Joyful steward of Huni Kuin culture. Musical innovator. Builder of preservation movements.
Medicine man. Guardian of sacred ceremony space.
My name is Tuim Nova Era. I was born and raised in the Huni Kuin Indigenous land of the Humaitá River, in Acre, deep in the Brazilian Amazon. I come from an ancestral lineage of pajés (shamans) and txanás (spiritual guardians), and I am the leader of the Huni Kuin village of Espelho da Vida.
My journey began as an agroforestry agent, but since 2000, my path has been dedicated to rescuing and revitalising the culture of my people. During my studies in Rio Branco with the Climate Policy Institute, I travelled and met Indigenous peoples from many different ethnicities. These encounters made me realise that my own people were losing touch with their customs and traditions. This awareness ignited a deep commitment to recover the knowledge still preserved by our elders: the medicinal use of Rapé; the healing Nixi Pae (Ayahuasca) ceremony with its sacred chants; the muká dieta; the art of jenipapo body painting; and the Katxanawa dance, our ritual of abundance and fertility.
I played a key role in reviving the sacred use of nixi pae on Indigenous land, and in researching and recovering traditional chants in partnership with elders and knowledge keepers from other territories. This process reconnected people of all generations — from elders to youth and children — with their roots. I have also been a strong supporter of the women’s movement within my territory, recognising the feminine force in preserving culture, caring for life, and strengthening collective well-being. Today, many young txanás are following in my footsteps, committed to sharing our ancestral knowledge with the world.
I also introduced a new element to our traditions — combining the guitar with our sacred chants — and was among the first to bring the Huni Kuin Pasha Dume prayer to instrumental accompaniment. In 2023, I released my first album, O Sopro da Floresta (The Breath of the Forest). In this work, I captured the spiritual and musical richness of Huni Kuin Amazonian culture, blending traditional chants with contemporary influences. For me, music serves as a bridge between ancestral wisdom and formats accessible to new audiences.
Since then, I have continued to guide ceremonies with the medicines of the forest, both within and beyond my village. I consider myself an eternal apprentice to the healing plants and sacred chants of my people. I work closely with my daughter, Yeke Kaya Huni Kuin — who is the women’s coordinator of the Espelho da Vida village and deeply involved in learning and teaching the sacred chants and traditions — and with my aunt, Dona Txima Huni Kuin, ensuring that this sacred lineage is kept alive through family bonds.
Through these teachings and our musical work, we have shared Huni Kuin traditions internationally, participating in ceremonies, workshops, and cultural events across Europe and beyond, bringing our ancestral wisdom to a global audience.
I am the founder of the Hiwea Kiri Keisiti Centre for the study of traditional medicines, and, in 2017, I established the Instituto Centro Espelho da Vida, a non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving our culture, protecting the forest, and fostering environmental stewardship. Through social entrepreneurship, immersive village experiences, and ceremonies across Brazil and abroad, my mission is to bring tangible benefits to my community, nurturing well-being, autonomy, and spiritual resilience.
The Huni Kuin, also known as Kaxinawá, represent an Indigenous nation residing in the Western Amazon, spanning western Brazil (especially the state of Acre) and eastern Peru. Their name, Huni Kuin, translates as “true people” or “people with traditions,” a term they prefer over Kaxinawá, which carries derogatory meanings such as “bat people.” Contemporary estimates place their population at around 10,000 individuals, living along rivers including the Purus, Tarauacá, Jordão and Muru in Brazil, as well as the Purus and Curanja in Peru.
The story of the Huni Kuin is deeply rooted in rainforest culture. They belong to the Pano linguistic family and share ancestral ties with other Amazonian peoples. Their presence in the region persists in spite of historical marginalisation and threats from deforestation and agribusiness. Recent efforts by the Brazilian government and Indigenous organisations aim to demarcate ancestral lands, an ongoing struggle recognised under Brazil’s 1988 Constitution.
Social organisation among the Huni Kuin centres around small villages, often accessible only by river. These communities are structured by kinship ties and collective rituals. Leadership is less hierarchical, with spiritual and familial bonds forming the basis of cohesion. Their way of life, ñembiguá, is inseparable from the forest: daily routines, hunting, gathering, agriculture and ritual are interwoven in a single fabric.
Their language, Hãtxa Kuin, underscores their identity. It is a Panoan tongue passed down orally through generations, with low literacy rates in Portuguese or Spanish. Oral tradition sustains their cosmology, myth, history and medicine. Storytelling, song and ceremonial gatherings serve not only as cultural expression but also as guardians of their worldview. The fluidity of their speech reflects the forest’s complexity.
This worldview also informs their profound knowledge of medicinal plants and shamanic traditions. Pajés (shamans) undergo rigorous initiations, including solitary journeys into the forest and encounters with spirit beings—nights transformed into trials by butterflies (husu) and snakes—until they earn sacred knowledge such as the use of muká (forest spirit). Central to their healing practices is Nixi Pae (Ayahuasca), taken in ritual settings where the chants known as Huni Meka guide visions and transformation. Complementary medicines include Kambó, the secretion of the giant monkey frog used for cleansing and renewal; Sananga, eye drops prepared from forest roots that sharpen both physical and spiritual vision; and Rapé, a sacred tobacco snuff applied for purification and focus. Each of these carries both therapeutic and spiritual dimensions, reinforcing balance between body, spirit and community.
Spirituality permeates Huni Kuin life. Rituals such as Nixi Pae open pathways to other realms, where songs, dreams and myths converge. These ceremonies reinforce cohesion and ancestral identity. Artistic expression—body painting, beadwork and textiles—is not merely decorative but a living cosmology. The intricate geometric designs known as kêne, woven into hammocks and baskets, embody fertility, hunting rites and cosmological meaning. In 2022, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture recognised kêne weaving as part of the nation’s Cultural Heritage.
Music, chant, weaving and ceremony come together each year in the Encontro de Cultura Huni Kuin, a gathering held in Boa Vista village in Acre. Attended by representatives from around forty villages, the festival unites song, traditional knowledge and spiritual exchange. It is organised by the Instituto IndĂgena Huni Kuin Yube Inu and draws global attention to their culture and ecological struggles.
Agriculture and subsistence among the Huni Kuin reflect adaptable forest practices. They engage in slash-and-burn horticulture, cultivating manioc, bananas and plantains alongside hunting, fishing and gathering. Women weave utilitarian ceramics, hammocks and beaded ornaments, while men carve tools, featherwork and ceremonial regalia. These activities provide both livelihood and cultural continuity.
The Huni Kuin are also active in contemporary art and cultural exchange through movements such as MAHKU—a collective of Huni Kuin artists and researchers. They translate ritual chants and cosmological imagery into murals, drawings and paintings, creating bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous worlds. MAHKU artworks have featured internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, and stand as acts of cultural resilience and autonomy. Through these artistic and spiritual exchanges, the Huni Kuin continue to affirm their identity while opening dialogues with the wider world.