Since October of last year, the Center for Shamanic Education and Exchange has partnered with Jose Luis Gualinga and the Sarakayu in Ecuador in their efforts to preserve and revitalize ancestral wisdom. They recently completed a healing hut for local Sarayaku children to learn from elders and moved forward in gathering medicinal plants and creating a medicinal garden where children can learn of the healing powers of each plant.
Sarayaku is a community that defends the rights of nature, of the animals, the defense of the intercultural activities, and the wisdom of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. It is the birthplace of the descendants of the jaguar and the peoples of the mid-day. Jose Luis Gualinga’s life has been shaped by a constant learning about the wisdom of his peoples and ancestors. Jose Luis says that “My community taught me about living within community, life in balance with the mother earth and our ancestral traditions. With the passing of time, I learned the content of the Kichwa wisdom”.
This project's objective is to strengthen and take care of the ancestral wisdom and to share it in an educational way with the children because customs are being lost. The knowledge to heal and the ancestral medicines need to be revitalized.
The mission is to maintain and expand this wisdom because in these times the influence and western knowledge has become primary. According to Jose Luis,” this weakens the roots of our people and even more so of the indigenous peoples (especially children) who live in the outskirts of the cities or in the city itself. It is important to have a dedicated space specifically for these practices and to be able to receive sick people to help in healings”.
Additionally, this project intends to provide opportunities for cultural exchange among area shamanic practitioners with meetings held in Quito and Puyo. With the purchase of recording equipment, community members will be archiving and recording the Sarakayu elders to preserve ancestral wisdom and knowledge.