Noya Rao illuminates the path of healing, reveals truth, and leads souls by light
Maestro Reshin Nika does a dieta with Noya Rao 2-3 months each year. He sources his Noya Rao from a childhood friend who lives in Iquitos, or he travels to the Pahoyan community, which is a Shipibo community near Pucallpa where the local shaman in the area purchase it from. He says its strong medicine, 100% pure.
Deep within the heart of the Amazon rainforest, hidden beneath towering canopies, stands a tree unlike any other—the legendary guardian, Noya Rao. Revered as the Tree of God, or second only to God, Noya Rao is infused with mystical wisdom. This sacred Tree of Light holds profound significance for the Shipibo-Conibo people, serving as both a spiritual teacher and a bridge between the physical and ethereal realms. Celebrated for its luminous leaves, symbolic power, and spiritual benefits, Noya Rao is said to illuminate the path of healing, guide healers, reveal truth, and lead souls by light.
Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Noya Rao
Noya Rao is often confused with Nihue Rao, a botanically unrelated tree whose bioluminescent leaves glow upon touching the jungle floor. (Picture the bioluminescent trees from Avatar—rumored to have been inspired by Noya Rao’s myths.) The tree’s actual existence is debated even among the Shipibo-Conibo along the Ucayali River, where its cultural and spiritual roots run deepest.
For years, Noya Rao was thought lost, hidden from the world. Then, seemingly out of necessity for its potent medicine, a few trees were reportedly rediscovered deep in the forest. In recent years, a couple more are believed to have emerged. Yet even among the Mahuas, the historic lineage of Noya Rao’s stewards for nearly a century, certainty about these trees’ authenticity remains elusive. Many hold to the belief that “the real one lives in the sky.”
This celestial Noya Rao embodies a dual essence. Folklore from the Pahoyan community tells of fish transforming into birds, or entire villages and children ascending to another dimension after encountering the tree. Its name reflects this: Noya, meaning “flying,” and Rao, meaning “plant spirit”—a testament to its transformative power and divine closeness. Beyond folklore, Noya Rao’s omnipresent essence manifests in sama, or plant diets, described as profoundly divine. As Michael Sung says, “Noya Rao is a word to describe grace,” a surrender to God’s grace. Its mysticism acts as a sacred veil of love, bridging the earthly and the divine.
Noya Rao in Traditional Healing Practices
Noya Rao illuminates the path of healing and the healer. Traditionally, it is the final plant dieted on the onanya path, often considered challenging, like most tree-master plant diets. Don Moises Llerena notes that dieteros usually begin with water-loving plants, such as bobinsana, to heal emotional waters before engaging with tree spirits. Noya Rao, when introduced, can amplify the effects of prior diets, creating a cumulative synergy of medicinal gifts. Shipibo-Conibo tradition holds that after Noya Rao, there is no need to diet other plants; rather, one continues cultivating plant relations through song, prayer, and devotion.
Lineage and Personal Connections to Noya Rao
Many travelers to Peru have experienced powerful connections with Noya Rao. Among dieteros, working with descendants of the Mahua family is particularly significant. Virgilio Saldana first passed the Noya Rao diet to the Mahua brothers—Papa Gilberto, Papa Pascual, Papa Manuel, and Papa Benjamin—who became carriers of “the wind of Noya Rao.” Their descendants have maintained nearly a century of sacred communion with this luminous tree.
To diet Noya Rao, one traditionally drinks tea made from its bark while singing prayers to the plant spirit. Energetic transmission from a meraya, an exalted healer capable of interdimensional communication, can also pass “the wind of Noya Rao” without consuming the tree. A common practice is smoking tobacco through a pipe carved from Noya Rao wood, as Benjamin Mahua instructs: “Smoke tobacco in a pipe for eight days, blowing smoke all over your body” to connect with the spirit. This ritual offers a deeply profound way to commune with Noya Rao.
The Symbolism of Light in Its Teachings
Noya Rao is described as el camino de la verdad—the path of truth. It embodies light and clarity, revealing subconscious patterns and guiding alignment with one’s core self. Yet with light comes the unveiling of shadows, making the diet challenging. Still, Noya Rao’s gifts illuminate the darkness, offering guidance through buried burdens and showing the next steps forward.
Visions, Somatic Healing, and Divine Communion
While Noya Rao can flourish alongside Ayahuasca, working with DMT is not essential. Those who do diet it in conjunction often experience visions of bright white light or intricate luminous patterns, receiving guidance and teachings along their journey. Emotional and somatic healing often occurs, helping reconnect the heart to its truth. Noya Rao facilitates a deep, soul-level healing, opening consciousness to the divine.
Many who commune with Noya Rao perceive its essence as a manifestation of God or divinity. Unlike Ayahuasca or Bufo, Noya Rao conveys a pure, unbounded love—a Christ Consciousness or Divine presence without form. As Manuela Mahua, daughter of Papa Manuel, says: “Noya Rao wants you to be a practitioner of love, a ‘noimis’; everything you think and do must come from love.” The teachings of Noya Rao emphasize moving from a place of pure heart, cultivating love as a guiding principle.
