Singing Bird Retreat – Five Element Cosmology of the Amazonas

Our Facilitators

Daosha & Txada Joyful Bird Grandmother from Brazil, Indigenous and medicine woman, Daosha is a gurdian of women’s empowerment among the Shawadawa in the Arara Encantada village. Her path blossons through the revival of ancestral ceramics and handcrafted latex shoes, where tradition, art and spirituality are woven together. She is a composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist, bringing forth channeled songs that awaken ancestral memories and heal heart. Alongside Daosha her companion Txada Shawa, a traditional singer of his people, she founded the Arara Encantada Institute, dedicated to the preservation and strengthening of Shawadawa culture. Txada offers his sacred chants through a ceramic vessel called TIBUGO, molded from the clay of spring. This vessel, a legacy of the ancestors, resounds like the womb of Mother Earth, spreading healing to all her children. Together, Daosha and Txada are birds of lights, flying as one, carrying medicines, songs and blessings that touch the essence of life

The five Elements

EARTH – Clay Clay is Mother Earth’s substrate taking shape in our hands. Each molded piece holds the memory of rivers and mountains, reminding us that we are also living clay, molded by time and experience. When working with ceramics, we recall our roots, our deep connection to the Earth and to the ancestors who passed on this knowledge.

AIR – Breath From clay are born flutes, whistles, and instruments that only awaken with the breath. Air, invisible and vital, becomes sound, song and prayer through our mouths. To blow on ceramics is give life to the clay, to transform silence into melodical sounds, it is like uniting breath and spirit in a single movement. The wind that passes through the instruments reminds us that we are part of the universe’s great respiration.

FIRE – Transformation Fire is the heart that transforms everything. It consecrates the ceramics, purifying and sealing its eternity. Just as raw clay becomes firm and resistant in the heat of the flames, our spirit also f inds in fire the opportunity to be reborn. To honor fire is to honor the sun, the light, the flame that lives within us.

WATER – Life Water is the Great Mother, the origin and sustenance of all life. With water we unite different sources in the same vessels, remembering that we are all rivers, flowing towards the same ocean. Water purifies, heals, connects and renews.

ETHER – Healing Clay and Yosibu meet in the womb of Mother Earth. Clay molds forms, Yosibu molds the spirit. One is given to fire, the other to vision. Together, they remind us that we are living clay, breathed into by the devine.

Retreat Schedule

Day 1 – Cacao Ceremony:

Prelude – The Heart Opens Cacao is the sweet medicine that awakens joy and sensitivity. On this opening night, we gather to create a sacred circle, open our hearts and plant the seed of intentions that will guide the entire retreat.

Day 2 – Preparation:

Building the Kiln Building a ceramic kiln together is a ritual of union and creation. Each gesture shares energy and intention, transforming the clay with the heat of the fire and collaboration. The kiln becomes a symbol of transmutation, gratitude to the earth and connection between human, nature and the divine. After sunset we will sing prayer songs to summon the Grand Spirt Yosibu to ask for guidance in the upcoming elemental ceremonies.

Day 3 – Earth Ceremony:

The Clay Molds Earth is mother and womb. Clay, in its spiritual and therapeutic dimension, reconnects us to Mother Earth. Crafting the Singing Bird, molding calms, centers and awakens ancestral memories. It is the mirror of life: malleable in the hands, firm after the fire. Working with it heals, strengthens and teaches transformation, patience and surrender to the sacred cycles.

Day 4 – Fire Ceremony:

The Fire Transforms Fire is living heart. Throughout the day, we feed its flame with songs, prayers and offerings. The ceramic burns and consecrates itself, and we too surrender ourselves to purification. Fire transforms fear into courage, pain into strength and shadow into light.

Day 5 – Ether Ceremony:

The Healing Yosibu is the spirit that unites the elements and opens vision beyond the visible. On the sacred night, we call once more Yosibu with our prayer songs and immerse ourselves in the Ether, crossing portals of healing and consciousness. Here the invisible becomes a guide, and the soul f inds its own song.

Day 6 – Water Ceremony:

The Offering and Return to the Flow Returning to the flow is the call of the water within us. Water teaches us to let go of what weighs us down, not to resist life natural movement. To return to the flow is to trust, to allow oneself to be led, to be reborn in the sacred river existence. Water is origin and rebirth. On this last day, we gather water from different sources to remember that we are all rivers flowing to the same sea. The water ceremony purifies, unites, and concludes the retreat with gentleness, blessing and abundance. For the closure, we will perform the consecration of the Singing Bird. To consecrate a ceramic instrument is to recognize its soul and energy. It ceases to be mere molded matter and becomes a vehicle of intention, sound and healing. By consecrating it, we honor the earth that originated it, the fire that transformed it and the spirit that dwells with it. This act awakens its sacred presence, allowing each touch or sound to reverberate with purpose, connection, and consciousness. It is a gesture of respect and gratitude, connecting the one who plays it to the essence of creation, to ancestral memory, and to the vital force that flows through the ceramic.