Sacred Bridge: Uniting the Heart of the Amazon and the Peaks of the Himalayas - Sponsored by Tibet House US
With Hushahu Yawanawá, Matsini Yawanawá & Family, Jordão Souza, Tuikuru, Manxyvake, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Dechen Kelden, Khenzom, Lobsang Tara, Khenpo Tashi Rinpoché, Chingis Kam, Bair Manzarkhan, LMT, Tsela Zoksang, Tsekyi Tsultrim and Tenzin Choeni, HUKENA, YAWAVANA, NAIWENI and Maria Kenetsayny Yawanawá
October 2 - 5, 2025
There was once a time, deep in the Amazon rainforest, when the great keepers of wisdom—guardians of plants, prayer, and profound spiritual connection—held their knowledge close.
For centuries, the sacred teachings of Tibetan Buddhism were also hidden, veiled high in the Himalayas and passed down through silence, meditation, and ceremony.
Now, the time foretold has arrived. These two ancient lineages—of forest and mountain—are being called to share their sacred knowledge with one another at Menla. A prophecy begins to unfold.
This October, we invite you to Sacred Bridge—a historic convergence of two great wisdom traditions. For the first time ever, nine Yawanawá leaders will journey beyond the rainforest to join Tibetan leaders in shared prayer, ritual, and celebration. Together, they will offer their culture through sacred song, dance, teachings, and the living memory of a way of life rooted in spirit.
Throughout the weekend, you will experience:
- Traditional music and dance
- Sacred singing and fire ceremonies
- Prayer and ritual
- Sweat lodge ceremony
- Cultural sharing and ancestral storytelling
- Discussions on medicinal plants and healing traditions
- Artwork and vibrant body and face painting
- Environmental preservation teachings and earth-honoring practices
These traditions—shaped by exile, resilience, and deep reverence—come together not as a performance, but as a prayer. A prayer for the Earth. A prayer for our future. A call to remember what it means to live in balance with nature and spirit—and how we might protect the planet for generations to come by walking this sacred bridge together.
Join us for a transformative weekend of cultural exchange and collective awakening. This family-friendly gathering welcomes all who feel called to walk in harmony, open their hearts, and help weave a living tapestry of remembrance, joy, and connection.
Schedule
Schedule
Thursday, October 2
- 3:30 – 5:00 pm – Check-in & Arrival
- 5:30 pm – Opening Fire Ceremony & Prayer (Field – weather permitting)
MC: Lynn Schauwecker
Translators: Jordão & Angelique
Speakers/Participants: Robert Thurman, Grandmother Clara Soaring Hawk (Ambassador of the Ramapough Lenape nation), Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Khenpo Tashi Rinpoche, Yawanawá Elders, All Presenters & Public
- 7:15 – 8:30 pm – Dinner
- 9:00 – 10:00 pm – Music, Song & Dance – Yawanawá
Translators: Jordão & Angelique
Friday, October 3rd
- 7:00 am – Yoga (Yoga Studio, Bair Manzarkhan) or Sweat Lodge (Sweat Lodge location)
- 7:45 – 9:15 am – Breakfast
- 9:30 – 11:00 am – Storytelling & Cultural Exchange (Conference Center)
Moderator: Michael Burbank
Speakers: Hushahu Yawanawá, Matsini Yawanawá, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Dechen Kelden
Translators: Jordão & Angelique
- 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Plants of Power & the Dream World
(Conference Center)
Moderated by Lynn Schauwecker
Speakers: Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Matsini Yawanawá
Translators: Jordão Souza
- 12:30 – 1:45 pm – Lunch
- 2:00 – 3:30 pm – Music and Dancing on the field
- 3:45 – 5:30 pm – Breakout Sessions
Conference Center: Reclaiming Sacred Art & Ancestral Designs – Khenzom, Hushahu Yawanawá, Lobsang Tara, Hukena, Yawavana
Translators: Angelique + Mariana
MC: Angelina Nasso
Spa: Personal Appointments (Healing Sessions in the Yurt) – Matsini Yawanawá, Bair Manzarkhan, Jordão Souza, Kuru Yawanawá
Translators: Jordão, Shaina, Tony, Kexnia
- 5:45 – 7:15 pm – Dinner
- 7:30 – 9:30 pm – Film Screening – Yawanawá Documentary (Conference Center) MC: Jim Whitney
Translators: Jordão
Saturday, October 4th
- 7:00 – 8:00 am – Tibetan Smoke Offering (Field) – Bair Manzarkhan
Morning Affirmative Prayer Around the Fire – Khenpo Tashi Rinpoche
- 7:45 – 9:15 am – Breakfast
- 9:30 – 11:00 am – Guardians of the Earth: Indigenous Lands, Activism & Sacred Ecology (Conference Center)
Moderator: Michael Burbank
Speakers: Jordão Souza, Tsela Zoksang, Kuru Yawanawá
Translators: Angelique & Laura
- 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Transforming Everyday Challenges: Meeting Life with Wisdom & Warmth (Conference Center)
Speaker: Khenpo Tashi Rinpoche
