Welcome Our Tezhuna Elders to Philadelphia!
Mamo Rodrigo
Mamo Sewigu Kakamukwa (Mamo Rodrigo) descends from a long lineage of Mamos, with spiritual leaders in every generation of his Kakamukwa family. Before being ordained at the headwaters of the Jerez River, he served as a respected educator and community leader.
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Mamo Rodrigo was first a Maestro within the Wiwa tribe—a weaver, storyteller, musician, and teacher—entrusted with creating sacred objects and preserving cultural knowledge. As a Maestro, he wove the walls of temples, crafted traditional hats, and made Carrumbos, sacred spindles used by young women to spin cotton.
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In 2007, he founded the first bilingual school within his reservation to teach Spanish, math, and traditional knowledge, helping prevent youth from leaving their community and ensuring cultural continuity. Mamo Rodrigo also has worked as a nurse for the Colombian Public Health Department. His fluency in Tezhuna languages and deep understanding of Wiwa and Kogi territories allows him to serve as a powerful intercultural bridge.
Saga Josefina
Sagas (or Zagas) are the female counterparts to Mamos—more than leaders, they are keepers of ancestral wisdom and embody the Light in times of darkness. Chosen by divination while still in the womb, Saga Josefina began her spiritual training from birth. Also, in 2019, Saga Josefina was chosen to be the first Saga to leave the Sierra Nevada to support formal wisdom sharing abroad, which she did in Philadelphia among other regions.
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As a central figure in the Wiwa tribe, she guides young women through vital rites of passage such as first menstruation, childbirth, and motherhood, offering both practical and spiritual support. She is a Priestess, medicine woman, botanist, midwife, massage therapist, weaver, storyteller, counselor, seer, diviner, musician, and respected Elder.
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In addition to officiating weddings, baptisms, and funerals, Zaga Josefina is renowned for her expertise in cleansing and protecting the energetic body. She uses sacred plants like aguarrinchi and Frailejón to clear negative energies and crafts powerful talismans, known as seguranzas, that offer protection to those who carry them. Through her many roles, Zaga Josefina preserves cultural memory and brings healing to her people.
Mamo Cencio
Mamo Cencio is a revered spiritual leader from the Kogui (or Kogi) tribe, the tribe to descend from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains in the 1980’s, risking being seen for the first time by westerners, to warn humans that planetary destruction needed to stop. The Kogui mamos and sagas are celebrated as special keepers of Tezhuna spiritual knowledge and practices.
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Mamo Cencio has renowned levels of training, permissions, and success as a doctor of traditional medicine. He generously shares wisdom through teaching, mentoring, and community-building, including providing crucial support for the Tezhuna people during pandemics. He provides general consultations and guidance on responsible sexual practices for the well-being of society.
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A famous musician of traditional Kogui songs, Mamo Cencio embodies the Tezhuna concept of integrating practices into a harmonious whole. Combining traditional medicine with deep expertise in music, sacred plants, and sacred objects for rituals, he travels within the Sierra Nevada and internationally providing powerful blessing ceremonies for people, homes, ceremonial buildings, and Nature.
Saga Zuleima
Sagas (or Zagas) are the female counterparts to Mamos—more than leaders, they are keepers of ancestral wisdom and embody the Light in times of darkness. Chosen by divination while still in the womb, Saga Zuleima began her spiritual training from birth.
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Saga Zuleima is a central figure in the Wiwa tribe, guiding young women through vital rites of passage such as first menstruation, childbirth, and motherhood, offering both practical and spiritual support. She is a Priestess, medicine woman, botanist, midwife, massage therapist, weaver, storyteller, counselor, seer, diviner, musician, and respected Elder.
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Saga Zuleima is renowned for her knowledge and expertise in many realms. She practices and teaches massage therapy for issues related to the circulatory system, the skeletal system, and the uterus. She instructs on the use of medicinal plants and oversees ceremonies to restore balance where there has been harm done to tree seeds and to animals. Saga Zuleima also is a highly sought after teacher of sacred dances to reinforce connection and understanding with nature.
Mamo Duávico
Mamo Duávico is a revered spiritual leader from the Arhuaco tribe, especially renowned for their profound connection with rocks and crystals. Born in the sacred territory of Sogromis, where three rivers converge beneath snow-capped mountains, his life has been guided by the ancestral traditions of his people since birth.
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​Destined to be a Mamo, he was isolated from other children early in life and entrusted to his grandfather to begin his spiritual training. Raised in the high mountains among the wisest Mamos, Mamo Duávico underwent rigorous preparation in solitude and deep connection with nature.
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Through sacred rituals, pagamento offerings, and a lifelong commitment to harmony with the natural world, he has become a guardian of Arhuaco wisdom and the sacred laws of the universe. Today, he shares his knowledge to help humanity remember its place in the great web of life and to care for the Earth with reverence and reciprocity.
Part of these bios are excerpted from the Boa Foundation’s Aniwa Elders page.