Rapé (pronounced hapé) is a sacred herbal blend, often containing tobacco from the Amazonian tribes used as a grounding tool for ceremony and different intentions depending on the blend. Rapé contains Nicotiana Rustica, a type of tobacco also known as mapacho, which is different than the tobacco used in cigarettes which is Nicotiana Tabacum. Instead of cigarettes rapé is not meant to be smoked but rather inhaled through the nose. The blends contain other medicinal and sacred plants, including parts from tree bark, leaves and seeds. Different parts of the plant provide different uses and the recipes which are past down in the tribes often become secrets of the shamans that make them.
Rapé dates back to the time of the Incas.
Before using Rapé:
You always want to have an intention when using rapé and clear your space, outside in nature is best. Make sure you are in the righ head space, just like when you use psychedelics, sound, set and settign are key to a good experience. Rapé is not a psychedelic but does contain psychoactive materials and can be quite strong so its best to treat it like the plant teacher that it is.
How to use Rapé:
In a Rapé ceremony, a shaman will use a long bamboo or bone pipe called a tepi and blow the snuff intoy our nose. You can also use a small personal pipe called a Kuripe. You take a pea size amount, put it in the larger end of the pipe and blow through one nostril with force, wait a few seconds and repeat for the next nostril. Always balance both nostrils and do the nostrils close to eachother to balance them out.
What to expect after taking rapé:
When Rapé enters your nose, it immediately permeates through your mucous membranes into your bloodstream.
The constituents attach to nicotine receptors, resulting in increased production of dopamine, acetylcholine, and epinephrine.
These chemical processes cause the person to feel relaxed and calm, yet aware and alert. It happens quickly and often feels like a jolt, yet it typically doesn’t cause anxiety or fear.
You should close your eyes, breathe slowly, and focus on your intention when the effects quickly start to set in. Most people experience watery eyes due to the sensitivity of the nose, and also due to the fact that Rapé is a purgative for many.
That said, sometimes people experience crying, extra salivation, sneezing, vomiting, or the need to have a bowel movement. This is normal and part of the process, as one of the purposes of Rapé is to cleanse and purify the mind and body.
Rapé brings you to a place of acute attention and awareness. The mind becomes quieter, negativity clears out, and emotional tensions release.
People often feel more grounded during the experience, allowing them to clear up confusions or discomfort about an issue they may have been experiencing.
If you focus on the intention you set, you may easily find what you were looking for, be it a state of consciousness or an answer to a question.
Your mind gets purged of everything it needs to let go of. The body often follows suit.
(excerpts from https://www.ayahuascachurches.org/)
Kaxinawa Rapé: Kaxinawa rapè has amazing grounding effects. The Kaxinawa tribe also known as the Huni Kuin are indigenous people from Brazil and Peru. They commonly use kaxinawa rapè to cure headaches, clear sinuses, and clear the mind of negative energy. This rapè is pure, steady , and very subtle. Some use it with Ayahuasca, Mushrooms, or other ceremonies if hey feel heavy energies.
Katukina Nissural Rapé :is from the Katukina tribe. This rapé is a unique blend of tsunu, murici, cumaru and and the native medicine nissural. Katukina Nissural can provide a calming effects to facilitate sleep and remove head and body aches. Nissural opens ones heart and clears negative energy from within.