KAMBO FROG

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Rapé and Sacred Mapacho

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To many indigenous cultures of the Americas, mapacho (the grandfather) is a sacred plant known to cleanse both individuals and ceremonial spaces. That’s the case for rapé (pronounced “ha-peh”), a powerful, cleansing snuff used by shamans in Brazil and Peru as part of important medicinal rituals.

Rapé is gaining more popularity outside of the Amazon for its medicinal properties, and for people interested in trying it, it’s important to find a reputable source for the sacred mapacho. 

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Benefits of Using Rapé can help you in the following ways:

Helps focus and sharpen the mind.

Clears a person or space of distracting, bad energies in preparation for intention setting.

Detoxes both body and mind and clears your energetic field. Because of this, rapé is often used in conjunction with grandmother ceremonies.

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Clears sinuses of mucus and bacteria, thereby helping to combat colds and respiratory ailments.

Provides a calming, grounding effect on the emotions that lasts much longer that the initial sensation.

Can be used in conjunction with other treatments for addiction and mental illness.

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What is Rapé?

While rapé is often made of several Amazonian plants, the core of most rapé snuffs is the mapacho species. This Amazonian mapacho is used extensively in tribal rituals and is much stronger than any other similar spieces grown around the world.

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In addition to the mapacho, rapé usually includes the alkaline ashes of other plants such as cinnamon, tonka bean, clover, banana peel, or mint, but many shamans keep the exact ingredients of their particular rapé a secret.

The Experience of Using Rapé

The mapacho and other ingredients are ground into a fine powder, which is then blown or snorted high into each of the nostril cavities through a ceremonial pipe made of bone or bamboo. While it’s ideal to do this using a two-person pipe and an experienced shaman or practitioner administering the snuff. 

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Rapé is a cleansing medicine, so after taking it, you may experience side effects such as vomiting, sweating, and diarrhea. Although this is an admittedly uncomfortable part of the experience, some people say the pain is an integral part of the spiritual and physical cleansing process—by purging deep-seated toxins, you come out the other side of the experience feeling calmer, more focused, and more in line with your true self.

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Creating a right environment for working with Rapé

The indigenous peoples who have long used rapé see the ceremonial use of rapé as a form of prayer that “call[s] upon the forces of Nature, the blessing of the animals of the forest, and power of medicinal plants to heal us and give us strength.” It is, therefore, important that you use this sacred snuff in a respectful environment focused on healing.

 

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