Creator of spaces. Guardian of the Yawaraní legacy and Yawanawá spirituality.
Medicine man. Guardian of sacred ceremony space.
My name is Pekã Rasu Yawanawá (Valdemir Vicente Brandao) and I was born in 1970. I am one of the spiritual leaders of Aldeia Yawaraní of the indigenous territory of Rio Gregório in Acre. I am the oldest son of the great pajé Yawaraní and one of his last three students.
My muká diet, a powerful initiation of the Yawanawá spiritual path, lasted for one year with the privation of foods such as red meat, sugar, pure water, sexual intercourse, and spending long periods of isolation in the forest. This was a moment of deep clarification for my path and life mission.
My father passed away just right after I had finalized my dieta. After this event, my life transformed, I decided to dedicate myself to the study of medicine, to the continuation of Yawanawá spiritual traditions, to ceremonies and healing; dedicating my life to spirituality and to the culture of my people.
The choice to continue my path gave me also the chance to continue the lineage, cultivating the study of medicines, songs, and prayers with the contribution of my family creating always incredible beautiful ceremonies and chanting together for the healing of the many participants.
In 2023 I opened to the prayers (vana) for the spiritual practice of the diet (samakei), following the call of the mission that my father has left me as a legacy. I keep reconnecting each day deeper and deeper with the sacrality of this work, investing all my resources for the family and the spiritual mission and creating the Pekã Rasu space.
Pekã Rasu is a spiritual center with a healing plants garden inside the Amazon forest, 10 minutes away from Yawaraní by boat. A place where participants can go into retreats and solitude, a space for spiritual practice, initiations, and sacred diets, where spiritual practitioners have a great chance to reconnect with nature.
