Yawanawa Tribe

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.

- Runuiná Yawanawa, the youngest member of the group, is a seed of the union between the Yawanawá and Pupỹkary 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.

- 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.