REQUIREMENTS MEETING OF PAJÉS
It will be your opportunity to wake up and fall asleep in the forest, intimately contemplating nature. You will experience everyday life as a true member of the community, sharing knowledge, sports, cuisine, internal customs and typical village activities. It will definitely be a unique experience.
The objective is that in the period of 09 days and 08 nights immersed in this new culture, you are able to reproduce everything that was experienced in this cultural, philosophical and spiritual immersion of intense experience and sharing, and that you feel almost like a native. These 09 days are essential for a deep dive into the culture of the ethnic group. It is at the end of this sequence of days that you will be able to make a list of applicability of everything that has been assimilated, with your daily life. Surely your look and relationship with nature will be totally different. The use of acquired knowledge will then be a natural consequence of this process.
After this experience, respect for the community and all beings that live
around you and are an intrinsic part of this universe, will be notorious.
Respecting is also part of admiring and, consequently, preserving.
MEDICINES
The spirituality of the Huni Kuin people is one of the most recognized cultural aspects around the world. A wide and mysterious knowledge that is transmitted between generations and lasts until the present day.
The Experience is an opportunity to delve deeper into forest medicines and better understand the deep connection between medicines and the Huni Kuin people, consecrate Nixi Pae (ayahuasca) and get in touch with other medicines under the guidance of shamans and masters.
Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca is a tea used by indigenous people in the Amazon to heal the body, mind and spirit. Scholars say that the drink came to the indigenous peoples through the Incas, who had been using it for over 5,000 years. In the Quechua language, aya means spirit or soul, and huasca means tea or wine. In Brazil it is better known as “Santo Daime tea”, a sacramental drink of this religious movement that began in the interior of the Amazon Forest.
This drink is produced from two plants native to the Amazon rainforest: the mariri or jagube vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and leaves of the chacrona or queen bush (Psychotria viridis), which cause psychoactive effects. Among the natives it is used for healing purposes, religion, and to provide visions that are important in planning hunts, preventing malevolent spirits, as well as forest beast attacks. In religious rituals, body and mind preparation is done through fasting before ingesting Ayahuasca, elements such as alcohol, drugs, meats, dairy products, caffeine and sugar must be avoided, the duration and elements to be avoided vary between religious practices.
Snuff
Snuff (dume deshke) is a medicine to be used in the nasal passages. It is a powder generally made of tobacco and ash from tree bark, such as cumaru (kumã), murici (yapa), pau-pereira, cinnamon-de-velho (xiwe mapu), cocoa (txashu desha), ouricuri (tashkã) ) and mulatto. These ashes are also called medicines, as snuff is not prepared with ash from any tree, but with those that have certain properties. Snuff can be used individually through a curipe (or kuxipa), or blown by one person on another, with a tepi. It should be applied to both nostrils, one at a time. When a person receives a breath (or applies himself), he must suspend nasal inspiration for a moment, maintaining breathing through the mouth. Likewise, one should not swallow the snuff residue, but spit it out after a while.
Sananga
Sananga (Tabernaemontana sananho) is a medicine made from the juice of the bark of a root and is applied to both eyes, as an eye drop. One of the differences with white eye drops is that it burns and causes tears. The burning can vary greatly depending on the “grade” of the medicine. Sananga should preferably be used fresh and its container kept in a cool place so that it does not spoil. For the Huni Kuĩ, in addition to curing nisũ (panema), bad thoughts and headaches, sananga can provide cures for eye problems through treatments with a series of applications. During the effect of this medicine, the person who is applying it can make prayers and massages on the forehead region of the person receiving it. In huni kuĩ works, the sananga is mostly used in the final part of the rituals, just before the closing.
Kambo
Kambô (or kampũ, in hãtxa kuĩ) is a medicine applied to the skin, which acts directly on the bloodstream, as a “vaccine”. It is the secretion of a frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor), which is collected from the skin of this amphibian and usually stored in a straw (except when the frog is captured and then applied). As usual, the person who will apply does light burns with a thick toothpick without a point on the person who will receive it, in order to open the wounds.
WARNING!!!
Despite the release, Conad imposes some rules for the consumption of tea: people with a history of mental disorders or under the influence of alcoholic beverages or other psychoactive substances are prohibited from ingesting the drug.
TRADITIONAL CUISINE
The Huni Kuin have a vast traditional menu with many delicious and healthy dishes. We invite visitors to experience the forest diet with local and organic foods provided by villages in the region, a process of cleansing and healing.
The Huni Kuin cuisine is rich in flavor and diversity, the typical dishes are based on different types of cassava, bananas, peanuts, corn, potatoes and yams. We can also have the opportunity to taste some leaves, hearts of palm, mushrooms, fish and fruits. With these ingredients, pamonhas, tapiocas, porridges and various other foods and drinks are made. All traditionally prepared foods are grown in the swiddens or collected in the forest and prepared by the women of the village.
Encouraging traditional food is one of the pillars of our work, as this is how we are able to preserve seeds, improve health, care for the environment and reduce waste production. In this way, the new generations will continue to know the typical dishes of the Huni Kuin cuisine and everything that involves its production, including names in the native language, tools and knowledge about agriculture and forest management.
