Legend of the Indigenous Guarani Tribe With Yerba Maté

Legend of the Indigenous Guarani Tribe

There is an old Guarani's legend that relates the origins of the Guarani in the Forests of Paraguay. According to the legend, the ancestors of the Guarani at one time in the distant past crossed a great and spacious ocean from a far land to settle in the Americas. They found the land both wonderful yet full of dangers; through diligence and effort they subdued the land and inaugurated a new civilization. The Guarani tribes worked the land and became excellent craftsmen. They looked forward to the coming of Pa' i Shume who, according to legend, descended from the skies and expressed his pleasure with the Guarani. He brought spiritual knowledge and imparted to them certain agricultural practices to be of benefit during times of drought and pestilence as well as on a day-to-day basis. Significantly, he unlocked the secrets of health and medicine and revealed the healing qualities of native plants. One of the most important of these secrets was how to harvest and prepare the leaves of the Yerba Maté tree. The Yerba Maté beverage was meant to ensure health, vitality and longevity.