Yawanawa & Madha Immersion
December 11 - 17, 2024
is a very special opportunity to receive transmissions from Mana and Ratsuha Madha, a beautiful couple of elder pajés that are traveling outside Brazil for only the second time.
The Madha people have come into contact with the western civilization only about 40 years ago and carry a very rare and preserved knowledge not broken by colonization.
Each person will receive individual healing sessions and possibly voice opening initiations with Pajé Mana Madha to clear any physical or spiritual illnesses and imbalances.
We will also be joined by an elder grandmother of the Yawanawa tribe Vesku, the older sister of spiritual leader Puttany and her son Runuiana Yawanawa who will bring the inspiring music with guitar of the younger generation.
Join us for a precious opportunity to experience the depth of the rainforest medicines and spirituality from the very source.
2 Uni/Rami Ceremonies ~ Rapé & Song Circles ~
Individual Healing & Voice Opening Sessions ~
Kambo ~ Herbal Bath ~ Sananga
We are blessed to be joined by Delfina Akarâ Huitzilcuicani and her partner Kuauhtli Vasquez who is an old friend of ours. Delfina has been working and dieting with the Yawanawa & Madha and will be supporting with translation, music and other magic.
Ixchel Munay, co-founder of Yacumama will be sharing somatic embodiment practices to support with entering and integrating the deep spiritual work as well as integration sessions during and after the immersion.
THE MADHA
The Madha people live on the banks of the Purus River, right between the state of Acre and Amazonas in Brazil. Their people have come into contact with the western civilization only about 40 years ago, so they are considered a nation of recent contact.
The Madha speak their own native language, and have recently started to learn Portuguese.
The Madha have Pajés, medicine men and women, that carry the spiritual knowledge of the people, and act as doctors in the villages. Their healing techniques, language and chants have been preserved and passed on for generations in an unbroken lineage. Their healing chants are called ‘ah’ries’, and the medicine ‘Rami’.
The ‘ah’ries’ carry the energy of the ancestral memory of the earth, and of the exchanges between the spirit world and the human world, since a time when the animals and plants spoke. The chants speak in an ancient tongue to the spirits of the healing animals, such as the pink river dolphins, the serpents, the parrots… They bring a meaning that seems simple, and at the same time, has the capacity to call in powerful healing and protective energy. The study is very profound and truly hard to explain in words what a treasure it is to be in ceremony and feel the power of the Madha ‘ah’ries’.
Mana and Ratsuha Madha are a beautiful couple of elder pajés that hold the spirituality and knowledge of their people with love, respect and devotion. They are a rare find in today’s world, representing the very source of the rainforest’s spirituality, and having received the initiations of their people by their families from a very young age.
The healings done by the Madha are incredibly profound and thorough - they will do as many sessions as needed to make sure the negative energies or illnesses have been removed from their patients. Mana and Ratsuha work together as mother and father, as grandparents that they are, with kindness and open hearts to anyone in need of their guidance.
THE YAWANAWA
For many generations, the Yawanawa and the Madha have had very strong spiritual ties and cultural exchanges, focused on healing and preserving ancestral traditions.
Yawanawa means “people of the wild boar”, and they are known for their communal living and efforts in territorial and cultural preservation. The Yawanawa have expanded their music globally, bringing abundance, protection and recognition to their people, revitalizing their culture while preserving their ancestral traditions.
The Yawanawa are also known internationally for their powerful voices and the beautiful melodies the youth have created by incorporating the guitar into their sacred chants, which they call the ‘saitis’.
In this retreat we will have the presence of two Yawanawa guardians, Vesku and her son Runuina.
ACTIVITIES
Kambo ~ 2 Uni/Rami Ceremonies ~ Rapé & Song Circles ~ Individual Healing Sessions ~ VOICE OPENING ~ Herbal Bath ~ Sananga
A precious opportunity to experience the depth of the rainforest medicines and spirituality from the very source.
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Herbal baths are beneficial to clear our bodies from any external negative energies, and aid us in having good dreams. The plants can subtly guide us with their healing energies.
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Rape circles are an opportunity to receive this sacred medicine with intention, giving direction and guidance to our path, as well as clearing our minds.
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Uni/Rami ceremonies are profound moments to listen and receive the healing chants called ‘ah’ries’, as well as the messages that the forest spirit has for us, through our visions and cleansing.
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Sanangha is beneficial for clearing our sight, vision, dreams, and aiding people with any type of headaches.
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Kambo is a deep physical cleanse of the body, fortifying the inmune system and clearing the ‘panema’, the energies that may be stuck in the body, releasing them and restoring our energy.
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In this retreat, participants will have the opportunity to receive a personal healing treatment from Pajé Mana Madha, accompanied by his wife Ratsuha. A healing session, rooted in Madha knowledge and spiritual study, involves techniques such as suction and energy placement, blown tobacco usage, and post session dietary and sexual regimes for 3 days. The treatment may be for serious or mild physical ailments, emotional imbalances, treat negative dreams or visions, and improve one’s spiritual, mental, emotional and physical bodies.
The healing sessions may be done during the Rami/Uni ceremony or outside of ceremony. The diet is initiated once the healing is done by Paje Mana Madha, followed by instructions for the next 3 days.