Translator: Bob Thurman
Intro: Michael Burbank
- 12:30 – 1:45 pm – Lunch
- 2:00 – 3:45 pm – Breakout Sessions
Field: Ancestral Play: Traditional Games – Tuikuru & Yawa Youth
Translators: Angelique
Conference Center: Tibetan Sacred Art – Lobsang Tara, Khenzom
Spa: Personal Appointments & Plant Baths
Plant Baths @ Sweat Lodge: Jordão Souza, Maria Yawanawá & Yurt: Matsini Yawanawá, Hushahu, Yawanawá, HukenaYawanawá
Translators: Jordao and Tony
- 4:00 – 5:30 pm – Voices of the Forest: Ancestral Chants & Body Painting (Yoga Room)
Moderator: Shaina & Angelique (dependent on healing schedule)
Translator: Laura
Speakers: Hukena, Nay, Yawa, Maria, Tuikuru, Manxyvake
- 5:45 – 7:15 pm – Dinner
- 7:30 – 8:30 pm – Fire Ceremony (Field)
Presenter: Chingis Kam
Intro: Lynn Schauwecker
- 8:30 – 9:30 pm – Live Music & Celebration – Yawanawá Musicians (Field)
Sunday, October 5th
- 7:00 – 11:00 am – Room Check-out
- 7:00 – 8:00 am – Yoga with Alison Sinatra- Yoga Studio
- 7:45 – 9:15 am – Breakfast
- 8:00 am-10:30am Sweat Lodge (you must be checked out of your room by 11:00am.
- 9:30 am – 11:00 pm – The Feminine Awakening: Rebalancing the Scales of Power & Harmony (Conference Center)
Speakers: Hushahu Yawanawá, Hukena Yawanawá
Introductions: Sarah Drew
Translator: Angelique
- 11:00 am – 12:00 pm – Walking the Sacred Bridge- Call to Action
- 12:30 – 1:45 pm – Lunch
- 2:00 – 2:45 pm – Tibetan Dance & Song: Tsekyi Tsultrim and Tenzin Choeni (Field)
Presenters: TBD
3:00 pm – Closing Rituals (Field)
Led by: Khenpo Tashi Rinpoche & Yawanawá Elders
MC: Lynn Schauwecker
Translator: Angelique & Jordão
*Please note that the schedule is subject to change at any time.
About the Leaders
Hushahu Yawanawá
In 2005, Hushahu became the first Yawanawá woman to enter a spiritual study, spending over a year in deep isolation in Samakẽi, where she discovered the world of the Pajés as a woman. She expressed this awakening through her art and voice, bringing a female presence to the traditionally male songs of her people. Her […]
Learn more about Hushahu Yawanawá
Matsini Yawanawá & Family
Matsini Yawanawá, chief and spiritual leader of Mutum village, descends from an unbroken lineage of Pajés (master shamans) and trained under the legendary Pajé Tata, who helped restore Yawanawá traditions after years of suppression. The Yawanawá, native to Acre, Brazil, have long safeguarded their land and spiritual heritage despite near extinction following early contact with […]
Learn more about Matsini Yawanawá & Family
Jordão Souza
In 2009, Jordão began his deep journey with the Yawanawá people, becoming the last student of the revered healer Pajé Tata and dedicating himself to the study of ancestral plant medicine and Indigenous wisdom. He later co-founded the Nipëihu Sanctuary in Bahia—a center for healing and research that connects ancestral plant medicine with visitors from […]
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Tuikuru
Kuru is a powerful and rising young leader from Mutum Village. Having recently completed the year-long Muká initiation, he has deepened his connection to the ancestral healing practices of prayer and medicine. A worldly traveler, he carries his music, spiritual force, and Yawanawá traditions to people across the globe. As the son of Chief Matsini […]
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Manxyvake
Manxyvake is a devoted student of Yawanawá spiritual wisdom. She walks alongside her husband, Matsini Yawanawá—chief and spiritual leader of Mutum Village—participating in ceremonies, sacred diets, and profound spiritual studies. She leads an annual women's gathering, offering a sacred space for connection and transformation, and shares her knowledge through online studies. Through her powerful chants, […]
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Dr. Nida Chenagtsang
Born in Amdo, northeastern Tibet, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang began his studies in Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan Medicine) locally and completed his medical degree at Lhasa Tibetan Medical University in 1996. Alongside his medical training, he studied Vajrayana Buddhism across all schools, with a focus on Longchen Nyingthig and Dudjom Tersar lineages. He received the complete Yuthok Nyingthig teachings—Tibetan Medicine’s unique […]
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Dechen Kelden
Dechen Kelden is a Tibetan and Kalmyk Mongolian storyteller whose work reflects themes of identity, memory, and belonging. Her stories draw from her roots- her father, a former monk of Nechung Monastery, revered as the seat of the State Oracle of Tibet, and her mother, a Kalmyk American whose family was among the first Kalmyks […]
