Femme Jibóia
My individual exhibition Femme Jiboia explores the deep and multifaceted significance of the jiboia (the sacred boa constrictor) in Brazilian Indigenous culture.
For our many ethnic groups, such as the Huni Kuin, the jiboia is a sacred being associated with various cultural and spiritual aspects. As the guardian of Indigenous graphic symbols, it represents traditional patterns and designs used in crafts and other cultural expressions. In Indigenous culture, geometric shapes symbolize not only mathematical knowledge and rational thought but also the very essence of cultures and ethnicities. Their repetition signifies social organization and respect for rules within communities.
The jiboia is a symbol of protection and wisdom, frequently mentioned in myths and stories. It is powerful, hypnotic, influential, and a guardian of forests and rivers. Moving in curves and in harmony with nature, it remains in constant contact with the earth while possessing the strength and mastery to move powerfully.
The miniature vessels and ceramics incorporated into my sculptural work Femme Jibóia symbolize shared labor, production phases, and the power of women to organize efficiently in order to protect their communities.
The thorns observed in the works symbolize the difficult phases of life, challenges, and obstacles, as well as the strength and resilience needed to overcome them. They remind us that despite adversity, growth and flourishing are possible—just like thorny plants that survive in hostile environments. This symbolism is found in myths and healing practices, where thorns represent overcoming pain and difficulties, serving as a metaphor for life’s struggles and the hardships faced by individuals.
The jiboia, composed of tail, body, and head, represents the resistance of communities against adversity and the challenges imposed by colonizers. As a symbol of protection and stability, snakes are both protectors and devourers, demanding respect. The jiboia embodies the woman, the spiritual entity guarding the entrance to tribal communities. When an Indigenous person wishes to explore the outside world, the jiboia does not stop them but does not allow them to return, thus protecting those within the community from external influences.
Through Femme Jibóia, feminine elements are highlighted, always present in acts of labor and sustenance, where tasks are equally distributed.
As a committed feminist, I emphasize the importance of women’s roles in preserving and transmitting cultural values while affirming our power and resilience in facing contemporary challenges.
In Indigenous life, the jiboia slithers like a thread between worlds, safeguarding the essence of ancestral wisdom and enveloping the collective soul with its eternal spiritual protection.
Kássia Borges Mytara, 2025
Fauna and Flora – From the Perspective of Brazilian Indigenous Peoples
The relationship of Brazilian Indigenous peoples with animals and forests is deeply spiritual, symbolic, and functional. Within the Indigenous cultures of Brazil, animals are not merely part of the ecosystem; they often hold roles as guardians, teachers, and fundamental elements of mythology and ancestral knowledge.
The example of the jiboia, in the work of Brazilian artist Kássia Borges Mytara, clearly illustrates this: a sacred creature that, in addition to representing protection and wisdom, acts as a connection between the spiritual and the physical, safeguarding communal principles and reinforcing essential values of social organization—in this specific case, through the artist’s feminine perspective.
For Indigenous peoples in Brazil, animals are seen as beings interconnected with human life and the environment, respected not only for their natural abilities but also for what they symbolize culturally and spiritually. Often, they serve as central figures in rituals and healing practices, conveying messages of resilience, strength, and harmony with nature.
Similarly, flora plays a crucial role. Plants and vegetation are inseparable from Indigenous ways of life, used for medicinal purposes, sustenance, and symbolic practices. Thorns — as highlighted in Kássia Borges Mytara’s works — exemplify resilience in the face of challenges. Together, plants and animals form a harmonious system that embodies lessons of coexistence, adaptation, and balance, which Indigenous peoples pass down through generations.
For Brazil’s Indigenous peoples, fauna and flora are not merely resources; they are partners in the construction and perpetuation of cultural, spiritual, and communal identity. This holistic vision reinforces a symbiotic connection with the earth and natural elements, transcending mere material interaction and establishing a spiritual and ethical foundation for existence. As such, animals and vegetation become fundamental parts of cultural resistance, transmitted wisdom, and the preservation of traditions in the face of modernity and environmental impacts.
Femme Jibóia, Kássia Borges Mytara’s first exhibition at our Parisian gallery, which places the jiboia as its central image, exemplifies the role of the animal not only as a protector but also as a symbol of balance between the spiritual and the material, the past and the present.
This relationship is not just a form of subsistence but a profound bond between Indigenous peoples and their natural world, consolidating fauna and flora as guardians not only of physical survival but also of the identity and wisdom of Brazil’s native peoples.
Ricardo Fernandes, 2025