Musee Quai Branly

We were delighted that Francoise had the time to meet us at Quai Branly to explore the two temporary exhibitions there.  The first was about the New Guinean people who live along the Sepik River, the second about the Inuit who live along the Amour River in Siberia.  

 This is a hook, used to hang food off the ground to elude animals. 

The Sepik exhibition included many pieces that could not be photographed.  There were many masks, including this one that can be worn smiling either this way, or upside down. 

This is the mask for a bride. 

 

Handsome armbands.  

here was the usual shrunken head, but not really shrunken very much. 

 

The Amour exhibit was smaller, but just as interesting.  We got there by following this fabulous installation, a moving river of words that flowed from the exhibition level above us down the entrance ramp.  The words moved like water, some getting stuck in eddies along the edge, others flowing quickly down the center of the "river."  

These people live far north, with very little in the way of vegetation.  So what to do for clothes? 

 

The next time you are pulling skin off a salmon, you could keep it and make a coat,

Shoes,

purse,

earmuffs,

or mittens. 

Just sayin’.  

The tools were made of bone, stone and leather, though, and this tool apron, of animal fur.  

 And then it was time to speed home down the river again.