Cosakait (Palo Santo) Bundle

Cosakait (pronounced “koh-sah-kite”) is the Toba word for Palo Santo, a sacred wood traditionally used for cleansing, protection, and uplifting the spirit. Its scent is sweet, woody, and citrusy, with warm balsamic undertones—burned to dispel emotional heaviness, clear stagnant energy, and invite peace and renewal.

In Toba oral tradition, Cosakait was a virtuous young man whose unreturned love left him gravely ill. Before he passed, he prayed to Yago (God) that his spirit might remain on Earth to care for the one he loved. From his grave grew a fragrant tree—its wood became the sacred Palo Santo, a symbol of love, protection, and enduring kindness.

These restorative qualities are also present in the tree’s physical properties. Research shows that Palo Santo contains essential oils rich in limonene and α-terpineol—compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and mood-balancing effects. These plant properties support emotional clarity and energetic protection, offering a gentle sense of grounding with every breath of its sacred smoke.

📦 BUNDLE SPECS

• Approximately 4 inches in length

• Hand-harvested from naturally fallen trees in South America

• Sustainably sourced by an Indigenous-owned company

• Packaged with a tag noting your contribution to reparative justice

📜 HISTORY OF HARM

• Land Theft: The Papal Bull Inter Caetera (1493) and Requerimiento (1513) granted Spain legal-religious authority to claim Indigenous lands, justifying colonization across South America. In the 19th century, Argentina and Paraguay formalized this theft through national laws like Territorio Nacional del Gran Chaco (1872) and Departamento Presidente Hayes (1878), legalizing the transfer of ancestral forests to settlers and industries.
• War & Forced Displacement: Spanish military expeditions, including the founding of San Javier (1743) and San Fernando del Río Negro (1750), targeted the Toba, Wichí, and Ayoreo peoples with violent campaigns of subjugation. These efforts destroyed villages and forced survivors into Jesuit and Franciscan missions under religious and military control.
• Slavery & Indentured Servitude: The encomienda system gave Spanish settlers the legal right to extract Indigenous labor under religious oversight. This later evolved into debt peonage, binding Indigenous families to generations of unpaid labor in agriculture and extractive economies.
• Environmental Degradation: Following independence, Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay sold forestlands to ranchers, timber companies, and oil firms, displacing Indigenous communities. These state-sanctioned transfers accelerated deforestation in the Chiquitano and Gran Chaco dry forests—endangering both ecosystems and cultural survival.

⚖️  REPARATIVE JUSTICE

• Apology & Acknowledgment: The Argentine government formally acknowledged its role in the 1924 Napalpí massacre, where state forces killed hundreds of Qom and Moqoit people. The “truth trial” publicly recognized the violence as a crime against humanity and marked a rare act of state acknowledgment.

• Land Return: In 2011, Paraguay returned over 14,000 hectares to the Sawhoyamaxa community, and in 2023, the Siekopai Nation reclaimed 42,000 hectares in Ecuador’s Amazon—the first time protected rainforest was returned by the state. In 2020, ACT Alliance supported broader land recovery efforts benefiting 12 Indigenous communities.

• Reparations: In 2006, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that Paraguay must return land and compensate the Sawhoyamaxa for denial of access to ancestral territory. In 2016, the Inter-American Commission ordered Paraguay to halt deforestation and protect uncontacted Ayoreo groups, affirming international recognition of ongoing harm.

• Environmental Lawsuits: In 2019, the Waorani people blocked oil drilling on 180,000 hectares of rainforest, affirming their right to free, prior, and informed consent. In 2020, Indigenous groups sued over a major oil spill that contaminated two rivers, citing violations of their environmental and health rights.