exhibition has made this account of the past accessible to Mazatec communities. In addition, the collector’s historical photos and language recordings are also subject to the ongoing collaboration. This article provides an overview of the projects’ work in process and closes with an interview with Gabriela García, in which she describes her experiences with the collaboration.