Finding a home for the Ritxoko

Abstract

By tracing the biography of a collection of Ritxoko, the name given to ceramic dolls made by the Iny Karajá people in the interior of Brazil, this paper reflects on the potential ramifications of repatriation. Changes in the making of the Ritxoko are inseparable from a broader history of contact, the political-ecological entanglements surrounding the resources that enable that making, and the effects of its heritagisation process. The relations in thisnatural-cultural assemblage are embedded in a moral economy that produces heritage and commodity. The analysis argues for repatriation as a method in the endeavour to decolonise museums and re- signify heritage, including the natural heritage that enablesthe making of the Ritxoko. Drawing on the learning of initiatives developed in collaboration with the Iny Karajá, the proposed repatriation could bring about more inclusive forms of curatorshipwith Ritxoko makers as protagonists, a necessary effort to address colonial pasts more critically and rethink possible ecological futures.