Wiwa, Colombia

Mamo Sewigu Kakamukwa (Mamo Rodrigo) comes from a lineage of Mamos that goes beyond his great-great-grandfather, his family comes from the Kakamukwa lineage and there has been Mamos in his family in every single generation.

Mamo Sewigu (Mamo Rodrigo) was an educator and leader of his community before receiving his Segwa at the head of the Jerez River when being ordained as a Mamo.

Mamo Sewigu is not only a Mamo, but he was a Maestro first.

For the Tayrona, a Maestro is a weaver, a storyteller, a musician, a teacher, and is also in charge of making Sacred Objects for the community.

A Maestro is the weaver who makes the walls of the Temple and the hats the Wiwa people wear, a Maestro also makes the Carrumbo (Sacred Object: a spindle) that the young females use to spin the cotton.

Mamo Sewigu/Rodrigo was the teacher who opened the first bilingual School in 2007 inside the Reservation to teach basic Spanish and Math, as well as their Traditional Knowledge, to prevent the youngsters to leave the Reservation while preserving their Cultural Identity. He has also worked for the Colombian Public Health Department during Public Health campaigns as a nurse. His knowledge of the Tayrona languages as well as his knowledge of the Wiwa and Kogi territory in the state of Guajira enables him to act in the capacity of an intercultural bridge.

Kogui, Colombia

Mamo Rafael Malo Carrillo is a Kogui Mamo and spiritual authority devoted to maintaining balance between humanity and the natural world. He serves as a counselor in discipline, guiding individuals and families in right conduct according to ancestral law and spiritual order.

A doctor of traditional medicine, he performs pagamentos (sacred offerings) with zhatkwa and awarrinchi, as well as with sacred thoughts and consecrated objects, to restore harmony and prevent spiritual and physical illness. He conducts baptisms for homes, ceremonial houses, and individuals, anchoring both spaces and lives in alignment with the Law of Origin. He also offers guidance on the responsible and life-affirming use of sexual energy for the wellbeing of social and communal life, and provides general spiritual consultations.

Mamo Rafael continues to live in the traditional ways of his ancestors, high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, without electricity and in deep relationship with the land. Until last year, he had never traveled outside of his community. His only journey beyond the Sierra was to Mazatlán, marking a rare and meaningful step in sharing the wisdom of his people.

All of his work is dedicated to preventing illness in nature and humanity, protecting the masculine principle in trees, animals, and human beings, and safeguarding against harmful winds and unseen forces that disturb balance.

Wiwa, Colombia

Saga Maria Alberto Loperena is a Wiwa spiritual guide and women’s ceremonial leader devoted to the protection of feminine life and the continuity of ancestral wisdom. As a guardian of feminine music, she carries sacred songs that sustain harmony between women, community, and the natural world.

She serves as a counselor for the prevention and care of the womb, offering traditional womb massage (sobandera de la matriz) to prevent hemorrhage and restore balance. Her work includes general feminine cleansing, circulatory healing, and treatments for skeletal imbalance, as well as spiritual cleansing with rum to clear heavy or stagnant energies. She is also a midwife, accompanying births with ancestral knowledge and prayer, and a teacher on the path of truth in social and communal life.

Saga Maria remains rooted in the ancestral lifeways of her people, dwelling high in the Sierra Nevada mountains and living in intimate reciprocity with the land and its sacred rhythms. She only left her community for the first time last year to join the retreat in Mazatlán; this upcoming retreat will be her second journey beyond the Sierra.

All of her work is dedicated to preventing illness in nature and humanity, protecting the feminine principle in trees, animals, and human beings, and maintaining balance between the spiritual and physical worlds.