Oh wow, such a story, thank you for sharing. Please, let me add some points here. Luis said that the last man who did diet with Runuā heart lived 150 years ago, but as I know the last man was Raimundo Luis Tuikuru Yawanawa, father of Matsini (you know him, paje from Mutum). And also Hushahu finished this diet this spring. And last one, Luis mentioned that runuas doesn't need other snakes for mating, but with all respect to Yawanawas (i love them a lot and love to spend time in their forest), it is myth. Both Boa Constrictor and Anaconda are mating for sure and they don't lay eggs, they are ovoviviparous snakes, that means — their babies evolves in eggs within the mother's body, but they are born from her like mammals.
Thank you for your comment and for adding your points.
I would like to respond. First of all, I am writing Walking with the Serpent as a memory of what happened. This moment took place on the eleventh of December 2014. I wrote the first draft of this chapter in January 2015, within a month of the event. It has taken me some time to publish it here, but the core of the writing still comes from those early drafts. I chose not to add much interpretation yet. My plan was to share the full story first, and only later write about the insights and reflections that came in the years that followed. So what I write here is simply what I remember Luis telling me.
Regarding your points, let me add my thoughts in here to bring some more clarity.
Luis said that the last person who successfully completed Runua Xina lived about one hundred fifty years ago. This was correct at that time. He was speaking about Pakē Shanē, the man who served Tatá his first cup of medicine when Tatá was eight years old. Pakē Shanē was the last man to finish the Runua Xina dieta. His body is buried in Aldea Sagrada, I have been there a few times to pay respect to him. And you are correct, Hushuahu completed the dieta in May earlier this year. I will come back to that in a bit.
Raimundo, the father of Matsini, did enter that dieta when he was around eighteen years old. That is true. But he did not finish it. He broke the dieta in the last months. When that happened, his father, Antonio Luis, who is remembered as one of the most powerful pajés in the history of the Yawanawá, placed a prayer of protection around him to shield him from the serpent that was coming for him. He knew it would only delay the moment, but he managed to protect his son for many years.
Before Antonio Luis passed, he trained Tatá to continue that protection so Raimundo could live longer. This training might have been part of Tatá growing into the master he was. Matsini once told me that no one today can place such a prayer, because no one in the present time has reached the level of study that Antonio Luis had. Raimundo was blessed to receive that protection. He lived for a few more decades, but he also knew what would eventually come.
Louisa, whom I mention many times in this book, was with Raimundo in the last weeks before he died in the early two thousands. She told me the serpent came and took his life, and she shared many details on how that happened. I dont believe those details belong here openly on the internet. Her words stayed with me. So Luis was correct in what he shared about the dieta. And for sure, Raimundo has been a great leader of the tribe and instrumental in bringing the Yawanawá culture back to life. Many of his children are now the tribe's young new leaders.
And yes, Hushahu completed Runua Xina this last May. It is an incredible step for her, as one of the first 2 women to complete the dieta of Muká, now 2 decades ago, and now the first woman to complete Runua Xina. I have a lot of respect for Hushahu and her path. What she did will stand as a milestone in the history of the Yawanawá. Power to the women!
I might have been invited to join her in that dieta, one of the most precious invitations I have received in this life. After reflecting on this dieta for more than a decade, I came to a clear understanding for myself. I feel deeply grateful for the almost two years of dieta I have been able to complete. One year of them receiving the saliva of 3 different serpents; Runuā Txitu, Waka Runuā and Mana Runuā. I also feel that as a white man, it is not in my highest integrity to kill such a magnificent creature, one that I respect so much, in order to take her heart and receive her wisdom in that way. That feels very much like an old way of being: killing for power. I choose not to walk that path in this lifetime at this moment as a white man, and I can also see that for an Indigenous person, this can be very different. I have the utmost respect for this sacred ritual, and even contemplating entering it has taught me a lot. For that I am grateful.
A serpent can give her heart to anyone, at any moment she chooses, Matsini told me. That is the path I have been walking for a while now: to receive her heart when she decides I am ready. Maybe it has already happened. Who knows.
As for the snakes, what you say about boas and anacondas is true regarding how they usually reproduce. They do mate, and they are ovoviviparous. But here too, Luis was correct. It is also true that a female can produce offspring without a male. The term for this is parthenogenesis, sometimes called virgin birth. For a long time, it was considered a myth, especially by the scientific world. But in recent years, there have been confirmed cases in zoos where female anacondas that have been isolated for many years, some of them never having seen a male in their lives, suddenly produced babies.
A quick search will bring up several examples of this.
Dear brother Dennis, thank you so very much for sharing. I am always waiting patiently and eagerly for new chapters of your incredible stories. I have sat in ceremony with Ayahuaska many times, but sadly for me I’ve yet to meet Madre, for some reason (which I so wish I could know ) she’s yet to reveal herself to me (directly). Yet the medicine beckons me on time after time despite my challenges and difficulties with it.
