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Winter Solstice represents the ending of a complete cycle of 12 and the beginning of the New Sun, the New Year! It’s the shortest day of the year with cold winds, rain and sometimes snow on the mountains that brings about a new cycle. The Bear and the Eagle are the Winter Helpers. The Eagle with its great vision observes the land and if it sees danger it communicates this to the Bear. The Bear represent the strength of the Mother Earth.

When we come together in community to honor the coming of a new season at Winter Solstice, we can use these five days of reflection and the symbolism of the Helpers to reflect on our relationships with self, family, community and the natural environment that sustains us all! How are we doing as a Human Family? And what steps can we take into the New Cycle to deepen our relationships with each other, our earth, ocean and all the living beings that exist here; even the ancestor stones whose breath provides ancient wisdom if we care to listen.

Each day from December 17 – 21 starts with a morning ceremony with a specific daily focus. All people are welcome to join us at Wishtoyo’s Chumash Village (The Village) for as much or as little of this ceremonial cycle by responding to Luhui at (805)729.7692 or Email: luhuiisha@wishtoyo.org.

The Village is an 8,000 year old site that is being restored and brought by to life as a place to gather, educate, and share Chumash history, cultural preservation, and environmental issues that effect us all. We look forward to a meaningful community ceremony and celebration with you all! 

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Winter Solstice Ceremony at Wishtoyo Chumash Village

33904 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265

Park on the PCH and Walk In/Free Family, Community Event

·       Bring an offering of tobacco (not for smoking) to offer to the ceremonial fire. Your tobacco offering should be directly given to the host, Mati or Luhui, and they will add it to the tobacco basket that will then be offered to all participants in the ceremonial circle to make a prayer offering to the sacred fire. If attending on the 21st please bring a dish to share. We’ll feast together after the closing of Winter Solstice Ceremony. Also, bring a camp chair and dress comfortably warm.

·       Sign in with your name and contact information if you’d like us to put you on our mailing list and/or become a member.

·       Take a self-guided tour. You can request a self-guided tour map at the sign in table.

·       Wait to enter into the main ceremonial gathering area, “sil’i’yik” until you hear the concha shell blow four times. When you enter, take a seat on the oak stumps on the periphery of the inside circle. The Chumash Families and First Nations Peoples and Elders will be seated in the inner circle.

·       Moon-time: If you are on your moon-time (menstruating) please do not go into the “sil’I’yik”. This is not a punishment rather an acknowledgement of the sacred moon-time cycle of women. Women during this time do not go into open ceremony or prepare food. If you have questions, please talk to Luhui.

·       Turn Off The Outside World. Before entering the Village, please turn off your cell phones, ipads, cameras, and other electronics. There will be no permission given for photographs or videos period. Let’s use this time to truly be together. You can be in the electronic world all day every day anytime other than while in ceremony.

·       Two Large German Shepherds are Guardians of the Village – Do Not Bring Dogs, Cats, Pets!

Requesting Your Help!

We’re requesting your help in stopping the sale and purchase of white sage bundles which are being sold in “New Age” stores, online, commercialized pow wows, etc. They are referred to as “Shaman Bundles, Fairy Wands, or Smudge Sticks.” The hacking rather than responsible and sustainable harvesting taking place in our wild white sage communities is horrific and getting worse every year! White sage is a medicinal plant tended to and utilized by Chumash peoples for thousands of years. These medicinal plant communities are being ripped and hacked away by folks who are only concerned about making a quick dollar. There are long established traditional protocols to tending these wild plant communities and harvesting that are adhered to through indigenous knowledge practices, awareness of the seasons, and respect for sustainable harvesting. Chumash peoples do not sell White Sage Bundles. We use them for ceremony and other medicinal uses. If you want to harvest white sage, we encourage you to go to your local Native Plant Nursery and purchase a few plants, grow them in your garden at home, tend to them while establishing a relationship, and harvest from them responsibly so your plants will be healthy and continue to grow. Thank you for helping us save our Wild White Sage Communities!! – Luhui Isha