Amazonian Plants and Healing

Traditional Ayahuasca Ceremonies

Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazonian plant brew, used for centuries by Indigenous peoples across the Amazon basin in healing and spiritual ceremonies. Effects may include vivid visions, intensified emotions, altered perception of time and self, and often a purging response such as vomiting or diarrhea. Many people describe the experience as deeply introspective, bringing up memories, insights, or a sense of connection with nature and something larger than themselves.

Kambo Treatment & Courses

Kambo is the secretion of the Amazonian giant monkey frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor), used since ancient times by Indigenous groups in the western Amazon basin. The frog venom is applied to small superficial burns made on the skin and was traditionally used in hunting preparation and ritual cleansing. The usual response is a rapid heart rate, facial flushing and swelling, nausea, vomiting and purging within minutes, with a feeling of calm or heightened alertness afterward. The entire experience typically lasts 20-30 minutes.

Mambé

Mambé is a traditional preparation made from the leaves of the coca plant, used by Indigenous communities in parts of the Amazon, including Peru and Colombia. Traditionally, the leaves are dried, finely ground and mixed with plant-based ashes to create a fine powder.

Bufo

Bufo refers to the dried secretion of the Sonoran Desert toad (Incilius alvarius, also called Bufo alvarius), which contains 5-MeO-DMT, a fast-acting psychoactive tryptamine, along with bufotenin. In ceremonies, the dried secretion is vaporised and inhaled, and the effects arrive within seconds and usually last 15 to 30 minutes. People commonly describe an intense dissolving of the sense of self, overwhelming emotion, a feeling of unity or boundlessness, and little of the visual imagery associated with ayahuasca. Afterward, many report feeling calm, open, or emotionally lighter, and some use it for self-exploration and integration.

Yopo

Yopo is a psychoactive snuff prepared from the seeds of the Anadenanthera peregrina tree, which contain bufotenin along with smaller amounts of DMT and 5-MeO-DMT. It is sometimes referred to as the “wild sister” of ayahuasca. The onset is rapid, typically within 5-15 minutes, and the effects relatively short, usually 1-1.5 hrs. Participants may experience physical discomfort, heat, and occasionally vomiting, alongside heightened sensory awareness, vivid imagery, and a strong sense of presence or clarity.

Sananga

The plant-based sananga eye drops—brewed from the Tabernaemontana genus of shrubs native to the upper Amazon—are said to enhance eyesight and have long been used by indigenous tribes to prevent and treat ocular diseases like glaucoma, cataracts, near-sightedness, and blindness. But sananga is also commonly used to treat skin diseases, infections, arthritis, cancer, and perhaps most interestingly, to clear a person of what is called panema—anxiety, depression, bad luck, negative energies, and laziness.

In fact, it’s by clearing this panema that sananga is said to promote overall eye health. As a shaman would explain it, sananga does its work not at the physical or cellular level but rather on an energetic level.

Rapé

Its name comes from French and means “grated” (grated tobacco); its origin is ancient and it is prepared by shamans.

Rapé is a mixture of various Amazonian plants, roasted and ground, whose base is tobacco; Acre in Brazil is the place that has the greatest tradition in rapés and many varieties.