When the Forest Speaks: Lessons from Hampaya and Rapé

Reflections on healing, memory, and the wisdom of the Amazon shared in Ireland.

In my path with the forest, I have been blessed to sit with ancient medicines that carry the memory of the Earth and the wisdom of those who walk close to her.

One of these medicines is Rapé, a sacred powder prepared with prayer and intention by indigenous people of the Amazon. Applied through the nose, it brings clarity, grounds the body, and opens the vision of the spirit. Sharing Rapé in a circle is much more than receiving the medicine, it is a ritual of presence, of breathing together, of remembering that we are part of something bigger.

The Hampaya Baptism is another sacred ritual of the Huni Kuin people, known as the “fire of the voice.” In this ceremony, sacred Amazonian pepper is applied to the tongue, together with prayers and songs. It is said to open a spiritual portal through the force of the Txai prayers, awakening the memory that lives in our spirit. Hampaya helps us to reconnect with our ancestral song, to strengthen our voice, and to express ourselves from a place of truth. It is not only a blessing, but also a reminder that our voice is medicine,for ourselves, and for the world.

This video was recorded by my husband, Owen Heavey, during a very intimate moment, a Hampaya baptism and a Rapé circle with a Huni Kuin family who came directly from the forest, from the Pinuya village, to Ireland: Nawa Sia, his wife Yaka Banu, and their little daughter Kaya Buni. Opening my home to them, welcoming them into my family, and sharing this exchange is a blessing that I will carry forever.

The Huni Kuin people teach through simplicity, strength, and joy. Their way of being is in itself a medicine. They remind me that healing does not need to be complicated, it is about remembering who we are and reconnecting with the Earth.

My indigenous brothers and sisters have taught me many things, but most of all they remind me to listen without reacting. To listen in silence, and to absorb with the inner peace of the spirit. To feel before trying to understand.

They teach me that connection with nature is the true key to healing and balance.

They teach me that I am just one small point within a vast and complex whole, but also that this point of consciousness is important, alive, and active.

As an activist and guardian of ancestral medicines, being a bridge between Europe and the forest is one of my greatest callings. And in moments like these, I remember why, because what the forest teaches us is not only for one people, but for all humanity.