It’s my dream to sit with you one day in Portugal… 🤍
Oh wow, such a story, thank you for sharing. Please, let me add some points here. Luis said that the last man who did diet with Runuā heart lived 150 years ago, but as I know the last man was Raimundo Luis Tuikuru Yawanawa, father of Matsini (you know him, paje from Mutum). And also Hushahu finished this diet this spring. And last one, Luis mentioned that runuas doesn't need other snakes for mating, but with all respect to Yawanawas (i love them a lot and love to spend time in their forest), it is myth. Both Boa Constrictor and Anaconda are mating for sure and they don't lay eggs, they are ovoviviparous snakes, that means — their babies evolves in eggs within the mother's body, but they are born from her like mammals.
Hi Vladyslav,
Thank you for your comment and for adding your points.
I would like to respond. First of all, I am writing Walking with the Serpent as a memory of what happened. This moment took place on the eleventh of December 2014. I wrote the first draft of this chapter in January 2015, within a month of the event. It has taken me some time to publish it here, but the core of the writing still comes from those early drafts. I chose not to add much interpretation yet. My plan was to share the full story first, and only later write about the insights and reflections that came in the years that followed. So what I write here is simply what I remember Luis telling me.
Regarding your points, let me add my thoughts in here to bring some more clarity.
Luis said that the last person who successfully completed Runua Xina lived about one hundred fifty years ago. This was correct at that time. He was speaking about Pakē Shanē, the man who served Tatá his first cup of medicine when Tatá was eight years old. Pakē Shanē was the last man to finish the Runua Xina dieta. His body is buried in Aldea Sagrada, I have been there a few times to pay respect to him. And you are correct, Hushuahu completed the dieta in May earlier this year. I will come back to that in a bit.
Raimundo, the father of Matsini, did enter that dieta when he was around eighteen years old. That is true. But he did not finish it. He broke the dieta in the last months. When that happened, his father, Antonio Luis, who is remembered as one of the most powerful pajés in the history of the Yawanawá, placed a prayer of protection around him to shield him from the serpent that was coming for him. He knew it would only delay the moment, but he managed to protect his son for many years.
Before Antonio Luis passed, he trained Tatá to continue that protection so Raimundo could live longer. This training might have been part of Tatá growing into the master he was. Matsini once told me that no one today can place such a prayer, because no one in the present time has reached the level of study that Antonio Luis had. Raimundo was blessed to receive that protection. He lived for a few more decades, but he also knew what would eventually come.
Louisa, whom I mention many times in this book, was with Raimundo in the last weeks before he died in the early two thousands. She told me the serpent came and took his life, and she shared many details on how that happened. I dont believe those details belong here openly on the internet. Her words stayed with me. So Luis was correct in what he shared about the dieta. And for sure, Raimundo has been a great leader of the tribe and instrumental in bringing the Yawanawá culture back to life. Many of his children are now the tribe's young new leaders.
And yes, Hushahu completed Runua Xina this last May. It is an incredible step for her, as one of the first 2 women to complete the dieta of Muká, now 2 decades ago, and now the first woman to complete Runua Xina. I have a lot of respect for Hushahu and her path. What she did will stand as a milestone in the history of the Yawanawá. Power to the women!
I might have been invited to join her in that dieta, one of the most precious invitations I have received in this life. After reflecting on this dieta for more than a decade, I came to a clear understanding for myself. I feel deeply grateful for the almost two years of dieta I have been able to complete. One year of them receiving the saliva of 3 different serpents; Runuā Txitu, Waka Runuā and Mana Runuā. I also feel that as a white man, it is not in my highest integrity to kill such a magnificent creature, one that I respect so much, in order to take her heart and receive her wisdom in that way. That feels very much like an old way of being: killing for power. I choose not to walk that path in this lifetime at this moment as a white man, and I can also see that for an Indigenous person, this can be very different. I have the utmost respect for this sacred ritual, and even contemplating entering it has taught me a lot. For that I am grateful.
A serpent can give her heart to anyone, at any moment she chooses, Matsini told me. That is the path I have been walking for a while now: to receive her heart when she decides I am ready. Maybe it has already happened. Who knows.
As for the snakes, what you say about boas and anacondas is true regarding how they usually reproduce. They do mate, and they are ovoviviparous. But here too, Luis was correct. It is also true that a female can produce offspring without a male. The term for this is parthenogenesis, sometimes called virgin birth. For a long time, it was considered a myth, especially by the scientific world. But in recent years, there have been confirmed cases in zoos where female anacondas that have been isolated for many years, some of them never having seen a male in their lives, suddenly produced babies.
A quick search will bring up several examples of this.
Serpents are magical creatures for sure.
Wow. Thank you for so many details, that I didn't know before. Really grateful.
Dear brother Dennis, thank you so very much for sharing. I am always waiting patiently and eagerly for new chapters of your incredible stories. I have sat in ceremony with Ayahuaska many times, but sadly for me I’ve yet to meet Madre, for some reason (which I so wish I could know ) she’s yet to reveal herself to me (directly). Yet the medicine beckons me on time after time despite my challenges and difficulties with it.
It’s my dream to sit with you one day in Portugal… 🤍