In addition to being the political center of Brazil, Brasília is also known for its peculiarities. The city is considered the birthplace of Brazilian Rock, and given its extension, it is possible to be enchanted by the masterful works of Oscar Niemeyer and at the same time be confused with the acronyms that are used to name the streets.
But one place in particular is different from everything that can be seen in the federal capital or anywhere else in Brazil. Located in Planaltina, Sunrise Valley, or Valley of the Dawn, is a huge and intriguing spiritual center, which already has 800 thousand adherents spread in more than 600 affiliated temples around the world.
El complejo está al borde de un lago y allí hay una pirámide; un templo en forma de nave espacial; un centro de oración de seis puntos y varias esculturas elípticas esparcidas por el centro.
El entorno puede parecer confuso, pero su proyección no es accidental. Ha sido meticulosamente elaborado y refleja rasgos de diferentes doctrinas como el cristianismo, el hinduismo, el judaísmo, el incaísmo y las antiguas creencias egipcias.
Followers believe that extraterrestrial beings arrived on Earth 32,000 years ago, and that they continue to return through successive reincarnations in different eras and cultures. The members of the Valley, known as mediums, believe themselves to be descendants of aliens called Jaguars.
Sunrise Valley was founded in 1959 by Neiva Chaves Zelaya – known as Tia Neiva. Widowed with four children, she worked as a truck driver in Brasília. On one of her travels, she began to witness psychic episodes, which she later believed to be spiritualistic visions of the extraterrestrial world.
Neiva was guided mainly by Pai Sete Branca, a spiritual emissary who is represented with statues and drawings in the Valley of the Dawn. Today, he is regarded as a Native South American leader.
The cultural and religious characteristics are also very striking. The mediums wear unmistakable colorful and luxurious costumes. In rituals they work in pairs, one of them physically embodies a spirit – be it benign or evil – and another takes on the role of helping it return to the spiritual world. Followers believe that the rituals help mediums reduce their karmic debts, acquired during their past lives.
