Voice of the Forest
Instituto Pakakuru – The Shanenawa People
Manipá Shanenawa
Xanupá
Shanenawa
Vawinawa
Shanenawa
Introduction
Could you introduce yourselves and share who you are within the Shanenawa people?
Manipá: I am Manipá, a spiritual Pajé—not only for my people, but outside of it as well. I carry the responsibility of representing the youth of the village, and I am also a counselor for indigenous health. I am a young person who has found recognition among my people through spirituality, and people treat me with great affection. In other communities, I am also seen as a great future leader. But my current battle is to bring improvements to the village. I am a master in the medicine of Rapé.
Xanupá: I am Xanupá Shanenawa, a spiritual leader of the Shanenawa people, and I hold various roles within the community. I am the current president of our people's cooperative, a representative for sports, and I also represent the group of musicians of the sacred prayers (rezos). I serve as a spiritual guide within the lines of study of the medicines.
Vawinawa: Shava Shava. I am Vawinawa Shanenawa, representative of the culture and youth of the Morada Nova village. I am a master in the making of the sacred medicine Uni (also known as Ayahuasca), spiritual president of the Casa de Cura Pakakuru healing house group, and also a spiritual leader of healing—a spiritual healing Pajé with deep knowledge of healing with medicinal herbs.
What is the history of your village and your ancestral lineage?
Manipá: The history of the place where I was born—the Morada Nova village—is part of a lineage of Pajés who carry the spiritual gift. We inherited this gift from our great-grandmother, and now from our mother, and we work with it today through spirituality. The history of our people, in short, is that of a people where, after a war, only 16 indigenous people survived. That was the family of our great-grandfather, Inácio Brandão, whose indigenous name is Tekavayni. It is thanks to him that the Shanenawa people still exist today; he was the great pillar of our people. We carry the name Shanenawa with great pride.
A few years ago, we were not allowed to officially register our indigenous names because of prejudice, so we were forced to take a Nawa name—the white man's name. That is why we have other names in the official registry, but in the community, we are known by our indigenous names. Manipá means "everything a person does turns into art"—a great artisan. The Nova Vida village was the second village to be established, founded by Murarí Shanenawa, son of the old Inácio Brandão, as the number of indigenous people grew.
Xanupá: It is hard to speak about it, because the history is long. I come from a lineage of spiritual women that stems from the matriarch of the Shanenawa people: the elder Pakakuru, my great-grandmother. I am from the Morada Nova village, the first village founded, where I was born, raised, and where I live to this day. The village was founded in 1956, and today it is the largest village with the highest population of Shanenawa: 860 people and 160 families.
Vawinawa: Shava Shava. My lineage comes from two main pillars: the first is the leadership of my great-grandfather Tekavayni, the greatest political leader of the Shanenawa people. And the spiritual lineage comes from my great-grandmother Pakakuru, the strongest Pajé of our people. We are the seeds of these two people, fighting on both the spiritual and indigenous-political levels. My village is Morada Nova, the first village of the Shanenawa people to be founded in the municipality of Feijó. To this day, the village is led by the descendants of these two people: Tekavayni and Pakakuru. Today, we are taking the lead in these two areas—spiritual and leadership—seeking improvements for our people.
Origin of the Institute
How was Instituto Pakakuru born? What motivated its creation within the village, and what is its mission?
Manipá: It was born out of a conversation between Xanupá, Vawinawa, and myself. We wanted to build something through the institute to help not only the Shanenawa people, but also other peoples and the Ribeirinhos (the non-indigenous people who live along the riverbanks). We are seeking resources for reforestation and even want to work in fish farming to generate jobs and income within the community for the people who truly need it. This was the way we saw to help our people.
Xanupá: Instituto Pakakuru was born from conversations about preserving and strengthening our culture. We then made the decision to legally formalize the institute so we could offer support to our nature and to the society that needs help. Often, an organization like this holds more strength than an individual person. So, the Institute focuses exactly on this: protecting the environment and strengthening the indigenous foundation of the Shanenawa people.
Vawinawa: Instituto Pakakuru Shanenawa was born from the need to protect nature and spiritual protection—not just for the Shanenawa people, but for all peoples in general. Instituto Pakakuru is the voice of the forest and the spirits of the forest. We are merely the messengers of this voice that is calling out to the world for help.
What does “Pakakuru” mean?
Xanupá: Pakakuru. Paka means taboca (a bamboo of the forest), and kuru means grey. Grey bamboo, when you translate the word. But its spiritual meaning is "the spirit of the forest." This is because the taboca is a tree that stands like a pillar, but it only becomes resilient once a conglomerate of many tabocas forms—from a single root, many trunks grow. This is also the spiritual meaning: unity.
Furthermore, it is a very sharp plant. In our village, in the old days, the Paka served as a knife and an arrow tip. And Pakakuru is also the name of the matriarch of our people's spirituality, our great-grandmother. We named the Institute in honor of this legendary, divine being who comes from the enchanted forest.
Purpose and Vision
What kind of future do you desire for the forest and for the next generations?
