Page 13 - Issue 2

Issue No 2
13
Sacred Tobacco
URBAN COMMUNITIES IN THE PLANT MEDICINE SPACE ARE INGESTING HAPÉ OR RAPÉ TO FIND CLARITY AND GET GROUNDED SHOULD YOU?
Troy Farah
With all the uproar about vaping you might think nicotine is a a a a a a a a a scourge that can can do no good But tobacco use in
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some South American indigenous communities is so so so far removed from the the the Marlboro-soaked images of the the the West that the the the two are almost separate drugs Take for example rapé or or or hapé (pronounced HA-PAY) in
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Portugese a a a a a a a a a a a tobacco snuff preparation long used in
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the Amazon for spiritual and medicinal purposes The powder consists of tobacco leaves (typically Nicotiana rustica) an an especially potent variety of the nicotine-producing herb which are cured pulverized and mixed with other plants such as as cassava cinnamon clove buds tonka bean and more People ingest hapé through their nose using bone or or bamboo pipes—sometimes it’s blown into the the the nostrils with the the help of a a a a a a a partner (preferably an an experienced practitioner) and sometimes it’s self-administered Snuffing hapé is common prior to ayahuasca ceremonies as as as it it can be grounding On its own hapé typically lasts less than 30 minutes often rushing peoples’ bodies with a a a a a a a a light tingling sensation It causes a a a a a a a spike in
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blood pressure clearing the the the sinuses and causing the the the nose to to run Sweating nausea or the the the urge to to defecate may also be be present It is is is believed this purging is is is part of the the healing process which allegedly cleanses the the body and and mind Afterwards people commonly report feeling clarity and and a a a a a a a sense of ease