Sacred Sites
This learning journey brings you Indigenous knowledge holders from across the planet, who will speak of these sites as catalysts of planetary homeostasis, balance and harmony. You will learn about sacred sites from a spiritual, political, ecological and historical perspective, as well as how to work with them and protect them.
hosted by Rachael Knight
Rachael Knight is a lawyer dedicated to championing the collective land rights of Indigenous Peoples and rural communities.
Module 3Aligning with the Cosmos: Sacred Sites and Time
In this module, we will explore the confluence of Time and Space, which ancient civilisations have brought to life through megalithic stone structures designed to align the movements of celestial bodies in relation to our planet.
Module 6Becoming a Guardian of Sacred Sites
In this final module, we will explore how the rejuvenation and transformation of sacred sites can contribute towards climate resilience, increased local biodiversity, socioeconomic development, community transformation, and local and regional peacebuilding.
hosted by Rachael Knight
Rachael Knight is a lawyer dedicated to championing the collective land rights of Indigenous Peoples and rural communities.
hosted by Prince Appolinaire Oussou Lio
Appolinaire is a Prince DJAKA Atawévi, and is an expert in community development who works to bolster Indigenous knowledge, the culture of peoples and the protection of forests and sacred sites.
hosted by Bas Verschuuren
Bas Verschuuren is dedicated to the human-nature relations through the management and governance of nature and cultural heritage in area-based conservation.
hosted by Rutendo Ngara
Rutendo Ngara is a leading African Indigenous Knowledge Systems practitioner and transdisciplinary researcher from South Africa.
hosted by Tatyana Kobezhikova
Tatyana Kobezhikova is a shaman by birth; she comes of Akh-Khaskha (“White Bone”) kin, who exercised their healing practices on human beings and the earth, and held cultic ceremonies.
hosted by Monica Gagliano
Professor Monica Gagliano is an internationally award-winning research scientist on evolutionary ecology based in Australia.
hosted by WHAIA - Sonic Weaver
Born of Ngati Kahugnunu, tribal descent, WHAIA - Sonic Weaver is a transcendant vocalist, alchemical performer, First Nations Multi-instrumentalist, Designer, Creative Cultural Producer and visionary Facilitator. She is an elemental voice of water and board member of Oceanic Global. As keynote speaker for World Oceans day at United Nations Headquarters in New York City 2023, WHAIA’s Sacred Sonics open your heart in effortless ways taking you on a journey through realms yet to be discovered. With a depth of ochre in her skin and mana in her bones, Whaia is a true warrior woman with a soft yet powerful delivery, entwining one’s heart, body and spirit.
hosted by Mindahi Bastida
Mindahi explores the relationship between the State and Indigenous Peoples, intercultural education, collective intellectual property rights and associated traditional knowledge.
hosted by Geraldine Patrick Encina
Geraldine's work is interested in a paradigm shift on Mesoamerican conceptions of Time-Space.
hosted by Manish Jain
Manish Jain is deeply committed to regenerating our diverse local knowledge systems, cultural imaginations and inter- cultural dialogue.
hosted by Mphatheleni Makaulule
Makaulule's work is at the intersection of food sovereignty and the traditional power of Venda women.
hosted by Gerson Paredes
Wanka Inti (Gerson Paredes) is the son of ancestral healers from the Wanka nation, department of Junín-Peru.
hosted by Chief Ninawa Huni Kui
Unangan Elder, connects modern crises with ancient wisdom and a spokesperson for nearly 15000 Indigenous people in 104 villages.
hosted by Simon Mitambo
Simon Ndonco Mitambo is an Earth Jurisprudence Practitioner and a Teacher of the ancient wisdom of the Tharaka people.
hosted by Pooven Moodley
Pooven Moodley is an international human rights and environmental lawyer from South Africa who weaves ancient wisdom with activism.
hosted by Rajendra Singh
Rajendra Singh is an Indian water conservationist and environmentalist from Alwar district, Rajasthan in India. Also known as "waterman of India", he runs an NGO called 'Tarun Bharat Sangh' (TBS), which was founded in 1975.
hosted by Helene Lindmark
Lindmark is a guardian of Sápmi's timeless traditions, intricately weaving it into the tapestry of modern society by guiding people home to their own origin.
hosted by Cebisa Mabena
Dr Cebisa Ephraim Mabena is a Traditional Health Practitioner and Founder of Mothong African Heritage Trust in Mamelodi Township, South Africa.
Across the planet, there are places that hold an ancient wisdom. Places where the boundaries between humans, spirits, ancestors, and deities are thin. Often humming with powerful, otherworldly energy, these Sacred Sites have been guarded through time by the those who know them best.
Through 6 modules, you will learn about sacred sites from a spiritual, political, ecological and historical perspective, as well as how to work with them and protect them. On this exciting journey you will learn first hand from a faculty of wisdom keepers and academic researchers from more than 12 nations including India, South Africa and Colombia, who have dedicated their lives and cultures to honouring sacred sites. You will gain rare insight into knowledge systems that encode the wisdoms of our relationship with the earth, ancestors, and the cosmos.
Sacred sites are places where humanity can engage with the earth, the more-than-human world and the cosmos at large, transcending the limits of our everyday human perceptions, and opening into relational possibilities with the land, waters, plants, animals, ancestors, spirits and gods.
To many local people, these places are “portals” where humans may give offerings or make prayers to - as well as receive messages or gifts from - the more-than-human world. These Sacred Sites may include springs, rivers, lakes, islands, rock formations, caves, mountains (or whole mountain ranges), forests, groups of trees, and special ecosystems that house sacred species. In some places, humans have embellished the power of the site by constructing monuments, building mounds, burying their dead, and erecting temples, churches and mosques.
In our rapidly changing world, Sacred Sites offer valuable lessons about respect, and our relationship with the past, present, and future. By examining the long-standing relationships between humans and these special places, you will learn how to cultivate harmonious connections with the land and the broader natural world around us. You will learn about the rules and protocols designed, through millenia, to ensure that they are cared for and related to honourably and with utmost respect
While Indigenous and local people fiercely protect their sacred sites, there are many thousands more that have been lost to memory together with the peoples who once protected them. Paved over by parking lots, lost in public forests, huddled under skyscrapers and housing developments, or hiding in plain sight, they remain unacknowledged and un-tended to. Through the course, participants will learn how to discover local Sacred Sites in their home landscapes, and begin to learn how to relate to, honour and tend to them.