Would You try this Amazonian Medicine?
I tried the ancient amazonian medicine “rapè” (/ha-pay/).
Context:
Rapé is a tobacco snuff made from Nicotiana rustica tobacco and tree ashes, it is traditionally used by indigenous tribes in the Amazon for spiritual, medicinal, and ceremonial purposes. Unlike Western tobacco use, Rapé is forcefully blown into the nostrils with a small wooden pipe and is quite a different experience than smoking a cigarette.
Story:
On the island of Ilhabela, Brazil, I found myself wandering the historic center of town in the late evening. The streets were lively with vendors filling the streets. Among beaded jewelry, wooden utensils, and woven rugs, I stumbled across a table full of native ornaments. Sitting neatly beside an array of wooden pipes, clear vials filled with a fine greyish powder sparked my curiosity.
I motioned to the merchant, pointing to the vials, and he began to explain. Rapidly spouting to me in Portuguese, I quickly responded that I don’t speak the language. He proceeded to make his point clear in Spanish. Though my Spanish is far from perfect, I understood that this was a medicine called Rapé (/ha-pay/), a tobacco snuff, which after further research, I discovered is a nicotine based substance.
The pipe “Kuripe” and tobacco snuff “Rapé”
He explained that his tribe has been using the medicine for thousands of years, and they use it in ritual before hunting for a clear and focused mind. He also mentioned it has deep ceremonial significance, and provides cleansing for the mind and body and releases negative energy. Fascinating. I immediately bought the v-shaped pipe used to administer the substance, along with the clear vial of mystic tobacco powder.
Because of how the merchant described the powder (as medicine, and a tool for healing) I decided it would be best to wait for the morning before delving in myself.
The next morning, my friend and I watched a short how-to video and decided to give it a go. In true hippie form, we lit the Nag Champa (an incense I’d brought with me) and sounded a soft meditation frequency on the speaker.
I was careful to pack the short end of the pipe with just a pea sized amount of the rapé. The pipe has a long and short side, the long side to face your nose and the short to be pressed against your lips. To use, one is to blow the substance into their nose using the breath from their mouth, rather than to suck the air with their nose.
I pressed the pipe against my mouth and nose and blew strongly, without inhaling. The powder shot up sharply to what felt like in between my eyes and through my brain. The sensation was highly uncomfortable, with an acute burning, but not necessarily painful.
The feeling was intense, and my eyes began to water. Immediately I felt a clearing through that side of my nose and an acute sense of focus, it was almost like a head high but of awareness.
At the time, I was staying in a bungalow in the jungle overlooking the ocean. I could feel the plants around me; their energy and movement as though they were breathing. Not to confuse this with a hallucination, this was a state of precise focus, particularly on the character and the sounds of the jungle, as well as awareness of sensations occuring in my body. I sat and rested for a moment.
I sat cross-legged, and noticed my body feeling jittery with electricity, similar to that of consuming coffee or a cigarette, but with much higher intensity. Tears poured from my eyes, as did perspiration from my pores – there was quite a bit of excess saliva as well.
I began to cough up the rapé with the aim of avoiding swallowing, though it felt nearly impossible. I sat with it, observed my body, coughing and spitting into tissues intermittently.
I allowed the medicine to take root, and knew I needed to balance with the other side. A bit apprehensive, I filled the pipe with slightly less than before, as my first round was heavy on the mixture.
The head and body feelings were intense. I felt deeply aware, conscious, and present. The intensity made me feel emotional, but not in a painful way, with grief or sadness, but with gratitude and zest, rather. I kept crossed-legged as nature enveloped my friend and I.
We meditated together in silence for about ten minutes or so, allowing the presence to overtake us. As we came out of the meditation, she and I exchanged thoughts and both felt positive about the experience that we’d just had. Neither of us knew what to expect, so going in blind, the body effects were certainly a surprise.
As I stood up,I felt incredibly relaxed and present, but with slight energy about myself, and a slightly more intense feeling of nausea. I’d certainly swallowed some of the tobacco, and it is common for tobacco to cause nausea, especially to those who aren’t used to it.
I had two sips of water and immediately felt the need to vomit. I relieved my stomach quickly, thankfully I’d not eaten prior, and the relaxed and present state returned to me, but now with normal intensity.
As I moved through the rest of the day, I felt great awareness and peace within myself. I am grateful for the experience and the opportunity to try new things, especially those that are so different from what I was raised to know.
With any substance, it is my personal belief that one should understand the history, set the right mood, and refrain from using in excess. Balance is important, and so is knowing one’s own body. I am simply here to share my own experiences.
Now that I know:
Firstly, I found a ‘pea sized amount’ far too much for me – I now half that.
To avoid sickness, I make sure not to swallow the sinus drainage which naturally occurs. Instead, spitting the excess, blowing my nose, and keeping tissues close by is helpful.
Setting an intention and practicing gratitude is great directly before and during the session, so I can hone in on focus points and have direction with my consciousness.
Being around nature helps to feel more connected to my senses
Practicing yoga or dancing to follow allows me to connect deeper in my body, plus it always feels great to get the blood flowing first thing.
But what I’d really like to know: would you try this amazonian medicine?
As always, thank you so much for reading. This isn’t a recommendation but a share of my experience. I wish you joy and wellness, and pray that we all band together to make an impact for the better. Cheers!
References
Katukina. (2025).Tribal Rapé, Mapacho, Kambo, Sananga, Shamanic Tools & Incenses.
Povos Indiginenas no Brazil. Katukina pano-indigeno. (2018, March 26).