Forum of the Peoples

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Forum of the Peoples, Mission Museum

The Forum der Völker in Werl is the largest ethnological museum in Westphalia and one of the most important ethnological museums in Germany due to its collection.

The house is a former mission museum, it is maintained by the Franciscans of the Werler monastery . Around 11,000 exhibits, the basic inventory of which was collected as part of the missionary work of the Order (a further part of the inventory comes from inheritances and acquisitions), are exhibited. The museum was opened on May 1, 1962, renovated from 1987 and reorganized thematically; it has been expanded several times.

Museum in Dorsten

The basis of the collection was the holdings of the former Franciscan monastery in Dorsten , which was set up between 1909 and 1913 in the old wing of the monastery in Dorsten. Objects of everyday use as well as ritual objects were exhibited here mainly from the areas of the Orient , East Asia and America . The intention was to provide insight into missionary work. A collection of Egyptian cabaret was on display in the Orient section. This was done by a Dr. Lift dance has been tested. A little later, the collection was expanded to include Mr. Hebentanz's private collection. The house received Babylonian cuneiform scripts from the Assyriologist Father Anastasius Schollmeyer in the 1920s . A Chinese coin collection attracted more attention from specialist circles. Richard Schlösser published a scientific paper about it in 1935. The America collection consisted mainly of ethnographics from an exotic north Brazilian Indian tribe. The museum was destroyed in a bombing raid during World War II. The items have been outsourced.

Museum in Werl

The stocks have been replenished again and again. For the opening in 1962, an Egyptian mummy was brought from the St. Ludwig College in Vlodrop . This mummy was bought in 1913 by a missionary in Cairo for 300 gold marks . In 1963, the Ethnographica collection of the north Brazilian Indian tribe of the Tiriyo was expanded. An ethnological collection from New Guinea was added in 1965, and a collection from Tibet and Southeast Asia was added in 1983 . Further purchases and donations from private collectors, especially exhibits from Asia and Africa, make the Franciscan Forum of the Peoples today, with an inventory of over 12,000 objects, a place of dialogue between the peoples and cultures of the world. After the renovation in 1987/1988, the museum was expanded to include a three-story extension. Today the Forum der Völker consists of the rooms in the tour of the main building, the three-story extension, an event hall (forum) and the foyer in which changing special exhibitions are shown. Due to the planned abandonment of the Werl Monastery by the Franciscans in 2019, the whereabouts of the Ethnological Museum in its current form in Werl was also in question. In March 2019, the Franciscan order announced that the future of the museum was secured. An association of regional and supraregional partners is intended to ensure the preservation of the collection. A transitional phase of around one year will serve to develop a location and museum concept and to establish a new foundation.

Departments of the museum

China

This is the largest department in the house in terms of numbers. The large Chinese coin collection is unique in Europe due to its size: over 3000 early currency from the 5th century BC to the last Ch'ing dynasty (1644 to 1911) are shown here. Mainly there are spade , key, knife and round coins, which were mainly cast from bronze . Amulets for different wishes complete the presentation. Several ancestral shrines, sacrificial devices for ancestor worship , Taoist and Buddhist statues are evidence of the various Chinese beliefs .

Cloisonné and porcelain vessels of the 19th century are made with the highest level of craftsmanship. Chinese handicrafts are also exhibited through lacquerware inlaid with semi-precious stones , ivory carvings and silk embroidery.

A silk relief with the theme of the Paradise of the Immortals of the Queen Mother of the West is worked on a screen .

The construction of temples and pagodas is demonstrated in models .

Mesopotamia

The oldest known script of mankind is the Sumerian cuneiform . From the III. The Ur Dynasty shows 171 cuneiform scripts. These writings were found on the lower reaches of the Euphrates .

Brazil

Here tradition and cultural change in the Amazon region are documented through jewelry and toys from various indigenous ethnic groups from the rainforest. The life between one's own cultural determination and adaptation to modern life is illustrated by objects of daily use such as baskets, stools and hunting weapons.

A residential building documents the life of the poor rural population in the northeast, the replica of a favela , an urban poor settlement, puts the visitor in the situation of the residents.

Palestine and Israel

During excavations in Ain Schems , grave goods such as wafer-thin glass vials , small sculptures made of terracotta and Israelite oil lamps were found. These pieces were purchased at the beginning of the 20th century and are now exhibited in this collection area.

Egypt

Sarcophagus of the female mummy

Representations of souls , winged scarabs and figures of gods bear witness to the resurrection belief of the Egyptians. With protective amulets, thanksgiving and Bittstelen is applied art presented. A picture of the sun god Re rounds off the collection, the highlight of which is the mummy .

Africa

In two departments ( West and Central Africa and East Africa ) original exhibits, photos and display boards provide information about cultures, economic forms and landscapes. Different ethnic groups and their traditional life and beliefs z. B. the Senufo, Dogon, Ashanti, Maasai are presented. A diverse collection of masks, the art of the ancient kingdom of Benin, the function of musical instruments and figures are discussed as well as magic, rituals and ancestral cult. Health, well-being and good harvest are usually the goal of cultic practices. The Maasai will present ebony carvings and the everyday life of East African steppe peoples in a walk-in dwelling. The highlights of the exhibition are the gold jewelry of the Ashanti, the extensive collection of masks and the high-quality Makonde carvings.

South East Asia

Hindu images from the eternal cycle of Dharma and the eternal cycle of samsara are exhibited here.

Papua New Guinea

The cultures of the different peoples are presented in detail. The Abelam stand with the gable of a colorfully painted house in the center of the presentation. Masks and sculptures painted with earth colors show the way into the world of spirit beings and rituals.

The Medi, a highland people, are documented with figured hanging hooks from the river valley of the Sepik region . Body decorations with feathers, animal teeth and shells are on display.

An ancestral stake , drums, carved battle shields and spears are shown by the Asmat headhunting people .

The rapid cultural change that has been advancing for over half a century is documented by photographs.

Tibet

Objects of daily use and cult devices are shown here. Pilgrimage equipment and travel utensils, hanging pictures and Buddhist bronzes are evidence of the veneration of saints and the local tradition.

Cribs

In an annual special exhibition at the Christmas season are cribs shown from 60 countries. The museum has its own inventory of over 600 nativity scenes. The birth of Jesus is shown in shapes and colors typical of the country. In an African crib z. B. are not ox and donkey, but zebra and giraffe. The figures wear traditional costumes.

literature

  • Gisela Fleckenstein, Engelhard Kutzner (arrangement): Franciscans in Werl. 150 years of service at the pilgrimage site . Dietrich Coelde Verlag, Werl 1999, ISBN 978-3-87163-241-9 .
  • Georg Dehio: Handbook of German art monuments - part: North Rhine-Westphalia 1. Rhineland. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin Munich 2005 ISBN 978-3-422-03093-0 .
  • Ulrike Gilhaus: The People's Forum in Werl - Insights into an ongoing museum consultation . In: LVR department regional cultural work, LWL-Museumamt für Westfalen (Hg.): Mission history collections today (= Studia Instituti Missiologici Societatis Verbi Divini, Bd. 111). Franz Schmitt Verlag, Siegburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-87710-548-1 , pp. 127-139.
  • Reinhard Kellerhoff OFM (ed.): Middle East. Mesopotamia Palestine. Forum of Nations - Franciscan Ethnological Museum. Werl o. J.

Web links

Commons : Forum of the Peoples  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Press release of the German Franciscan Province of March 11, 2019

Coordinates: 51 ° 33 ′ 17.8 "  N , 7 ° 54 ′ 53.1"  E