Donald Mendiola, center background, leads the first Åmut Walk in April of this year. He will also be present at the second Åmut Walk on Sept. 3.
Donald Mendiola, left, lead participants at Paupau Beach in April of this year during the first Åmut Walk. He will collaborate with the Micronesia Climate Change Alliance and Our Common Wealth 670 for the second Åmut Walk on Sept. 3.
THE Micronesia Climate Change Alliance and Our Common Wealth 670 will host the second Åmut Walk on Sept. 3, at 1:30 p.m. at Paupau Beach to coincide with the Marianas History Conference, according to organizer Moñeka De Oro.
De Oro helped organize the first Åmut Walk in April, which was attended by dozens of participants.
De Oro said organizers will be shuttling history conference participants to the second Åmut Walk.
Åmut Walk participants will learn about common local medicinal remedies from Donald Mendiola, a noted suruhuanu or local healer.
Mendiola will spend part of the lesson leading participants around Paupau Beach, picking plants that can be turned into medicine.
De Oro said the Åmut Walk will feature a grounding ceremony with “chant and prayers uniting our islands for peace, protection and prosperity.”
The ceremony will be designed by representatives from the CNMI’s four main islands, De Oro said.
There will also be a mwar-making station as well as food and drinks, she added.
De Oro said an Åmut Walk will occur on Oct. 21 on Guam and on Nov. 12 on Rota. The date for the Åmut Walk on Tinian will be announced soon.
“This is a prayerful journey connecting all our people to our entire archipelago to deepen our understanding of healing traditions and gather us to unite for peace and protection,” De Oro said.
She added that the theme of the Marianas History Conference fits into the mission of the Åmut Walk. This year’s conference theme is “Healing the Wounds of History.”
“[The Åmut Walk] is an activation for healing — uplifting healing prayers, healing plants and healing energies of transformation,” De Oro said.
