We all dream, but for the women of the Sápara community dreams are vital to their wellbeing. Their dreams help guide their lives; they connect them to the forest. When they enter Makihaunu (dream world) their spirit communicates with the spirits of the trees, the animals and people who have died.
I first met the Sápara – and learned about the importance of dreams – in 2020 when I was doing my master’s thesis on the link between nature and human wellbeing. The Sápara are part of a dwindling Indigenous community who live in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon: there are only 600 members left, and only three elders continue to speak the Sápara language.