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It will also be optional for students of the medicine way to receive the initiation of ‘opening the voice’. This practice is rooted in Madha knowledge and spiritual transmission, and also involves techniques such as suction and energy placement, blown tobacco usage, and strict dietary and sexual regimes for 5 days. The aim is to initiate knowledge transmission marked in the body, opening the individual to learning the sacred songs.
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Preparation & Integration sessions and somatic embodiment practices
OUR GUARDIANS
Pajé Maná Madha is a very special, patient and loving teacher and healer. He embodies the mission in the service of healing with all his being. Mana received traditional training since he was a young boy from his father- a rarity among modern pajés- and possesses extraordinary knowledge of plants and spiritual healing techniques. Considered a doctor and surgeon by the standards of city medicine, Maná's spiritual healing technique allows him to ingest his patients' illnesses, materializing them into small stones that he then expels, curing patients of serious ailments. He is renowned as a "complete curandero," addressing both physical and spiritual maladies, and for his expansive knowledge of plants, prayers and songs.
Ratsuhá Madha’s beautiful presence brings the quality of the grandmothers, the gentle but strong feminine touch in the deep healing forces that are moved. She is a rare female healer who received traditional training in the Madha tradition and specializes in childbirth, healing chants and plant medicine. Over her life, she has attended the birth of approximately 2,800 babies. Ratsuha is a custodian of the "ajiés de cura”, the healing songs of her people, and together with Maná, they employ a unique knowledge transmission method called "opening the voice”. Her voice and presence is powerful and an incredible guidance during Rami ceremonies.
Vêsku (Leticia), a Yawanawá guardian, grandmother, midwife and caretaker, is passionately dedicated to preserving indigenous cultures, particularly focusing on medicinal plant usage. Vêsku has been traveling and aiding the Madha together with her son Runu for several years, acting as a bridge between the amazonian indigenous cultures and the rest of the world. She is trained in the healing ways especially through her deep love for plants, and has organized several impactful indigenous events gathering pajes from various nations to preserve ancestral plant knowledge. She is the sister of the spiritual leader Putanny, and has since childhood absorbed the stories and songs of her people from her father, Raimundo Tuin Kuru, becoming a guardian of Yawanawá ancestral knowledge.
Runuiná Yawanawa, the youngest member of the group, is a seed of the union between the Yawanawá and Pup ỹkary peoples, dedicated to protecting and preserving his people's ancestry. Runu has been studying the musicality of his people from an early age. Currently, he serves as an apprentice to Pajé Maná Madha. Runu has undergone spiritual studies and initiations at the Aldeia Sagrada Yawanawá, focusing on studying and composing new melodies and arrangements using instruments such as the guitar, expanding upon songs traditionally performed only with the voice, and bringing beautiful new melodies to ceremonies.
Akara Huitzilcuicani (Delfina Mun) is a devoted student of ancestral chants, specifically from the Amazon. Originally from Puelmapu, she brings her unique voice and melodies with guitar and charango, transmitting the profound mysteries of the forest spirit. Mana and Ratsuha have adopted Akarâ as a daughter, guiding her as an apprentice in the Madha tradition. Akarâ is an international visionary artist, bringing her art through sacred ceremonies and rituals. She travels the world with her partner, Kuauhtli, sharing their love for the earth and it’s plants and elements, as activists in the indigenous movement and guardians of the Teocalli Quetzalcoatl altar. They hold the Condor Eagle Retreat twice a year in Costa Rica, and through their non-profit, Xinachtli.co, they actively support the Madha communities as well as other culture, land and medicine preservation initiatives.
Hola I'm Ixchel! I’m a cofounder and steward of Yacumama. I'm a mother, ceremonialist, community builder, spiritual midwife, facilitator, dancer, musician, entrepreneur, coach, permaculturist and eternal optimist who is passionate about human potential. I am dedicating my life to the liberation of all beings, to the remembrance of our divinity, to the embodiment of our full potential. In 2004 I experienced the most profound homecoming in my first ceremony with Ayahuasca. I got to connect with the part of myself beyond name, beyond time and space that has always been and will always be - free of the ego that was identified with any of my triumphs or failures. Since then Ayahuasca and Huachuma have been my greatest teachers in helping me to be a better human. I have received so much from these master teachers that for the past 10 years I have been in full service to sharing their gifts around the world in ceremonial retreats. The Yawanawa have touched me deeply and I am honored to be in service to this container with my passion for embodiment, preparation and integration.
PREPARATION & INTEGRATION
Preparation and integration are some of the most important aspects of this experience and Ixchel, co-founder of Yacumama will be supporting with this to enhance your experience.
When you sign up, you will receive a package of preparation and integration tools with meditations, embodiment practices, journal prompts, an integration e-book, dietary and lifestyle guidelines.
These are all to prepare us for the ceremony of life so we can be more loving, aware humans in all of our relationships.
We will have a post retreat group integration call on:
Dec 27, 2024 3-4:30PM CST
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A community is created within the group and if you choose, you can continue to connect with people that may become your friends for life.
LOCATION
Yacumama is in Ojochal, a small town near the Pacific Ocean, known for its international fine dining, which is part of the Ballena (whale) Coast.
We are 30-40 minutes south of Dominical and 15-20 minutes south of Uvita, where the Envision Festival has been held for the past ten+ years.
Yacumama is a 3-4 hour drive southwest of the international airport, SJO.
From San Jose or other airports in the country you can also take a 45 minute flight on a small plane or even hire a small private plane to Quepos airport which is about an hour drive from Yacumama.