Onánya means “one who knows” that there is so much more to learn…

Caw kaw! I’m Nicho Nutu (Rey Rao), a traditionally trained Onánya (healer) in the Shipibo tradition of Peru. I am also a musician, song carrier, story teller, fire keeper, forager, gardener, naturalist wilderness guide, and yogi. Raised in “the land of the blue hills” of Massachusetts my upbringing was marked by fort building, biking, skiing, camping, and fishing, which cultivated a great love for the outdoors. I graduated from the University of Arizona, but instead of being inspired about life I felt completely confused, sad, and mad about my path forward, which then magically by fate led me to the jungles of Peru. My first trip to the Amazon rainforest in 2012 miraculously changed my life in a way I didn’t realize was possible for which I am forever grateful and thus feel obligated to pay homage to.

Since then I’ve studied extensively mainly with the Onányabo of the Shipibo (Peru) along with other mestizo and indigenous Curandero’s who were immensely crucial for my healing journey bringing me a peace of mind and a true love for life. I’ve had many other blessings to learn from a vast variety of other tribal native healers such as the Don’s of the Kichwa (Ecuador), the Taita’s of the Siona & Kofán (Colombia), and the Pajé’s & Txana’s of the Noke Koi, Yawanawá, and Huni Kuin (Brasil) from which I’ve crafted my own unique practice or as I like to call it my wildflower honey blend. After a decade of completing many master plant dietas training in a Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine apprenticeship I was bestowed the transmission of becoming an Onánya, which in Shipibo means, “one who knows the plants”. In Spanish this would be known as a Maestro Curandero (master healer) or Medico (doctor). I earned this initiation from the renowned Shipiba Maestra Estela Pangoza (Sankenwesna) and her family of six Shipibo Maestros of Aya Madre Healing Center, which was a huge honor and dream come true. The spiritual contract that was given to me to uphold as an Onánya is to love everyone no matter what and to do no harm. Maestra Estela’s Shipibo name Sankenwesna means “beautiful one who shares” and the name she gifted me Rey Rao means “one who has medicine of the plant kingdom”. Thus the my mission of my life is to share the beauty of plant medicine with unconditional true love.

Over the years I’ve also received sacred teachings from Lakota Sundancers, Wixárika (Huichol) Mara’akames, Native American Church Roadmen, and a late Káruk Doctor of Northern California named Bobby “Grizzly Bear” Lake-Thom, who was the son of the well respected Charlie “Red Hawk” Thom. From the N.A.C beauty way inside the Tipi and Inipi purification lodge to fasting and questing “up on a hill crying for a vision,” I’m grateful to have experienced many different yet profoundly similar ways of ancient wisdom. In the more modern world I’ve also worked for multiple outdoor organizations, organic farms, and for health food companies. Of course with all the roses there have been plenty of thorns to overcome from troubling addictions to challenging health issues with one test after another to persevere. As my Scottish Hanna clan’s latin motto says “Per Ardua Ad Alta” which means “through arduous work, great heights are reached” or as I like to say hell makes heaven sweeter like a rainbow after a storm. All I know for sure is that there is always so much more to learn and as Rumi wisely writes “recognize that unlearning is the highest form of learning”. Through these simple yet far from easy teachings I’m here to offer my dharma to help us reconnect to nature as mi Maestra always says “poco a poco” little by little.

Book Wild Walk
Book Wild Walk

“I, Forager ~~ Finding Goodness in the Ground” an article I wrote for Common Ground magazine on page 34 ~~

Turn your face toward the light and the shadows will fall behind you ~~ Maori proverb