Yawanawa Saiti Study
An 8 week virtual immersion to learn traditional saitis from the Matriarchal Forces of the Yawanawa Tribe, empower your voice & connect to the spirit of the forest
Wednesday, September 25th - Wednesday, November 6th, 2024
About this Saiti Study
In this 8-week study, you are invited to dive into the inherent wisdom of your voice through the study of traditional chants (saitis) with two of the most powerful matriarchal forces of the Yawanawa Tribe.
Our teachers for this study will be Manxyvake Yawanawa (Manxy) & Kenetsayny Yawanawa (Maria).
They are the wife and daughter of Matsini Yawanawa, a Spiritual Leader of the Yawanawa, and the Chief of Mutum village.
We are also lucky enough to expect appearances from the other daughters of the family of Matsini Yawanawa.
This is the first time Manxy and Maria have offered virtual saiti studies, as they normally only offer these studies in person on retreats and diets with the Yawanawa tribe, so this is a rare and beautiful opportunity to learn from these inspiring women of the Yawanawa.
Class dates
We will meet virtually via Zoom every two weeks, giving you plenty of time to study your saitis well, receive corrections and ask questions in between each class. Each class will last around 2 hours.
Class 1: Wednesday September 25th at 3pm Central time
Class 2: Wednesday, October 9th at 3pm Central time
Class 3: Wednesday, October 23rd at 3pm Central time
Class 4: Wednesday, November 6th at 3pm Central time
Not sure about your time zone? Check our time zone conversion here.
What is a saiti?
A saiti is a traditional chant that uses the ancient Yawanawa language that was almost completely eliminated from the world in the last century.
Saitis contain certain forces that bring balance, power, healing, calmness, clarity, amongst other qualities, to the body, mind and spirit. Saitis are traditionally sung in ceremonies, as well as celebrations, and any time you want to bring balance to your experience.
Most saitis don’t have exact translations, however some of them contain a specific force that can be brought in.
Anyone can sing saitis, there is no special initiation required to be able to sing them, however they each carry a powerful force to them and it is necessary to share them in a respectul way.
It’s recommended to only sing saitis when you have had them passed to you them in a good way, with the right pronunciation, melody, cadence.
It is thought that a saiti sang in the wrong melody or pronunciation can change the force of the saiti, so getting an opportunity to receive saitis from the Matriarchal forces of the Chief of Mutum, within the lineage of the Yawanawa’s most powerful Paje, is a great honor and blessing.
What’s included
in this 8 week immersion
4 live & virtual Saiti study classes via Zoom
Learn two traditional Saitis & one Saiti with Guitar
Recordings of each class available for future study
WhatsApp Study Group to share your process and communicate with Manxy, Maria and the team
1-to-1 saiti corrections offered through WhatsApp from Manxy and Maria
Ongoing support throughout the study from our organizers, Krystal & Amanda
Pricing
We’ve made this study as inclusive as possible with two payment options and an automatic scholarship for BIPOC folx.
One time payment
$333
Full price one-time payment
Monthly payment
$170 per month
As a more financially inclusive option, you can make two monthly payments of $170
Bring a friend and save $100
$566
Saiti study is always better with a friend! Purchase together and save $100 total!
(monthly payment available at checkout)
Preços Brasileiros
$165
Se você é nativo do Brasil você ganha 50% de desconto
BIPOC pricing
$288
If you are Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color you’ll receive an automatic scholarship
(monthly payment available when you checkout)
About your Saiti teachers
Manxy & Maria are the wife and daughter of Matsini Yawanawa.
Matsini Yawanawa is a Spiritual Leader of the Yawanawa as well as the Chief of Mutum Village, one of the main villages of the Yawanawa Tribe in Acre, Brazil.
Matsini’s family respectfully carries on the tradition of Tata Yawanawa, who was known as the oldest and last authentic Paje (Shaman) of the Yawanwa in our time.
Tata was the force behind saving the spirituality of the Yawanawa from extinction in the last century.
The wisdom carried through these saitis not only contains the important lineage of Tata, but it also brings life to the very much celebrated Forca Feminina of the Yawanawa tradition.
The women of the Yawanawa are the “puxadoras” of the music, meaning they sing louder and more profoundly, truly bringing to life the saitis.
Manxy and Maria have studied under Matsini’s guidance carefully and with a lot of respect to what they’re upholding, and the force they both carry in their saitis is profound and inspiring.
These women of the Yawanawa offer a beautiful example of what it looks like to be a woman empowered to use her voice without restraint, which is deep medicine for many of us who have a lot of programming and limiting beliefs around our voices and our song.
Matsinis other daughters will also be a part of this study in the ways that they can, and we look forward to you meeting them.
About the Yawanawa
The Yawanawá are the legal guardians of almost half a million acres of Brasilian Amazon. There are over 1,000 Yawanawá, living in 9 tribal villages along the Gregório River.
The Yawanawá and their allies are dedicated to developing a model of sustainability that allows them to protect their lands and engage with the outside world on their own terms, without compromising their cultural and spiritual identity.
The tribe has been working tirelessly to increase territory, reinvigorate Yawanawá culture, and establish economically and socially empowering relationships with the outside world. They plant and hunt their own food and live in wooden houses, their pharmacy is the forest.
Due to a history with missionaries, part of their culture got lost and devalued.
However, today they recaptured a lot of their tradition and are very grateful and proud to be able to share this beautiful treasure.
Yawanawá roughly translates to "people of the wild boar”.
Excerpt from Yawanawa Spirit
Meet your support team
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Krystal Penrose
Organizer & Student Support
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Amanda Lagois
Translator & Co-Organizer
Contact us.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out here or to the organizer, Krystal, at hello.krystalpenrose@gmail.com.
Reserve your spot for this saiti immersion
This is a rare opportunity to study with the Matriarchal forces of the Yawanawa tribe, so if you feel the call we encourage you to sign up!