Amazonian Jewelry – Large Multicolor Yawanawa Beaded Necklace

Mood: Joyful, Protected, Connected
Best For: Ceremony, festivals, everyday wear, a meaningful gift

Type: Large necklace
Colors: Bright, multicolor
Tribe: Yawanawa
Origin: Acre, Brazilian Amazon
Made: By hand, bead by bead

A necklace full of color, made in a village on the Gregório River, deep in the Amazon.

Large Multicolor Yawanawa Necklace

This is a large, bright necklace with many colors woven together, the kind of piece the Yawanawa wear at their festivals and ceremonies. It sits wide on the chest and catches the eye from across the room.

Who Are the Yawanawa

The Yawanawa live in the state of Acre in Brazil, along the Gregório River. Their name means “people of the white-lipped peccary.” In the last decades they brought their culture back to life: their songs, their medicine and their festivals, which now welcome guests from all over the world.

Beadwork is one of the strongest parts of that revival. Women and men sit together and weave patterns they learned from their parents, often while talking about the ceremonies with uni, as the Yawanawa call ayahuasca.

The sale of beadwork is also an important source of income for the villages. When you buy a piece, a part of the forest community lives on through it.

Every piece is made by hand, so no two are exactly the same. The one you receive is the one in the photos.

The Yawanawa are also known for their rapé. If you work with medicine, see our Yawanawa rapé.

What Yawanawa Jewelry Carries

For the Yawanawa, a piece of jewelry is never just decoration.

• The spirit of the materials – seeds, feathers and beads are believed to carry the spirit of the forest, and whoever wears them carries it too.
• A language of patterns – every pattern tells a story, a myth or a teaching, and keeps the memory of the people alive from one generation to the next.
• Taken with respect – materials are gathered without harming the forest, as a way of giving thanks for what it gives.
• Born in vision – many patterns and colors come from visions seen in ceremony with ayahuasca.
• A talisman – worn for protection, strength and harmony, and to stay connected with yourself and with nature.