初の先住民ファッションショーは「抵抗の証し」 ブラジル

【ＡＦＰ＝時事】ブラジル・アマゾンの最大都市マナウスで、先住民初のファッションショーが開かれている。（写真はショーに参加するモデル）
　モデルを務めるモアン・ムンドゥルクさん（１９）は、「私たちの縫製や工芸の才能をぜひ見てもらいたいです。先住民も（ファッションの世界で）成功できることを世界中に示したいのです」と語った。
　４月いっぱい行われているこのショーでは、１５の先住民を代表する男女３７人のモデルが舞台に立ち、先住民デザイナー２９人の作品を披露する。会場は、現在は文化センターとなっている２０世紀初頭の宮殿「パラシオリオネグロ」だ。
　主催者のレビー・フェレイラ氏（２７）はショーについて、「抵抗の一つの形。固定観念を克服する一手段なのです」と語る。 「ここマナウスでは残念ながら、先住民の血を引いていると認めることを恥じたり、恐れたりする人がたくさんいます。私たちの目標は、誰もが受け入れられていると感じられること、衣服を通じて私たちの文化を示すことです」
　デザイナーは作品に自然の要素──アマゾンのイノシシといわれるペッカリーの牙や、ガラナの赤い実、アサイーの種、ココナツの殻など──を取り入れている。
　ステージでは、司会者がそれぞれのモデルの出身である先住民を紹介し、着用している服や装飾品が象徴する意味を説明する。
　ショーの期間中、マナウスから３５００キロ離れた首都ブラジリアでは、先住民の土地と権利の保護を求める恒例のデモ「テラリブレ（自由の土地）」に数千人が参加。採鉱・農業企業のために先住民居留地の開発を推進するジャイル・ボルソナロ政権に抗議した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/04/25-13:08）

Proudly donning majestic feathered headdresses, models sing an ode to the rain while a makeup artist draws geometric patterns on their faces, arms and thighs in preparation for Brazil's first-ever indigenous fashion show.
It is a feeling of happiness and pride, 19-year-old model Moan Munduruku told AFP ahead of his turn on the catwalk in Manaus in the Brazilian Amazon.
We are very eager to show our talent, in sewing, in crafts. To show the world that indigenous people can also succeed in fashion, he said.
Moan is one of 37 models -- women and men -- representing 15 indigenous groups of Brazil to take part in the month-long Intercultural Exhibition of Indigenous Fashion in the Brazilian Amazon's largest city.
For the entire month of April, the catwalk is to host the creations of 29 indigenous designers.
It's a form of resistance, a way to overcome stereotypes, event organizer Reby Ferreira, 27, told AFP.
Here in Manaus, unfortunately, many people are ashamed or even afraid to recognize that they have indigenous blood. Our goal is for everyone to feel included and to show our culture to everyone through these clothes.
The designers use natural elements in their creations, including the spearlike teeth of the peccary -- an Amazonian boar -- the red guarana fruit, acai seeds and coconut shells.
The same geometric patterns sported by the models are repeated in the fabrics that envelop them.
My outfit evokes the (coming-of-age) ritual of the Ticuna girl, said Kimpuramana, a 17-year-old model sporting a white dress adorned with black diagonal stripes.
On the runway, a presenter announces the ethnicity of each model and explains the symbolism behind the clothes and accessories they wear.
Saturday's show was hosted at the Rio Negro Palace, an early 20th century building that now serves as a cultural center.
I feel privileged to have been able to attend such an event in this place. We are generally excluded from such sites. Today I can see my people telling their story through fashion, said participant Bianca Mura, 24.
As the models walked down the catwalk to appreciative applause, thousands of indigenous Brazilians gathered in the capital Brasilia some 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles) away, for an annual mass camping event called Terra Livre (Free Land).
The gathering is both a rally for indigenous rights and a protest against the government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who is in favor of opening indigenous reserves -- already hard hit by deforestation -- to mining and farming companies.