Museu do Índio de Manaus, Indigenous museum in central Manaus, Brazil

This indigenous museum in Manaus holds approximately three thousand artifacts from Amazon tribes, including household items, weapons, ornaments, and traditional musical instruments. The collection fills several rooms and presents different aspects of how these peoples lived day to day.

The museum was founded in 1952, an initiative attributed to the Salesian missionary sister Maddalena Mazzone. Its collection was assembled during Salesian missions among the Tukano, Yanomami and other peoples of the upper Rio Negro, and objects were also donated by archaeologists. It is run by the Congregation of the Salesian Sisters of Manaus.

The museum showcases everyday objects and crafts from Amazon peoples, revealing how these communities have lived and worked with their forest surroundings over generations.

The museum sits on Avenida Duque de Caxias in the city center and welcomes visitors on weekdays, opening in the morning and afternoon with a break at noon. Guests should expect limited opening hours and check the specific schedule before planning a visit.

The museum displays burial goods and objects from funeral rituals in which the deceased are placed in canoes and carried away on the river, as practiced by local peoples. This exhibition offers rare insight into sacred practices that remain hidden from outsiders in daily life.