Manipá: What I see is that our projects will help a great deal, because we know that in the future, nature will be even more in focus globally. It is a worry of ours that our children and grandchildren continue this fight when we make our transition to the spiritual plane. From now on, a lot is going to change, especially because of the climate crisis. We know that there are no more fish left, and all of this is wrapped up into one single project. We worry deeply about our children for these reasons. I hope everything goes well and that non-indigenous people do not destroy the forest.
Xanupá: For the future, I desire a forest that bears good fruit. I want my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be able to know the forest that I know today. I want them to experience all the animals we have within our Shanenawa forest. So, this is the future of the forest: to see it even greener and bearing good fruit. This is the vision I will fight for until the very end—to have an enchanted, green forest. Shava Shava. To see many little “Shavazinhos” celebrating inside the forest.
Vawinawa: Shava Shava. I wish for the forest to survive the greed of man and the malice of human beings, and that it can flourish for my grandchildren and my children. I wish that man has the character to protect the forest, to care for it, and to cherish it, and that God carries the forest inside His heart just as I do.
How do you see the role of the Shanenawa people in preserving the Amazon?
Manipá: Our role within the Shanenawa people is something we are born into: the preservation of nature. Because it is from there that we harvest our entire livelihood, all our medicines. For us, the forest is life. An indigenous person without the forest does not exist. The indigenous person has a profound connection with the forest.
Xanupá: The forest and the Shanenawa people are one; they are interconnected. I see it this way: when we take care of ourselves, we are taking care of the forest. And the forest gives back only good things: it gives us fruit, clean drinking water, pure air, and good soil to plant. The Shanenawa is one with the forest, a single being. I believe the Shanenawa people are the spokesperson for the forest.
Vawinawa: The role of the Shanenawa people is of great importance for the protection of the entire forest. Our people hold the forest as life, as a living being, where each tree carries a history for the Shanenawa people. Every animal has a meaning and its own power. That is why the Shanenawa people protect the forest so fiercely. If the forest dies, the Shanenawa people die too.
Relationship with the Forest
How do you learn from nature and from the ancestors?
Xanupá: All knowledge comes from Mother Nature to the Shanenawa People. We only do what nature teaches us. And our ancestors spoke with nature; they had a deep affinity with it. It is because we respect nature, the forest, the animals, the dawn, and the sunset, that she gave us this wisdom.
Vawinawa: We learn from nature through observation. By observing the birds, the trees, and the animals. Our ancestors would go into the forest and watch. They saw, for example, that when a monkey cut itself, it would walk and walk, pick a certain leaf, and place it over the wound. Thus, they understood that the leaf served to stop the bleeding and help against inflammation.
That is how they went along, creating an ever-deeper connection with nature. From there came the spiritual Pajés, and to this day, we are still learning. We do not know even 10% of what exists in nature, and that is why we preserve it just as we preserve our own lives. Because from her comes our food and our knowledge.
Why is reforestation important from a spiritual and cultural perspective?
Manipá: To maintain our spirituality in the future, we need the forest. There is one very clear thing I always say: we need her (nature), but she does not need us. So, we must have this love to preserve her and this care, so that in the future we can live happier lives with our medicines. It is through them that we bring healing and spirituality. Healing and spirituality are exactly the same: they walk hand in hand, side by side. The medicinal herbs working together with spirituality function this way.
Xanupá: Reforestation is very important from a spiritual standpoint because knowledge comes from the forest. When we plant something, we want to see the fruit. Nature planted us, she sees our fruit, and so she holds a great connection with us. We will do the same with her, so that in the future, the next Pajés of the coming generations will have their forest medicines.
Vawinawa: Reforestation is vital because today, unfortunately, the Shanenawa forest and the Amazon rainforest are being destroyed by loggers and by people who have greed in their hearts; they are killing the forest and the animals. If we do not reforest today, tomorrow we will have no forest. There will be no rivers or igarapés (forest streams) for my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And without the rivers, without the streams, and without nature, there is no spirituality. The moment we lose the forest, we lose life and we lose our connection to the spirits. By preserving the forest, we are protecting our bond with the unseen.
Projects and Actions
What kinds of projects does the Institute intend to carry out?
Manipá: There are many. I will name a few, and the guys will name others. In Jesus' name, in the future, we want to carry out not only reforestation projects—which stand first in line—but we also want to make fish farming and poultry farming possible. Beyond feeding the people, this will generate jobs within the community. This is one of the core focuses we have.
Xanupá: Instituto Pakakuru wants to work with projects that protect nature and, at the same time, generate resources within the community so we can reforest more and more. All of our projects are directed toward nature, to expand our forest and show that through these projects, we create life right in the heart of the forest.
Vawinawa: Shava Shava. Instituto Pakakuru aims to preserve nature with projects focused on tree species that are facing extinction. Within the community, we have projects to strengthen culture and spirituality, educating youth and children about the importance of the forest. We also work to protect the rights of indigenous peoples—not only the Shanenawa people, but all peoples connected to nature. The goal of Instituto Pakakuru is to encompass all of this.
How do reforestation actions work in practice?
