YAWA MADHA

Intimate Study Group

June 24 - July 4, 2026

An invitation to visit and study with pajés Mana Madha and Ratsuha Madha, a beautiful couple of healers who carry their traditions with deep love and devotion. We will be hosted by Vesku Yawanawá and her son Runuina Yawanawá, guardians of their tradition who live with their family in Aldeia Kamikua, where we will be staying, and guided into the forest by Akarâ.

Our focus will be the opening and study of the voice through ancestral chants within the Madha tradition. This is a spiritual study and discipline that connects the voice with the spirits of the forest — plants, animals, and the elements.

This is a powerful knowledge transmission into one’s spirit and body that is unique to the Madha people.

The Madha are an Indigenous people of the Purus River in the Amazon, contacted by the outside world only about 50 years ago. Their spirituality is rooted in a deep relationship with the forest, working with plants, animals, and spirit through chants, prayer, and sacred tobacco.

They share an ancient alliance with the Yawanawá, exchanging knowledge and song across generations. Strong and resilient, they carry a profound connection to the dream world and the unseen realms.

This Yawa Madha family named me Akarâ and has guided my path with the chants and these studies in a very special way. I hold with love this deep connection with both the Madha spirituality and the Yawanawá, and have a lot of respect and passion for learning. It is a special time to be in the force of the forest and allow the spirit to guide us in its mysteries.

The intention of this group is to strengthen our shared connection to this sacred path — the spirituality of the rainforest and its ancestral wisdom. To nourish our communal singing and the seeds we have been planting together in Nosara, and to continue singing together in our ceremonies and song circles, keeping the connection alive through our studies and our prayers with the Uni / Rami.

My personal intention is to enter a time of study while visiting our dear Yawa Madha family, who have been calling. I will guide us into the village and then also move into my own study time there.

Activities 

  • Voice Opening Traditional treatment

  • Circles of Ahries (chants)

  • Knowledge transmission with the elders

  • Guitar learning with Runu

  • Herbal baths

  • Kampum (kambô)

  • Two Uni / Rami Ceremonies

  • Rapé Circles

  • Medicinal herbs

  • Natural foods within the traditional dieta

  • Healing treatments may be requested

Itinerary

Travel

  • June 24 – Arrive in Rio Branco, rest in hotel

  • June 25 – Early morning drive (~4 hours) to Boca do Acre, then boat to Aldeia Kamikua

  • June 25 – July 3 – Stay in Aldeia Kamikua

  • July 3 – Leave the village, return to Rio Branco, rest in hotel

  • July 4 – Depart Rio Branco

Group size
4–6 people (intimate group by invitation)

Lodging

There are currently two large houses with divided spaces in them that we will stay at in Aldeia Kamikua, under the care of Vesku, Runuina and their Yawanawa-Apuriná family. We will have to bring hammocks, mosquito nets and what we need to be comfortable. All this can also be bought in Rio Branco if you want to travel lighter. July is already starting to be drier so usually there’s not so many mosquitos!

Contribution

$3300

What Is Included

This includes all the activities, ceremonies, lodging in the village, nourishment, voice opening treatment within a very focused and intimate group.

Whats Not Included

Flights to Rio Branco, Hotel in Rio Branco, transport to Boca do Acre (this is about 50$), additional healing treatments with Mana may be requested for a separate contribution of $300.

This is a very accessible exchange for such an intimate group and rare opportunity. The contribution goes directly to the village, supporting their livelihood and the continuation of their healing work and ancestral knowledge.

Visits to study with the Madha are rare. I waited many years for these doors to open and was the first woman after Putanny to be initiated into this path in a deeper way. It is a true privilege to share this in a small circle.

We are completing a small group for this journey, calling in those who feel a true resonance with this path and the commitment it carries. The intention is to travel together in a grounded and intentional way, as a group already connected to the study and the spirit of this light.

If you feel the call, reach out to connect further. I’m happy to share more details, including preparation guidelines for the dieta and how to approach this time of study.

con amor,

Akarâ