6-day Holistic Ayahuasca Retreat - Petit Comitè Ed.

PABOUT MBYÁ GUARANÍ INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: The Mbyá Guaraní are one of the principal subgroups of the Guaraní people, an Indigenous nation with a vast historical presence across South America, including Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia. Before colonisation, the Guaraní occupied more than sixty per cent of what is now Brazil, once known as Pindorama. Today, the Mbyá live mainly in the Atlantic Forest regions of southern and south-eastern Brazil, as well as in Paraguay and Argentina, where they continue to defend their cultural and territorial rights. The Guaraní are a Tupi-speaking people divided into subgroups such as the Mbyá, Kaiowá and Ñandeva. Together they form a continental nation with profound cultural, linguistic and spiritual ties. Known historically as walkers, communicators and road builders, they maintained connections with distant peoples such as the Mapuche in Patagonia, the Inca in the Andes and the Maya in the Caribbean. Their musical and spiritual traditions are described as being attuned to high-frequency vibrations and interplanetary consciousness, linking them symbolically to civilisations like the Egyptians, Persians, Indians and Chinese. Mbyá society is structured around extended families bound by strong kinship. Small groups of four or five households usually form villages known as tekoá, ideally located near forests and rivers to sustain their traditional way of life, called ñande reko. At the centre of each village stands the opy, the sacred house of worship, where rituals are performed and community decisions are taken. Leadership is typically divided between the karaí, the spiritual guide, and the mburuvichá, the political chief responsible for external relations, though at times a single person may assume both roles. Language is central to Mbyá identity. They speak a distinct dialect of Guaraní, marked by its own phonetics and vocabulary, while many also speak Portuguese or Spanish, depending on their location. Oral tradition is the main vehicle of cultural transmission. Knowledge, myths and customs are shared through storytelling, song and ceremony. Gatherings around the fire often include the sharing of mate and the use of the ceremonial pipe, the petyngua. Speech itself is considered a divine gift: in Guaraní cosmology, nhe’e represents the sacred spirit of language and eloquence, believed to be channelled directly from the gods. Spirituality permeates every aspect of Mbyá life. The Guaraní are often described as the “theologians of the forest” because of their intricate cosmology and preserved astronomical wisdom, transmitted through myths and ritual songs. In their worldview, the four cardinal directions are represented by the deities Ñamandú, Jakairã, Karaí and Tupã, who together created the Earth. Rituals are vital to community cohesion. Among the most significant is the Ñemongarai, a child-naming ceremony performed during the maize harvest. In this rite, a visiting shaman identifies the divine spirit of each child and bestows a name that reflects this connection, marking the full incorporation of the soul into the body. Cultural expression is visible through art, music, dance and craftwork. Ritual songs are both a form of teaching and a means of preserving collective memory. Instruments such as flutes and rattles accompany chants and dances that create a bridge between the human and the divine. These performances are often aligned with agricultural cycles, celebrating planting and harvest and reinforcing the harmony between people, nature and the cosmos. The Mbyá’s subsistence practices are traditionally rooted in agriculture, hunting and gathering. They cultivate staple crops such as maize (avatí), cassava (mandió), beans (kumandá), squash (mindain), peanuts (manduí), sweet potatoes and watermelon (janjau). Fishing and hunting also play an important role, though these have become increasingly difficult due to deforestation and the loss of ancestral lands. Many communities have been forced to adopt aspects of juruá life (descendants of Europeans, literally “mouth with hair”), which has brought new health problems and exposure to diseases previously unknown among the Mbyá. Healing traditions are sustained by the shamans, known as karaí, or opy’guá, “lords of the opy”. They employ medicinal plants and rituals to treat illness, prevent misfortune, influence the weather and ensure the success of hunts and harvests. They lead songs, dances and naming ceremonies, and recount creation myths believed to hold healing power. Both men and women may take on these roles, with female healers known as kunhã-karaí. Yet deforestation has reduced access to many essential plants, and the transfer of this knowledge to younger generations has been disrupted, placing ancestral healing practices at risk.