Yawanawá — Sacred Music
Cantos: where ancient forest songs meet guitars, drums, and the modern world.
Yawanawá ceremonial songs — called cantos — are rooted in healing, joy, and connection with the forest. Every member of the tribe "asks the forest to teach them song medicine." New generations learn these chants through forest isolation paired with spiritual fasting, receiving songs directly from the land.
What sets the Yawanawá apart musically is their openness to evolution. In the last decade, younger generations have woven guitars, flutes, and drums into their ceremonial repertoire, creating a living bridge between ancient tradition and modern expression. The Huni Kuin, their Pano-family cousins, maintain a more strictly traditional vocal form — the Yawanawá embrace transformation within continuity.
Sacred Songs
Recordings of Yawanawá ceremonial music, from traditional cantos to guitar-accompanied saitis.
Artists
Key Yawanawá musicians and spiritual leaders sharing their tradition through recorded music.
Albums & Releases
Published recordings that bring Yawanawá music to a wider audience.
Videos
Ceremonies, performances, and documentaries featuring the Yawanawá.
The Future Is Ancestral
In April 2024, the Yawanawá joined Brazilian electronic artist DJ Alok and over fifty artists from eight indigenous peoples to create O Futuro É Ancestral ("The Future Is Ancestral"). The project involved 500+ hours of recordings made in studios and villages across the Amazon.
The Yawanawá performed "Shina Vaishu" at NYC Climate Change Week and the Grammy Museum's Global Spin Live — a collaboration that brought their ceremonial songs to an international stage. The Huni Kuin also participated in this landmark album, making it a rare meeting point for both Pano-family traditions.
As the Yawanawá say: "The spirits in Europe sleep. Humans are responsible for awakening the spirits, for awakening each other." Their music is one way they carry out that awakening.