Trust Your Inner Knowing

As promised, I would like to talk more about the Achuars, an Amazonian tribe in Ecuador, which I met on a trip I took with my family this summer.

We travelled in a nine-seater airplane about an hour into the Rainforest until we landed in a hand carved airstrip. Ten families lived in that specific community, yet there were approximately 67 similar communities in all.  Interestingly enough, the Achuars do not have roads.  They have never seen a bike or a car.  Yet, they do own a two-fleet airline. Out of those communities, about 53 of them had airstrips. They travel amongst the communities via river with canoes or by walking with a machete to clear the brush.  Similarly, we moved through the jungle in canoes, and guides cleared the way for us with their machetes as we kept walking. We learned that the rainforest is so vast that sometimes the Achuars walk 3 to 4 days just to reach a community.

The jungle provided them everything they needed, from medicine to furniture to food. They taught us how to make threads from palm leafs. They later used those threads to make hammocks.  But, the most striking thing about the Achuars is that they do not drink water. It is not in their diet at all.  Isn’t this totally against what we know about water and the human body? Are you in shock now? Because I was when I found out about this fact. These people have been living in the Amazon for centuries without drinking any water. Can you believe that?

Instead of water, the Achuars drink something called “chicha,” which is made out of a root that women chew in their mouths, and then spit into a big ball. They leave the entire ball to sit overnight so that it ferments. Now, I know what you are thinking; it sounds totally disgusting, right?  But, apparently because of the fermentation, it is hygenic.  This is their main source of nutrition. They do not eat three meals a day as we do. They drink chicha and eat fruit from trees, like the heart of the palm as well as the roots.  They also get protein two times a week from hunting or fishing.  This completes their diet.

As I reflect on their practices and beliefs, I realize we can learn something as parents who often have our own beliefs about what we think is best for our children, and what they should do.  Simply put, our intelligence, as parents, shouldn’t override our children’s intuition, and what they will be.  In the same way, my formal education is not superior to the age-old knowledge that the Achuars have borrowed from the earth.  Universities did not teach me how to access tribal knowledge, just as I cannot dictate my daughter’s path in life. Like the Achuars, children are resourceful, creative and whole.

I would really like to hear what your beliefs are around intuition and inner knowing.

Ask yourself the following questions:

What does my intuition sound like?

How can I honor my child’s resourceful inner knowing?

Thank you,

- Gonan Premfors

Co-Founder Parentology

Related posts:

1. Limiting Beliefs (Part 2)
2. Trust – When Children Become Adults
3. Limiting Beliefs
4. Modeling and Expectations
5. New Year’s Resolutions

Tags: Achuar Tribe, children and food, featured, habits, healthy eating, limiting beliefs

Category: Reflections, Stories