I entered the Amazonia exhibit in Museum of Anthropology, there was an object that I saw when I first entered the exhibit. The object was a wooden doll which got my interest but it was the first object of the exhibit so I didn’t lose much time and went to see the other ones. At the end I saw myself coming back to the dolls because of the designs on them. The drawings on the dolls were very geometric and mostly everywhere around the doll; the face, torso, arms and legs.

Shipibo people’s geometric designs on a doll

It says that these dolls belonged to young girls on the explanation below. The girls used these dolls to practice painting on real skin, the dolls were also toys even if they are for practice.

The thing that was interesting for me was the part where it explains that people drew shapes on their torso when they are not healthy. In Shipibo beliefs, health is connected to beauty so these drawings made by shamans were used to cure the people. I think that this belief is somehow connected to how we try different things with our appearances to feel better. Getting a hair cut, doing makeup, getting tattoos and dying our hair are examples of how we change our appearance for our mental health. While it does not compare to modern medicine, it is still considered medicine in my opinion.

There is also another explanation about health: ‘Beauty and health are one and the same thing. Both are likely to be obtained and maintained by the morals of a good life.’ (Amazonia) Which got me thinking about the beauty standards of the Amazonian people. Beauty and health standards are both determined by  fairness. Which is in my opinion something that we have a problem with as a society. There are a lot to learn from Shipibo people of the Amazon about standards, such as if we should consider someone who is healthy and beautiful but malicious, a healthy and beautiful member of the society or not. I think that Amazonian people are better than Western societies in determining the beauty of a person. Which is something to think about if we want to build a better understanding in my opinion.

Works Cited:

Porto, Nuno. “Amazonia Exhibit.” Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, 10 Mar. 2017.