A Yawanawá Chant from Acre

This is a chant of the Yawanawá, a people of the Gregório River in Acre, in the Brazilian Amazon. It was shared on SoundCloud in 2013 by Centro Yachak, an organisation in Acre that brings people together around indigenous culture, and it has been played more than 60,000 times.

The chant

On SoundCloud the recording is listed as “Shavorammatsini Hushahu”. Centro Yachak describes it as one of the chants they sing in rituals with the plants of power. We haven’t found a reliable translation of its name, so we share it as it was shared with us: a voice from the forest, to be listened to rather than explained.

The Yawanawá

The Yawanawá name is usually translated as “the people of the white-lipped peccary”. They are known far beyond Acre for their songs, their festivals and their hapé, and for keeping their traditions alive through hard times. Our guide to the Yawanawá people tells their story in more depth.

How to listen

Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and let the voice lead. You don’t need to understand the words to receive a chant like this one. If you sit with hapé, play it before and stay with it in the silence after.

A blend from the same people

Our Yawanawá Tsunu comes from the Yawanawá. Its grounding, clarifying character is a good companion for this chant. See all our Yawanawá blends.

Continue

• The Yawanawá people
• Shaneyawa Saitê: young Yawanawá and Shanenawa singers
• Tatá Yawanawá, the old healer
• What to expect at a hapé ceremony
• All our medicine songs