Water Blessing Ceremony for the Susquehanna River with the Mamos & Zagas

We invite you to a rare and sacred gathering on one of the oldest and most significant rivers in the world—the Susquehanna River—at the powerful location of Urey Overlook, a place known for its ancient presence, natural beauty, and nearby Indigenous petroglyphs and artifacts that speak to thousands of years of human relationship with this land.

We will be joined once again by the Mamos and Zagas—the spiritual leaders of the Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco, and Kankuama peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia.

These Elders are part of the Tezhuna, an Indigenous lineage that preserved its spiritual traditions by retreating deep into the Sierra Nevada mountains during the Spanish Conquest. For thousands of years, they have maintained an unbroken connection to what they call Earth’s Original Law—the responsibility to care for and maintain balance between humanity, nature, and the spiritual world.

The Mamos (male Elders) and Zagas (female priestesses) are trained from early childhood in ceremony, healing, divination, and planetary stewardship. Their role is to remain in constant dialogue with the Earth, listening to the rivers, mountains, winds, and unseen forces that sustain life, and to restore harmony where imbalance has arisen.

A Ceremony of Pagamento for the River

This gathering will be a pagamento ceremony—an offering and act of reciprocity with the natural world.

In the tradition of the Mamos and Zagas, pagamento is a sacred practice of restoring balance. It is a way of giving back to the Earth and the waters, acknowledging the unseen agreements between humanity and nature, and offering gratitude for life itself.