The voice of the Amazon resonated with force and truth in the Forum of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, thanks to the intervention of Patricia Gualinga, indigenous Kichwa leader of the Sarayaku people (Ecuador) and current vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA). Her testimony, full of spiritual depth and ancestral wisdom, illuminated the space with an authentically Amazonian vision of the relationship between spirituality, territory, and life.
From the outset, Gualinga addressed the value of the ancestral knowledge of the Amazonian indigenous peoples, deeply linked to spirituality. Long before colonization, the Amazonian peoples were and remain experts in the energy of nature: the energy of lakes, mountains, animals, and forests. This wisdom is not understood as a religion in Western terms, but rather as a way of life that is integrated, harmonious, and respectful of creation.
“This way of life is still practiced,” he emphasized, “and it has to do with caring for the environment and defending the territory against threats such as mining or oil.” In this regard, he recalled the role of the yachas, or shamans, spiritual authorities who, depending on the ethical use of their knowledge, could heal, accompany, or harm. Good yachas were the healers, the scientists of the jungle, who knew the herbs and managed the vital energy of the environment.
Patricia explained that Indigenous knowledge recognizes spiritual beings in nature with specific functions: Amazanga, for example, is the guardian of the forest; Yacuruna, the guardian of the rivers. These are not worshipped, they are respected. They are not gods, as some external currents have tried to interpret them, but rather expressions of a spirituality that does not separate the sacred from the everyday.“Our people always believed in a God who created everything, who resides on the fifth level, which no one can reach. That was our only transcendent divinity.”
Speaking about his encounter with the Catholic religion, he acknowledged that, although there was initially conflict between the two visions, over time it has become clear that they are not necessarily contradictory.“Our people accepted Catholicism, but did not abandon their spiritual practice linked to nature.”Today, he notes, many communities have achieved a harmonious coexistence between both spiritual dimensions.
However, he also warned about the risk of folklorization and commercialization of this spirituality. “Many people from outside seek ‘spiritual experiences’ with ayahuasca, and false shamans have emerged who lack ancestral knowledge or ethics, but who take advantage of other people’s interests.” Added to this are new syncretistic currents that, under the promise of miraculous cures, manipulate collective fear in the face of the climate or social crisis.
As a participant in the Amazon Synod in Rome and part of the CEAMA leadership team, Gualinga insisted that the Church must listen deeply to these voices and realities.“It’s not about erasing anything, but about understanding. As Amazonian people, we are deeply spiritual, but born from nature. We believe that everything is connected by invisible threads, living energies that maintain the balance of the planet.”.
His intervention was a call for sincere listening, intercultural respect, and spiritual dialogue with indigenous peoples, recognizing that their vision is not only valid but essential for a world in crisis.