'Berta was the first'

Ethnologist points out Berta Gleizer Ribeiro's contribution to Brazilian anthropology and the cause of indigenous peoples

Abstract

He met anthropologist Berta Gleizer Ribeiro in 1978 and continued their dialogue until her death in 1997. Now a professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Renato Amram Ahtias maintains an intense relationship with Berta's work, whose doctoral thesis still helps him understand shamanic objects found in museums. “I think Berta Ribeiro was the first anthropologist to develop a relationship of engagement with indigenous culture and art,” ventures Athias, emphasizing that the anthropologist “not only produced academic work,” but was also a pioneer in extending exhibitions of ethnographic material to a wider, non-specialized audience, demonstrating one facet of her “political engagement with indigenous peoples.” In this interview, given to Yolanda Lima Lôbo -- one of the organizers of the dossier “Women and the production of science in Brazil: the contribution of anthropologist Berta Gleizer Ribeiro” --, Renato Athias tells a little about the behind-the-scenes of his relationship with the anthropologist and testifies to the relevance of her legacy.