walk in beauty

you are a child of creation. may you always walk in beauty.

[mmarianamaia]

lua da savana

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little squash pergola experiment is coming along beautifully!

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Mariri Jungle Lodge in Alto Paraíso

I stayed here for a week last year, during a raw superfood detox retreat I helped organize at my friend Marianne's land - it's such an adorably quirky little tree house, built from recycled materials and super cozy inside. the land is all lush jungle and crystal clear waters, there are other options for accommodation besides the treehouse and it's open for travelers and artist residencies, so if you ever find yourself drawn to this part of the world, you know where to stay! 

[mmarianamaia]

a vida na savana ~ savanna life

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it's good to be home

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happy year of the horse!  :: pictures from last month in Três Picos, upstate Rio de Janeiro :: thank you Cacá + Sean + Clarice + Sofia + Mei

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the last time i had been to a pow wow i was still a little girl… the native americans are just as beautiful as i remembered @ Auburn Big Time Pow Wow, Auburn, CA

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back in California!

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life in Paradise

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at Alto Paraíso de Goiás

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last july we planted a bunch of sunflower seeds… some got eaten by the local critters, others sprouted, some we ate, others we let grow… yesterday, first day of spring here in the southern half of the world, we woke up to find our first sunflower in full bloom! #springequinox #seedsavers #sacredgeometry #gratitude

[mmarianamaia]

Chapada dos Veadeiros - Brazil the Cerrado is one of the world's oldest, most diverse tropical ecosystems. located in the central high plains of Brazil, it stretches across nearly 500 million acres, about 23% of the country's surface area. the world's most biologically rich savanna is home to over 10,000 species of plants, of which 45% are exclusive to the Cerrado. it feeds three of the major water basins in South America: the Amazon, Paraguay and São Francisco Rivers. Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, a large area of protected Cerrado, is an ancient plateau with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years. made up of deep rocky canyons and valleys, wide plateaus with waterfalls and crystal clear springs, it sits upon one of the world's oldest quartz crystal formation.

i am so blessed to call this place home!

[mmarianamaia]

I Feira Mebengokré Kayapó de Sementes Tradicionais some photos from last year's trip to the Mebengokré Kayapó Traditional Seed Exchange Festival at Moikarakô village in Xingu National Indigenous Park, in the Brazilian Amazon: 1, 2 - playing with the Mebengokré girls / 3, 4 - Ixã Ruinete, Shipi, Shane Vanderlon, Maria Laísa and little Txai Yube, my Huni Kuin Kaxinawá friends whom I had the honor of escorting to the festival / 5 - our home in Moikarakô village / 6 - traditional varieties of seeds we took to exchange, and books on Huni Kuin seeds, plants and nature, edited by Comissão Pró-Índio do Acre / 7 - Kayapó women baking fish and potatoes in the earth / 8, 9 Kayapó children from Moikarakô

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quartz with amethyst phantom

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Awara Nane Putane is a beautiful animated short film about the myth of origin of the traditional use of ayahuasca as told by the Yawanawa people

[mmarianamaia]

Deep in the rainforest they gather in celebration, to sing to the spirit and cultural ancestry of their people, the Yawanawá. 

While the sun shines in the blue skies they dance, recalling the ways of the elders, sharing stories of times when they knew not of a world beyond the borders of their floresta, the Amazon. Back then, the jungle had no borders. It was infinite.

Many a moon has crossed the skies since then - white men came and changed their ways, forbid their plant medicines and isolated their shamans... it is a story of great sorrow, known to indigenous people all across the world, recounted countless times through history by the few who have survived to tell.  But the Yawanawá's is also a story of resistance, empowerment, of a cultural renaissance that shines bright in the proud eyes of the young Indian warriors, whose song will not be silenced.

Today they are free to sing and dance under the bright shining sun once again. And when night falls, they gather around the fire to call upon the wisdom of the elders, and of the Uni, their most sacred plant medicine. The spirits are awake again, their chants echo deep into the night. 

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Every year for five days, the Yawanawá people open their home to foreign visitors during the Yawa Festival - a unique opportunity to experience a little of their way of life and cultural traditions. The Festival takes place in the Brazilian Amazon, in the state of Acre. These photos are from the 2011 Yawa Festival - one of the most beautiful celebrations I've ever witnessed.  More information at www.festivalyawa.org, a blog run by the Yawanawa people (only in portuguese).

[mmarianamaia]

magical days and nights in the Color Temple * Alto Paraíso

⟁  thank you Sean * Carlito * Sahar