The Naga form a minority in Northeast India and the northwest of Myanmar - and consist at the same time of thirty different ethnicities: three to four million people, with numerous languages. How do they manage to preserve their traditional history and integrate into altered ways of life? How do fit that together with modern tattoos, fashion, and social media? What role does Christianity play? Authors among others from Naga Land describe various facets of their contemporary and current culture and make the Naga collection of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin appear in a new light, supplemented with contemporary objects. The artist Zubeni Lotha shows the life of the Naga today in impressive photographs.

Protecting, healing, or punishing-people of various eras and origins have attributed such powers to the sculptures that are being presented together here for the first time: be it the sculpture of the Mangaaka from what is today the Republic of Congo, the protective goddess Mahamayuri from China, or the Maria on the globe from Southern Germany. Forty-five objects created between the fourth and the nineteenth century from two museums in Berlin provide a vivid testimony to the ever-present need for protection and orientation when dealing with individual or social crises. They represent the existence of an invisible world of gods, spirits, or ancestors, and create a connection between this world and a "different reality." As a result of how they are presented in museums, their context of use is, however, often lost-a situation that is reflected on by the authors of this book.

Francis La Flesche (1857-1932) lived between two worlds: as an Umonhon (Omaha), he fought for their rights, and as a scholar he researched his own culture. He is regarded as the first indigenous ethnologist of North America and stands representatively for the many indigenous protagonists without whom ethnological collections would never have come into being. We are no longer familiar with most of these individuals, since the focus until today has been on European and North American collectors. Francis La Flesche is an exception: his work provides insights into indigenous agency and their resistance to racism and colonialism as well as their active participation in the trade with objects. The book presents La Flesche's records of the objects, the collection of which he contributed to what is today the Ethnological Museum in Berlin in 1894-an impressive testimony to his successful efforts to preserve the culture of the Omaha for future generations.

A Japanese teahouse, an audio installation with Nigerian sounds, and a bronze flagpole divided in two: In the extensive areas of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, it is possible to discover numerous, in part large-scale works of contemporary art. Artworks by artists from various societies of origin enrich the collections in the exhibitions of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art. In addition, seven works of art-in-architecture that deal with the history of the location or with the Humboldt Forum as a "place for the world's cultures," encounters, and exchange, or are dedicated to Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, for whom the institution is named, have been realized in the Humboldt Forum. This book presents the artworks in informative texts that are rich in associations as well as in impressive photographs.

The reconstructed Berliner Schloss in the heart of the German capital is both a monument of Baroque architecture and a vital new cultural building in the city. The art history, architecture and sculpture of the palace's masterful facades by Andreas Schluter are brought to life here in words and pictures. The Berliner Schloss marks the reinstatement of the point of reference for the urban plan of the historical centre of the capital: through the Baroque masterpiece by Andreas Schluter the boulevard Unter den Linden and the historic buildings of the Lustgarten acquire once more a meaningful interconnection. Most of the authors are involved in this major project. They explain with the help of the impressive photographs by Leo Seidel the fascinating construction process, the imagery of the Baroque sandstone facade, the technology and the craftsmanship behind its reconstruction as well as the architectural concept of the building.

Francis La Flesche (1857-1932) lebte zwischen zwei Welten: Als Umonhon (Omaha) kampfte er fur deren Rechte, als Wissenschaftler erforschte er seine eigene Kultur. Er gilt als erster indigener Ethnologe Nordamerikas und steht stellvertretend fur die vielen indigenen Akteur/-innen, ohne die ethnologische Sammlungen niemals entstanden waren. Die meisten dieser Personen sind uns nicht mehr bekannt, denn im Zentrum stehen bis heute die europaischen und nordamerikanischen Sammler. Francis La Flesche bildet eine Ausnahme: Seine Arbeit gibt einen Einblick in indigene Handlungsmacht und deren Widerstand gegen Rassismus und Kolonialismus sowie die aktive Teilhabe am Handel mit Objekten. Das Buch prasentiert zum ersten Mal La Flesches Aufzeichnungen uber die Gegenstande, die er der 1894 ins heutige Ethnologische Museum nach Berlin gesandten Sammlung beigab - ein beeindruckendes Zeugnis seiner erfolgreichen Bemuhungen, die Kultur der Omaha fur kunftige Generationen zu bewahren.

A Japanese teahouse, an audio installation with Nigerian sounds, and a bronze flagpole divided in two: In the extensive areas of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, it is possible to discover numerous, in part large-scale works of contemporary art. Artworks by artists from various societies of origin enrich the collections in the exhibitions of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art. In addition, seven works of art-in-architecture that deal with the history of the location or with the Humboldt Forum as a "place for the world's cultures," encounters, and exchange, or are dedicated to Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, for whom the institution is named, have been realized in the Humboldt Forum. This book presents the artworks in informative texts that are rich in associations as well as in impressive photographs.

Beschutzen, heilen oder bestrafen - diese Krafte schrieben Menschen verschiedener Zeiten und Herkunfte den Bildwerken zu, die hier zum ersten Mal gemeinsam vorgestellt werden: sei es die Skulptur des Mangaaka aus der heutigen Republik Kongo, die Schutzgoettin Mahamayuri aus China oder die Maria auf der Weltkugel aus Suddeutschland. 45 Objekte aus zwei Berliner Museen, entstanden zwischen dem 4. und 19. Jahrhundert, vermitteln ein lebendiges Zeugnis der allgegenwartigen Bedurfnisse nach Schutz und Orientierung bei der Bewaltigung individueller oder gesellschaftlicher Krisen. Sie stehen fur die Existenz einer nicht-sichtbaren Welt von Goettern, Geistern oder Ahnen und schufen eine Verbindung zwischen dem Diesseits und einer "anderen Wirklichkeit". Durch ihre museale Prasentation ist ihr Gebrauchszusammenhang oftmals verlorengegangen - ein Umstand, der von den Autor/-innen dieses Buches kritisch reflektiert wird.

The Naga form a minority in Northeast India and the northwest of Myanmar - and consist at the same time of thirty different ethnicities: three to four million people, with numerous languages, but no central government structures. How do they manage to preserve their traditional history and integrate into altered ways of life? How do their former practice of headhunting fit together with modern tattoos, fashion, and social media? What role does Christianity play? Authors among others from Naga Land describe various facets of their contemporary and current culture and make the Naga collection of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin appear in a new light, supplemented with contemporary objects. The artist Zubeni Lotha shows the life of the Naga today in impressive photographs.