Protásio Frikel

Günther Protásio Frikel (24 March 1912 – 27 September 1974), better known as Protásio Frikel, was a German-Brazilian anthropologist and a Franciscan missionary. Frikel conducted extensive field research amongst the Indigenous peoples of North Brazil, especially the Tiriyó people of whom he visited extensively over 20 years. Frikel's research led to the creation of the , an indigenous territory for the Tiriyó.

Early life and education Frikel was born in Breslau (modern-day Wrocław, Poland) on 24 March 1912. His father was a watchmaker. Frikel studied science in at the in modern-day Lower Saxony after completing his primary and secondary schooling in Breslau.

In 1931, Frikel traveled to Recife, Brazil to become a priest and Franciscan missionary in the Amazon. Frikel studied in Olinda, Pernambuco from 1931 to 1933, then continued his studies in Salvador, Bahia where he was ordained in 1937. Frikel studied theology, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and history. During his studies, Frikel developed an interest in anthropology, Brazilian ethnology, and Afro-Brazilian religions, particularly Candomblé as practiced in Bahia. His first publication, (The soul doctrine of the Gege and Nagô), was published in 1941 in the Franscian publication, , and was about anthropology.