The Sápara Women’s Conference
Yarishaya Itiumu
On May 9, 2023 the first Sápara Women’s Conference, Yarishaya Itiumu, was held in Puyo, Ecuador, on the edge of the rainforest. This is a dynamic and inclusive event that empowers, organizes and expands connections between Sapara women. Women from the Schuar, Kichua, Waoraini, Showier, Andwa, Sapara Kichua from Napo, Sierra and Costa were represented.
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“We are an association of Women of the Sápara Nation of Ecuador belonging to the head communities of the territory located in the southeastern Ecuadorian Amazon, in the Pastaza province. We practice the worldview of our culture, we are jungle keepers; we are grandmothers, mothers and daughters whose sacred knowledge and Spiritual connections with Mother Earth have been passed down from generation to generation.”
- Auneka Ushigua
Vision
The following is a declaration from The Sápara Women’s Conference - Yarishaya Itiumu
We are an association of Women of the Sápara Nation of Ecuador belonging to the head communities of the territory located in the southeastern Ecuadorian Amazon, in the Pastaza province. We practice the worldview of our culture, we are jungle keepers; we are grandmothers, mothers and daughters whose sacred knowledge and Spiritual connections with Mother Earth have been passed down from generation to generation. Yarishaya Itiumu’s vision is to work in partnership with women from different Sapara communities to weave a network of creation and support that creates spaces through female experiences to weave environments of harmony, healing, ceremony and empowerment, in order to rescue and preserve the knowledge guarded by the women. Our strength and ways of life are guided by dreams and their connections to the spiritual world. As Sápara Women we feel empowered by the energy of the river, the energy of the forest, and the energy of the wind. Currently, we are involved in the fight against extractivism [extraction of oil from our land], machismo, and in the search for the inclusion of women within the decision making of our different communities and nationality.
The group is committed to stopping oil and balsam wood extraction in the territory and looks to promote alternative economic options to oil or wood extraction. They have said they will not allow outsiders to harm them.
A New World For Women
In 2020, Auneka Ushigua, the niece of the Shaman of the Sápara Nation, created Yarishaya Itiumu (Women in Bloom), a Sápara collective dedicated to promoting women’s empowerment, and highlighting their role in the defense of Indigenous Peoples and nationalities.
The objective of the Yarishaya Itiumu, or the Sápara Women’s Conference, is to Build a New World for Women in Sápara Society. The conference brings together women from all over the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest, from several different tribes, including Achuar women.
Impact
The objectives achieved at the 2023 conference:
● Acknowledge the impact of Yarishaya Itiumu collective since its founding in 2022 and bring in new communities
● Raise women's visibility within each community
● Denounce violence against women in the home and organizational structures that make women's voices invisible
