Rapé

Breath of life.

Tepi pipe used in traditional rapé ceremony.

This medicine is present especially in the native communities of the Colombian, Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon.

In this text we will focus mainly on Brazilian rapeseed, since in this territory the advances and depths of its study are notorious. Rapé is prepared mainly from dried tobacco or sometimes toasted, which is crushed or ground, and sifted until it becomes an extremely fine powder. In some preparations the tobacco can be fermented, a process that is achieved naturally and traditionally without the need to add anything, only with a process at the time of harvesting and storing the leaves.

The main element of rapé is tobacco, but different communities in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest use mixtures with ashes from different plants, tree bark, roots, etc., which have specific medicinal qualities and make it possible to prepare different types of rapeseed. It is important to recognize that this medicine is characterized by being made up of two elements, a material element which are the natural elements from which it is prepared, and a spiritual element, which are the spirits and energies that guard the plants used for the preparation.

Rapé is then a very fine powder that contains tobacco and ashes of different elements and is used by blowing it through the nose. It can be applied individually or by another person. Being a natural medicine and for ritual use, it requires that its use be in terms of intentionality and direction of the purpose of why it is done, so that the medicine can fulfill its mission and bring well-being to the patient.

This medicine works in three areas, the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.

Physical: In the physical aspect it is recommended for people who suffer from rhinitis, sinusitis, constant nasal obstruction, headaches, migraines, since the rape medicine enters through the nose doing a cleaning job and evacuating all the mucus that normally cannot be removed without nasal washes. This cleansing harmonizes the respiratory system and regulates blood pressure, which is beneficial for headaches. Sometimes this medicine can cause nausea or vomiting, since if our diet is not healthy, rapé brings a cleansing force that makes us purge and thus lighten our body.

Mental, rapé when used consciously and respectfully in traditional ways, brings clarity of thought, allows a space to calm our thoughts and enter into the wave of sensitivity, of being and being in presence, of simply breathing, meditating and finding oneself. It is often used prior to other sacred ceremonies to calm rational thought and awaken the voice of the heart, and to concentrate the mind on a fixed purpose that is had in spiritual work.

Spiritual: rapé is prepared from plants, and all plants have a guardian spirit, which the elders know since they have been related to them for thousands of years. They share their messages with us about the importance of connecting with the spirit of the elementals in order to be able to express directly to them what we want to work on, or heal when using the master plants.

The preparation of rapé requires special diets and handling to preserve the purity of the spirit of the plant and for the preparation to retain the strength of the jungle. There are snuffs that are stronger than others, meaning that when using the medicine they generate a dizziness with different levels of intensity. This is a spiritual dizziness , in which our spirit receives encouragement, advice, and direction. By allowing this medicine to enter our being in a responsible manner, we are allowing the purity of nature, the clarity of the waters, the firmness of fire, the goodness of the earth to enter.

Currently in Europe, different tobacco companies sell different preparations of “snuff”, non-organic tobacco which they pulverize and apply aromas to. These elements are not natural, and are not the ones on which this text focuses. Those commercial items are not spiritual medicines but rather the product of the confusion of thought and other negative interests.

At Ziru Yai retreats, we have various types of rapé prepared in different villages and communities of the Brazilian jungle, especially from the Yawanawa, Huni Kuin and Varinawa communities. Some of the monkfish preparations that we will have are: Yawanawa, Cumaru, Cacau silvestre, Parica, Mulateiro, Nukini, Kuntanawa, samahuma. We will have the opportunity to talk and learn more during our meeting, since recognizing the energy of this medicine is only possible through its use, through the encounter with its spirit, which, as we said before, must always be done in concentration and in a respectful manner, with a firm and clear intention. This is how when we blow rapé or apply the medicine individually, we are receiving a breath of life, we are receiving a blessing from nature.