Find Out More about Kayeb, the Mythic Stool

One stool that stands out in the exhibition is the Kayeb, one of the two in the show to represent a mythic animal, not an animal from nature. A great entity in the Palikur culture, the Kayeb — in English, “Great Cosmic Snake” — is one of the most important constellations in the Palikur astronomy. One of its hands represents the Southern Cross. According to this belief, the Kayeb moves across the sky throughout the year, and, when rain falls, people say that the “Kayeb’s hand started to fall.” The stool was sculpted by the Palikur artist Manoel Antônio dos Santos, inhabitant of Mangue Island, at the Amapá River.

To see the stool, click here