More about Haru and Hayra
Haru Kuntanawa, the leader of the Kuntanawa Nation was responsible for the revitalization of the cultural reemergence of his People. He is recognized by many indigenous people of Brazil as one of the most influential young leaders of his time. His strong presence, compassionate heart and expressive influence has changed and restored the faith of his People and surrounding villages that reside along the banks of acre, Brazil. Haru met with the twelve tribes alliance in Acre and promoted a big alliance between the People. His goal was to defend the traditional knowledge and honor the use of natural plant medicine as these sacred and medicinal uses of plants can cure the physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. Between the years of 2010-2014, Haru organized significant and large meetings for the Pano Corridor Project, that united different tribes, nations, and people from various parts of the world. The aim of this project was to promote a larger understanding between the People of different continents. Haru is the current president of the social organization of the Kuntanawa people, (the Ascak Association) that advocates the rights and interests of the collective. From 2015 to 2017 he assumed the post of Advisor of Health for the Indigenous of the District of the Juruá. He became oriented with the public health policies set by the federal government in 8 municipalities in the state of Acre, with a population of 15 thousand indigenous people. At the end of 2017 he decided to leave the government and develop a project with his wife and Co-leader, Dr. Hayra Kuntanawa, a medical doctor educated in different areas of Eastern and Western Medicine. This project was formed to protect the plants of the Amazon and to heal and educate the indigenous people. Haru was in the UN, with the Cacique (Chief) Raoni leader of the Kayapó People, in their search to support and defend the forest and their People from the corruption of companies such as: timber, mining, contractors of hydroelectric and against the agri-businesses that destroy the lands of the Amazon. Each and every day the Amazon is under threat by corporate demise. Haru and Hayra have dedicated their lives to spreading this message to the world. They do this by offering ceremonies with the aide of the plant medicines from the jungle in Acre, Brazil. Their voices and music, and deep connection to each and every ceremony participant is a form of healing that helps people connect with their roots to the earth and awaken the conscience to live in harmony with the rest of the world.
Hayra Kuntanawa is an internationally recognized medicine woman, Chinese Medicine doctor, and teacher in various arts of healing, and with her husband co-leader of the Kuntanawa nation. Since a child, the healing path has been part of Hayra’s life and she has evolved her knowledge into her own unique field of medical practice. Through her studies and work Hayra has had the opportunity to work in Asia, and study in Europe, North, South and Central America. Hayra has had the privilege to graduate and study from a number of world-renowned schools, institutions and teachers such as: Oregon College of Oriental Medicine leading school in the United States for Oriental Medicine), the Hypnotherapy Academy of America (carries the title as number one school in the world in the study of Hypnotherapy), Mikio Sankey (founder of Esoteric Acupuncture), and Lillian Pearl Bridges (world acclaimed and pioneer in the field of Facial Diagnosis). Dr. Hayra Kuntanawa currently holds the titles of Co-leader of the Kuntanawa Nation, Doctor of Oriental and Acupuncture Medicine, Esoteric Acupuncture Practitioner, Hypnotherapist, Licensed Massage Therapist, Reiki Master, Holistic Doula, Face Reader, Akashic Records Reader, Medicine Woman, Shamanic Soul Retrieval Practitioner, and musical artist. She currently resides with her husband Haru Kuntanawa, leader, chief, and medicine man of the Kuntanawa tribe in the sacred lands of the Amazon in Acre, Brazil. Together they are active leaders, plant medicine researchers and spiritual pioneers of the Kuntanawa tribe, song artist, as well as world-renowned activist spreading the vision of earth unity among humans, plants, and animals.