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Khenzom
Khenzom is a Tibetan artist based in Brooklyn. Her paintings weave together human and natural elements, centering themes of interdependence, ecofeminism, and sovereignty. By envisioning a homeland untouched by violence and environmental harm, her art challenges colonial narratives of Tibet and imagines futures where the deep harmony between Tibetan people and their land is fully […]
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Lobsang Tara
Lobsang Tara was born in Amdo Ngawa, Eastern Tibet. Lobsang has studied MFA as New York Film Academy as film writer and director. He achieved creating a new genre in Tibetan Contemporary Art as Abstract Calligraphy painter. Lobsang was the co-founder of Artra Sound Production Company in New York and Los Angeles. He currently lives in […]
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Khenpo Tashi Rinpoché
Khenpo Tashi Rinpoché is an internationally respected master of Tibetan Buddhism, renowned for his deep realization and teachings in the Kagyu tradition. Born in Ladakh in 1963 during the sacred month of Saka Dawa, he entered monastic life at age six and earned his Khenpo title by twenty-six. After leading the Drikung Kagyu Institute in India, […]
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Chingis Kam
Chingis Kam — shaman “Brown Bear,” a hereditary healer from the Republic of Tuva (Siberia, Russia). He will conduct a powerful healing ritual by a living fire, where the flames serve as a bridge between worlds and open the way to the ancient forces of nature. During the ceremony, Chingis will perform his personal “Algysh,” […]
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Bair Manzarkhan, LMT
Bair Manzarkhan, LMT, Tibetan medicine and Yuthok Nyigthik practitioner. A native of Buryat-Mongol in Eastern Siberia. With 19 years experience in external therapies of different modalities. Medical and psychological degrees in western education. Mantra healer, yoga and meditation instructor.
Learn more about Bair Manzarkhan, LMT
Tsela Zoksang
Tsela Zoksang is a Tibetan human rights and climate activist. She works with Tibetan communities in exile and global stakeholders to mobilize support for strategic, people-powered campaigns. Tsela strives to bring the Tibet Climate Crisis into the global focus and resist the environmental degradation threatening one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems.
Learn more about Tsela Zoksang
Tsekyi Tsultrim and Tenzin Choeni
Tsekyi Tsultrim and Tenzin Choeni are young Tibetan Americans born and raised in New York City, dedicated to preserving Tibetan culture and traditions. Their journey began at the ages of five and six, when they started learning Nangma Toeshey, a traditional form of Tibetan music. Since then, they have shared their passion through performances at […]
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HUKENA
Hukēna embarked on her spiritual journey at a young age, becoming one of the youngest women of her people to be initiated into the sacred Muká diet—one of the most profound and revered spiritual paths in her tradition. She received this initiation from the hands of the shaman Tatá and her mother, Hushahu, marking the […]
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YAWAVANA
Yawavãná is Hushahu's niece, raised by Naiwēni who was the first female leader of a Yawanawá village. From a young age she studied with Hushahu as well as with Hushahu’s teacher Tatá before he passed away, receiving his prayers and blessings. Yawa is currently in retreat, having entered into the diet of Muká given to […]
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NAIWENI
Being Hushahu’s daughter, Nãiwẽni Yawanawá was born into the world of her mother’s spirituality, accompanying her mother in her retreats and ceremonies from since she was a baby. Beside her mother in this way she developed the same depth of expression in her voice and connection to the spiritual work. Still very young, she has […]
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Maria Kenetsayny Yawanawá
Maria Kenetsayny Yawanawá carries the strength and wisdom of her ancestors. Born in the village of Mutum and daughter of Chief Matsini, she represents a new generation of Yawanawá leaders devoted to the spiritual path. Through her voice, she channels the Saitis—the sacred chants of her people—songs born of prayer, study, and deep communion with the forest. Rooted in […]
Learn more about Maria Kenetsayny YawanawáCategories : Full Registration, Menla Co-Sponsor, Menla Retreat (all retreats)