For indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Tibor Sekelj, explorer, ethnologist, anthropologist, journalist and writer of Hungarian origin, was a citizen of the world. In addition to spending much of
his life among Serbs, Croats and Hungarians, he was not interested in borders or nationalities. He was a speaker and defender of the universal language, Esperanto, and published books in this language, as well as in Serbian and Spanish. His adventurous life began in Argentina, where he spent fifteen years doing research trips to territories inhabited by indigenous communities, especially in Brazil. His first published books dealt with his travels and anthropological studies and they were followed by a series of publications related to his later travels in Europe, Asia and Africa. In this essay, my aim is to present the links of this untiring traveler with the indigenous people of the Brazilian jungle, his exploratory trips and his anthropological work, based on his books, press articles and the legacy materials thathis widow keeps in a private collection.