-- For centuries, the cohabitation between plants, animals, and humans have been a way of life for the Kuntanawa people. The lands of the Kuntanawa tribe (located in Acre, Brazil) are the home of many sacred plants and animals. These living flora and fauna are honored in healing rituals, used for food, and other living and spiritual purposes. Today Haru and Hayra focus as the active leaders of the Kuntanawa is to extend this type of respect that exists in this sacred land, to the entire planet. Their hopes to awaken the masses through inspired universal awareness and encouragement of higher consciousness, have already provoked transformation through action in their community and beyond. With the growing pollution of this planet- be it physical, mental or spiritual, there is an active need for all beings to unify. Hayra and Haru encourage the people of the globe to work towards awareness and respect for each other, in order to create a world that is more heart-centered. Haru’s healing practice focus is centered around plant medicine use; this way of healing was passed down to him by his ancestors. As Hayra attended a number of world renowned institutions, her focus over the years has been in the arts of Natural or Traditional Medicine if it be through medical philosophies of Chinese Medicine, or from her study of medicine ways that exists from various lineages of knowledge. With the current state of planet Earth, they emphasizes the importance to finally open the doors of ancestral knowledge in hopes of sharing the humbling power that plants and other healing modalities have to offer. If one surrenders to the heart and listens to the message, great understanding of personal and universal mysteries will be discovered. Located in the Brazilian amazon, the people of Kuntanawa are of the 12 known tribes that live in the state of Acre. During the beginning the 20th century the people almost became extinct by the rubber tapper arrival. For almost a century the people stayed disappeared off the map from the Brazilian government because the descendants were thought to be all passed from what was considered a genocide of the Kuntanawa people. At the turn of the 21st century, the Kuntanawa leading elders Milton and Mariana, their children and grandchildren resorted to the government in search of their rights as the protectors of the land Kuntanawa. This thus stirred a new page in history and in the life of the forest with the search for the rescue of their knowledge and traditions. Kuntanawa in the present moment is in a phase of reconstruction of their people, spirt, culture, history, and language with focus to heal from the occurrence of discrimination of their ancestral heritage. The nation Kuntanawa currently has a small population living in three villages of a total of only 100 people; although approximately 400 Kuntanawa can be found in different cities and communities along the riverside. The present challenge of the people of Kuntanawa residing in these villages are survival techniques around self sustainability that was traditionally taught by their ancestors resulting in the motivation of Kuntanawa to then find back their ways. Another area of focus is the gathering again of their people from tyranny as now the sacred lands of Kuntanawa are a safe, sacred and prosperous land once again.
Hayra and Haru first met—not by chance—while traveling through the country of Peru. Hayra, who lived in the United States in Boulder, Colorado, received a message from the psychic realm of the Akashic Records while meditating one day, instructing her to travel to the town of Pisac, Peru. There, she was guided to a small café and instructed to wait to be approached by a particularly indigenous-looking man. This man would be her future husband. Haru, the leader of the Kuntanawa Nation, had chosen to embark on a journey of his own, seeking to heal his heart from past dramas and to awaken a new part of himself. He was searching to evolve, and he hoped that traveling to a new place where he could relieve himself from the daily responsibilities of his homeland would help him heal. Haru, thus, took his medicines and traveled to Pisac, Peru, for the first time. In the moments of their first encounter, both Hayra and Haru recognized a strong bond— that of soul alignment. The two became friends immediately, and when Hayra traveled with Haru three weeks later to Acre, Brazil, the deepest part of the Amazon, to meet the Kuntanawa tribe for the first time, their relationship deepened into much more. Not only has their love inspired many to manifest authenticity, but it has led people from all over the world to listen to their music and stories, to experience their medicine, and to leave transformed upon witnessing this love and guidance. While the couple is still in the process of understanding each other’s language as well as learning their culture and music, they use various ways to communicate in what they call “Portuglais.” At public events, a translator is present to aid in this process. Hayra received her Kuntanawa name after their legal marriage and became the first known western, white woman to marry a great indigenous leader of the Amazon. Together they carry a new form of role in the Kuntanawa territory: the two lead as equals. This dynamic is very new to the people of the Amazon, including within the surrounding tribes, as women’s rights, equal partnerships, and marriages to foreign peoples are all entirely new concepts. Mission behind the Music: Haru and Hayra were inspired to create this record from their desire to unite different cultures, languages, and skin colors with a universal language: the power of love. They believe love is the strongest force on Earth, and that much good can be done with this incredible power. With this album, they hope to awaken the new and old tribes of the world, as well as to awaken the spiritual consciousness of the planet. As of 2019, the world is in a VERY critical condition; Brazil, specifically, is currently experiencing a state of chaos. Under the administration of the newly-elected president, the protection that the Amazon once held has been revoked. Each day, many indigenous lives are lost as the government violently relocates and eliminates the indigenous people in its quest for natural resources. The new president’s goal is to first drain the forest of resources like oil, gold, and other precious materials, and then to sell or turn what’s left of the Amazon into cattle ranges. This quest would be catastrophic for the planet as a whole, as 30% of all of Earth’s breathable oxygen comes from the Amazon rainforest. In addition, a large percentage of the planet’s water supply comes from deposits of rivers within the Amazon—rivers which are currently being contaminated through this new exploitation. Not only is the Amazon’s crucial supply of natural resources in jeopardy, but the mysteries of the world’s oldest forest are also at risk of being lost forever. Each day, three to four new species of plants and animals are discovered in the Amazon— species which potentially offer new healing powers. This record was made in hopes that the music will awaken its listeners to both themselves and to the needs of the entire planet. How we approach this discussion now will dramatically impact the future of our civilization, and we simply cannot afford to risk losing our world’s oldest forest. Now is the time to act.
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