Manipá: In practice, it works in two ways. One of them is for us to harvest certain types of seeds from the forest ourselves and prepare them in a suitable place (with Paú, as we call fertilizer in the Shanenawa language). We build a very large fence so that chickens and other animals cannot get in and damage the seedlings. For this, we need a greenhouse structure, and that is exactly where the resources come into play. Not everything we use comes from the forest. For example, for certain woods suitable for construction, we need to form partnerships with companies that practice legal timber harvesting. It is not easy for us alone to find and gather all the seeds. So, we need support from places where these seeds are mapped out, and also help with daily care and the handling of the seedlings.
Xanupá: We have ways of working on short, medium, and long-term bases. There are seeds that sprout faster, and others that take longer and require very special care. That is where sponsorships come in. We can plant many long-term trees whose results we will only see in 10 or 15 years. For this, we need to invest in daily care in a specific location to constantly shield and protect the seedlings.
Who participates in these projects within the village?
Manipá: It is the people from the village themselves, but we also need external professionals and technicians with specialized knowledge to support us with the professional monitoring that these seedlings and plants require, especially for the reforestation project.
Use of Donations
How are the donations received utilized?
Manipá: The donations will help us immensely in hiring these professionals and technicians. Additionally, there are tree seedlings we need to buy to reforest. For example: in our region, there are no more Brazil nut trees (Castanheiras) left. So, we have to buy them from somewhere else. And why the Brazil nut? Because people can harvest them to eat, and sell the surplus in a sustainable way. Our focus is to bring back fruit-bearing trees that have become extinct in our region. The resources will also ensure that community members can be compensated for their work on these projects.
Vawinawa: They will be used to create the physical structure of Instituto Pakakuru and for the daily maintenance of the tree nurseries. It takes care every single day, otherwise the work does not move forward. Every month, we will sit down, review the donations, and divide them among the projects. We won't work on a single line, but along several paths: both in the nurseries and in raising people's awareness about nature. We want to raise awareness among indigenous people, but also among the Ribeirinhos, since they often cause deforestation due to a lack of alternatives or information.
How do you guarantee transparency and responsibility in the use of resources?
Manipá: We will practice transparency directly with our supporters, sending videos, reports, and receipts for everything that is bought, keeping the accountability visible. Today, social media helps a lot; it allows us to share updates and even do live broadcasts. We want to show everything very clearly in practice. We also want to use this opportunity to invite our supporters and anyone interested to visit us in the village, see the projects live, and plant trees in the forest right alongside us. It will be a unique and very special experience.
Partnership with the Association
How did the partnership with the association “Shanenawa Family” come about?
Manipá: It came about through our conversations with friends in Europe who, whether one likes it or not, ended up giving us a surprise. Through these dialogues, they kept asking us what we needed help with. From there came the direct idea from our friends to create this official partnership with the association.
What does this cooperation / partnership represent to you?
Vawinawa: This partnership represents, first and foremost, unity. The unity of different peoples. Our mission today at Instituto Pakakuru is to speak about the importance of nature, and thanks to God and the spirits of the forest, this voice crossed the ocean and reached the other side of the world. Because these projects do not only bring benefits to the Shanenawa People, but to the entire world and to every single person living on it.
How do you see this bridge between the forest and Europe?
Manipá: This bridge between the forest and Europe allows us to deliver our message and present our reality to those who do not know it. Unfortunately, in Europe, there are almost no old-growth forests left, and people live a completely different life; many do not have the opportunity or the curiosity to get to know the Amazon. Through this bridge, many people will open their eyes to the reality of our forest.
Xanupá: What I see in this bridge is that the forest has a voice, and it is crying out for help. And there are people on the other side ready to help and rescue it. Nature seeks this bridge because she knows where to find support. And Europe will help our Amazon rainforest because the people there know the weight and the pain of no longer having a native forest.
Culture and Wisdom
What would you like people in Europe to understand about the Shanenawa culture?
Xanupá: I would like people to understand that here, there is still spirituality, love, and joy. A lot of joy.
Manipá: Xanupá has already said it all, that is exactly it. It is about passing on the security of how the Shanenawa people live: trusting one another and considering ourselves all one big family. That is how we live in our community. We wish for them to open their hearts and know that no one is alone in the world; we are all one single family. May people embrace this cause.
Final Message
What message would you like to leave for anyone who feels the calling to support this work?
Manipá: The first word is gratitude! To the people who support us, may it come from the heart. Because when it comes from the heart, the energy flows, things work out, and paths open up. To all people, partners, and supporters: the key word is gratitude. You will not regret walking alongside us.
Xanupá: My message is the following: everyone who helps us is saving lives! They are saving culture, saving a people... so feel happy for sharing your kindness. And the final message is this: all the sponsors and brothers who help us already live in our hearts and do not pay any rent at all, in the name of God and Jesus Christ.
Vawinawa: Whoever feels the calling to support Instituto Pakakuru is not just supporting individuals; they are supporting the forest, life, culture, and the spirituality of a people. It is as if each supporter were planting a tree inside the forest. Caring well for it, it will bear good fruit. This is Instituto Pakakuru. Finally, we thank from the bottom of our hearts everyone who feels this calling to stand by us. Shava Shava
