We are deeply honored to welcome Tania Montahuano Ushigua, a respected healer and wisdom keeper from the Sapara Nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Tania is a traditional healer who carries the ancestral knowledge of her people, sharing time-honored practices of healing and connection with nature.
Join Sápara healer Tania Montahuano for an hour-and a half long Amazonian Sapara ceremony rooted in ancestral tradition. The evening includes guayusa tea and tobacco, used in the Sápara way to cleanse, ground, and open space for reflection and renewal. Please arrive on an empty stomach and wear comfortable clothing. Not recommended for pregnant individuals or those with certain heart conditions.
Follow Tania at @saprawomendream
About Tania:
My name is Tania Montahuano Ushigua. I am a woman of the Sápara people, a people of dreamers who have learned to listen to the voices of the rainforest, the rivers, and the spirits that inhabit our Amazonian territory. I was born and raised among the song of birds, the sound of trees moved by the wind, and the wisdom of my elders.
From a very young age I accompanied my mother, a wise and well-traveled woman, who taught me that the rainforest is not just the place where we live, but a great school of life. With her I learned to weave crafts and to understand that every fiber, every seed, and every design holds a story, a memory, and a message from our ancestors.
My people, the Sápara people, face the danger of disappearing, but we also hold an immense strength: the strength of dreams. Since I was a child I took part in spaces of learning, leadership, and defense of our territory, understanding that protecting the rainforest is protecting our culture, our language, and the future of those who will come after us.
Today I continue walking with my mother's dreams in my heart. Through crafts I share the knowledge of the rainforest and support the work of women, men, girls, and boys in our communities.
Every piece we take beyond our territory is a seed of our history, a way of keeping our identity alive and creating opportunities for our families. I am the mother of six children, and they are one of the greatest forces driving my struggle.
I work for their dreams, for the dreams of my people, and for the dreams of many women who, like me, believe in the life born from the rainforest. My wish is that new generations may continue to hear the language of the trees, the song of the rivers, and the wisdom of our ancestors.
My favorite color is Amazonian green, because it is the color of life, of hope, and of the rainforest that saw me grow. It is the color I carry in my spirit, the one that guides every step of my path as a Sápara woman, artisan, defender of the Amazon, and guardian of my people's dreams.