ACCOMMODATION
Aldeia Igarape do Caucho offers 3 types of native accommodation for its visitors:
hammocks
Collective Houses
tents
What to bring: Tent, Mat, Hammock, Bath Towel, Bedding
TRANSFER
Origens Nativas will be responsible for the visitors when they arrive in the city of Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre. The Reception will take place at Cruzeiro so Sul Airport, where we will leave in groups for the City of Tarauacá. The participant must follow the pre-established dates and times so that there are no delays on the route. ATTENTION: All participants must arrive at the Village on 20.01.2023!
ACCESSES
Access to the venue and accommodation
To consider your choice, it is essential that you check the calendar, vaccinations, permits, and especially the details of access to the place. To reach certain areas, in addition to official permits, hotel, tickets and transfers, it is important to have a guide.
Origens Nativas can facilitate your contact with our authorized and knowledgeable guides on the route to the village, thus helping with the transfer. For this intermediation to be carried out, an email to contato@origensnativas.com must be sent requesting information, it must be sent in advance.
Important:
The Igarape do Caucho village is far from any commercial center.
In many locations we advise the support of a guide.
The nearest city is Tarauacá – Acre
PRECAUTIONS
To immerse yourself in this new world and live this experience, it is essential to take precautions to protect yourself, and also protect the indigenous ecosystem and their natural defenses!
Check the need for vaccines in advance.
If you are going to visit states such as: Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins, immunization against Yellow Fever is necessary. Important information: the Yellow Fever vaccine lasts for 10 years. Even if you have already been immunized, check your vaccination card to see if this immunization is still valid.
How to get the vaccine: the application of immunization against Yellow Fever is free and can be applied by the Unified Health System (SUS). Check your nearest vaccination post.
AUTHORIZATION
To enter the space of the Indians, authorization is required!
To enter the space of the Indians, authorization is required. According to Brazilian laws, access to the villages is only allowed with official authorizations, which depend on the request and approval of bodies such as FUNAI – Fundação Nacional do Índio. This is necessary, because it is not an invasion, but an immersion of coexistence and experiences. There are also calendars that must be adhered to, so your participation in the project must be scheduled in advance to coincide with your personal schedule. This is also the guarantee that the calendar of activities will be followed by the Huni-Kuin do Caucho communities.
OBJECTS
Less is more in an Indian village.
Think that the objects you are going to take cannot interfere with the routine and customs of the community where you are visiting. The following list is a suggestion of essential utensils for your well-being during the days you will live in the village: Repellent, Light clothes, Sunscreen, Hat, Shoes for hiking in the woods, Bedding, Swimwear, Camera , camcorder, Food such as cereal bars for breaks between meals.
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH
We consume organic and local foods, generating income for farmers and ensuring the availability of local seeds against industrialized foods. The food is prepared by the women of the village, promoting traditional dishes and valuing the women’s crafts. We take good practices and examples, so we don’t consume processed, canned and low nutritional foods.
Every year we take volunteer health professionals and holistic therapies to offer free treatment to residents of villages in the region.
ECOLOGICAL CARE
We bring awareness about the impact of our choices and seek solutions so that our presence in the forest is sustainable. We only use biodegradable products that do not pollute the waters of the forest and each visitor is responsible for collecting and removing their solid waste back to the city.
SPECIFIC LEGISLATION
We will be entering Indigenous Lands and we must respect the specific legislation that regulates visitation activities in these territories. To participate in the expedition you must:
1. Confirm your presence in advance, so that your registration is guaranteed.
2. Send all mandatory documents by email:
a) Copy of Identity Card and CPF – both sides.
b) Copy of the International Certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever.
c) Valid medical certificate of non-carrier of infectious disease.
* the originals must be with the visitors during the entire visit.
3. Agree to the Huni Kuin Meeting Terms and Conditions.
An interview via WhatsApp or Skype may be requested. After confirming your participation, you will receive our Travel Guide with all the information and guidelines to prepare your expedition.
BRAZILIAN LEGISLATION
The visitor undertakes to:
Respect indigenous uses, customs, beliefs and traditions and observe the other provisions of the 1988 Constitution (arts. 231 and 232), Law No. 6001/73 (Indian Statute) and Convention 169 of the ILO – International Labor Organization ( incorporated into the Brazilian legal system through Decree No. 5051/2004).
Comply with the regulations established by Law No. 9,610/98 (Copyright Law), by Ordinance No. 177/06/Funai (which deals with copyright and indigenous image rights) and by Funai’s Normative Instruction, which establishes norms and guidelines regarding to visitation activities on indigenous lands.
Do not purchase objects made with feathers, bones, teeth, leather, skin, among other materials derived from wild animals – including headdress, fans/flaps and feather earrings and kupiris/tepis made from bones (art. 29 of Law 9.605/98 – Environmental Crimes Act).
Do not carry or ingest alcoholic beverages or illicit substances, except for those of traditional use, made by the Indians, when consumed in a context appropriate to that cultural reality.
Respect the internal norms of the Huni Kuin people, the rules of the village and the event.