Wayfinders Circle Chi Suwichan (Hin Lad Nai) Musical Performing “Taw Mea Pah” (Ancestral Ways)

Under the vast Mongolian sky at the Wayfinders Circle 2024 gathering, Chi Suwichan from Hin Lad Nai Community/Karen Network for Culture and Environment (KNCE) Thailand, drew on ancient truths through his tehnaku, a sacred harp of the Karen people. His music carried the spirit of his community across the steppes, with each note resonating with Indigenous wisdom and a deep connection to Mother Earth.

In Chi’s hands, the tehnaku becomes a living conduit for ancestral knowledge, singing stories that echo across generations. Through his music and words, Chi reminds us that humanity has altered the world beyond necessity. Our path forward, he suggests, lies in Indigenous wisdom: to live slowly but sustainably, embracing a circular approach to how we produce, consume, and care for our world.

These are the words Chi sang:

“This land, once home to our forebears,

This soil, once nurtured by their hands,

They fished to guard the rivers’ flow,

They harvested rice to protect the forest’s span.

They left behind the footprints of wisdom’s path

To take only what we need,

To eat only what we grow,

For those who are wise will live long and last

Preserve the ancient trails they walked,

Lest they be lost to the thorn’s cruel grasp.

Safeguard the seeds of ancestral ways,

Lest wild fowl scatter them, leaving only ruin.”

Performed by Chi Suwichan

Shot by Bryan Cole & Nils Cowan

Edited by Bryan Cole