Photographer and indigenous Tentehar-Guajajara, Mi’saw Zàwàruhu carries in her gaze the mission to reconstruct, through images, the fragments of memory and identity. Born in Maranhão and based in Recife, her neurodivergence makes her see the world in layers of light, texture, and composition, transforming photography into a powerful act of reconnection with her roots and preservation of indigenous culture.
The image “Under the Enchanted Light“, a finalist in the Single Image category of the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025, is a testament to this purpose. Taken during the Menino do Rancho ritual of the Pankararu people in Pernambuco, the photograph captures the sacred presence of the Enchanted Praiás. More than a documentary record, the image is a spiritual experience—an attempt to translate into light and shadow the ineffable feeling of belonging and reverence. The work perfectly synthesizes the photographer’s style, which inhabits the meeting point between ancestry and the present, giving narrative and aesthetic function to memory.
In the following interview, Mi’saw Zàwàruhu shares her journey of reconnection and how she plans to use photography to plant a forest of memories for future generations.
How old are you? Where do you currently live and work?
Recently turned 35. I live and work in Recife/PE (and wherever else opportunity calls!), but I was born and raised in Maranhão. Although I grew up outside my people’s indigenous territory, my roots were always there, and it was through them that I rediscovered who I am.
Tell us about your journey in photography. When did you start photographing and why? What role does photography play in your life?
Even before understanding what “photography” was, I felt the need to keep the world within a frame. In childhood, with my toy cameras, I took self-portraits, photographed nature and landscapes—it was my way of freezing time and preserving memories.
Being neurodivergent (with late diagnosis of ADHD, Autism, and G/HQ), I often say I see the world in “takes” and “framing.” Everything has more layers than appears at first glance: light, texture, colors, composition—every detail matters. Photography is a way to give body to what I feel, to preserve the intensity of each moment.
My personal history also deeply shapes my gaze. I am an indigenous person who was adopted, grew up outside the territory, and spent years searching for my roots. Just as I needed to reconstruct the fragments of my identity torn away by silence and time, my photographs seek to record memory fragments so they are not lost. For me, photography is also an act of reconnection and preservation.
Over time, I began to consider photography as a profession. I don’t yet make a living from it financially, but it’s one of my goals. I also carry a caution: turning something that is a life purpose into a source of income requires attention not to lose the passion and patience that photographic recording demands. I like the literal meaning of “photography”—writing with light. It’s magical to observe the world as someone who wants to discover something new every day.
Tell us about your finalist work for the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025. When and where was it created? What is its concept? How does it fit into your photographic practice?
This photograph was taken in November 2023, during the Menino do Rancho ritual, a tradition of the Pankararu indigenous people in Pernambuco. I was invited by one of the vice-caciques of Aldeia Brejo dos Padres to photograph and record the ritual, which was a great honor for me.
The image shows the Enchanted Praiás, sacred figures for the Pankararu people. Although I belong to another people, the Tentehar-Guajajaras, I have deep respect and gratitude for these entities. Being present at this ritual transformed my life through spirituality.
This photo tries to say what words cannot reach. It’s a record of what isn’t seen but felt. Just as I reconstructed my own history from fragments, through photography I seek to preserve pieces of memory and ancestry that time could erase. My style lies at the meeting point between ancestry and the present, where aesthetics gain narrative and function.
What projects are you currently working on? What are your near-future plans for photographic production?
Currently, I’m returning to photography after a necessary hiatus to recalculate my route. I want to solidify my work as a documentary photographer, recording mainly indigenous memory and ancestry. My photographic gaze is one of the legacies I wish to leave. Each image is also a piece of me, a record beyond my physical matter.
I photograph as someone who clears the ground and plows the earth, only then to plant. And those who plant must have attention, care, and patience. After all, you don’t plant a forest overnight.
