Circle of Word w/ Marakame Otakame & Rapé w/ Paula L.

Wixárika means “a person with a deep heart who loves knowledge.” They are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, San Luis Potosi, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the Southern United States in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. According to carbon dating of the ashes from their ceremonial fireplaces, the Wixárika have been in this region for at least 15.000 years. The ritual of collecting and consuming peyote (híkuri) in this land is woven into their origin story. Wirikuta, the Sierra de Catorce mountain range, and the desert at its feet are among their most sacred sites and the sun’s birthplace. The UNESCO-designated site of Wirikuta is one of the most biodiverse deserts on the planet.

Otakame Rogelio Carrillo is a Marakame (the one that can dream, heal and sing – master shaman) of the Wixárika (Huichol) community of San Andrés Cohamitra, Jalisco, Mexico. Rogelio comes from a lineage of Marakames, and since he was a small child, he grew up at the heart of his culture, learning about his people’s ceremonies, dances, and songs. In 2005, he became the principal Marakame of the community, and during 2019-2023, he was part of the council of elders in the community central ceremony. Currently, Rogelio is the spiritual guide of the local centre.

The circle of word is an ancestral technology. A space in which men and women from all times and cultures have met to dialogue, and look each other in the eyes and listen to each other from the heart. In this, wisdom and knowledge are learned and shared, revitalising the history and legacy of the elders.

Since 2015, Paula López has devoted herself wholeheartedly to learning from different ancestral traditions. She had the pleasure and honour of sharing medicine and organising retreats and ceremonies for the Yawanawá, Shipibo, Lakota, Huni Kuin, Cofán, and Wixárika. She met their grandparents, sat in their ceremonies with master plants, and put herself at their service.

Rapé, a dried tobacco and tree ashes powder, is a sacred medicine used thousands of years ago by different indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest like the Yawanawá and Huni Kuin people. It is known for clearing the mind, grounding and connecting to your energy system and chakras. Rapé medicine invites you into a deep state of meditation which can liberate many emotions and parts of our unconscious mind.

@ Healing Lab, 12:00h

Please note that the festival ticket does not give access to the ceremony. The festival organisation will email you instructions for the pre-booking system for this event.