Yawanawá — People of the Peccary
Pioneers of female shamanism, keepers of Uni ceremony, and bridge between ancient and modern worlds.
Who Are the Yawanawá?
The Yawanawá ("people of the white-lipped peccary") are approximately 1,000 people living across seven villages in the Terra Indígena Rio Gregório — 187,000 hectares in Acre state, western Brazil. Like the Huni Kuin, they belong to the Pano linguistic family.
Unlike the more widely dispersed Huni Kuin, the Yawanawá are concentrated in one territory. They were the first tribe in Acre to legally secure their land, through a demarcation led by Chief Biraci in 1984.
Uni — The Sacred Drink
The Yawanawá call their ceremonial drink Uni — the same two-plant fusion as the Huni Kuin's Nixi Pae, made from cipó mariri (vine) and chacrona (leaf). The name is different, but the plants and the reverence are shared across the Pano family.
Their pajés (shamans) undergo rigorous initiations: extended isolation, prayer, and spiritual fasting with sacred plants — training that can last an entire year in the forest.
Female Shamanism — A Groundbreaking Path
Until 2005, women were forbidden from spiritual leadership in Yawanawá tradition. Putanny Yawanawá and her sister became the first women to complete the demanding one-year shamanic initiation diet, breaking centuries of male-only tradition.
Putanny received commendation from the Brazilian Senate for her role in women's emancipation within indigenous culture. Her breakthrough opened the path for a new generation of female pajés — a development with no parallel in Huni Kuin tradition.
Music — Ancient Roots, Modern Branches
Yawanawá ceremonial songs are called cantos — rooted in healing, joy, and connection with the forest. Every member "asks the forest to teach them song medicine."
In the last decade, Yawanawá youth have introduced guitars, flutes, and drums into their musical tradition, blending ancient chants with modern expression. This openness to evolution sets them apart from the more strictly traditional vocal forms of the Huni Kuin.
Both tribes collaborated with DJ Alok on O Futuro É Ancestral ("The Future Is Ancestral") — a landmark album involving fifty artists from eight indigenous peoples, performed at NYC Climate Week and the Grammy Museum.
Mariri Festival
Created in 2000, the Mariri is an annual week-long gathering in the Sacred Village — the oldest community, where the grandparents' Uni was first prepared. All villages come together for a week of songs, dances, ceremonies, and games — a celebration of cultural resilience and intergenerational reunion.
Key Leaders
- Chief Biraci (Nixiwaka) — Led the 1984 land demarcation. Lifelong cultural reclamation activist.
- Putanny Yawanawá — First female shaman. Brazilian Senate commendation. International retreat facilitator.
- Pajé Yawarãni — Elder shaman, keeper of sacred songs.