Sacred Tobacco: Hapé or Rapé

Hapé is a very sacred tobacco snuff, made by the indigenous tribes of the Amazon. Hapé, or rapé,’ is pronounced ‘haa-pay’ in English.  It is grown and made in deep reverence for the Sacred tobacco plant and for Mother Earth. It is used for deep connection to the spirits, animals and Mother Nature, it is very cleansing and powerfully healing for the body, mind, and soul. Hapé is made with small tobacco leaves NOT grown for commercialization and is Non GMO. It does not include commercial tobacco with high amounts of nicotine, thus it has none of the negative properties that commercial cigarettes or tobacco products have. 

Tobacco is a very powerful plant, that has the power to heal, and when abused, it can kill and cause detrimental harm. In this way it is a plant that is very revered by the Native people, and is said to be a Grandfather medicine, full of ancient wisdom and the ability to carry our prayers to Creator.

This sacred medicine takes days to make and is a very labor intensive process made in a ceremonial way, out of various Amazonian healing medicinal plants, leaves, trees and seeds from native lands.

While rapé is often made of several Amazonian plants, the core of most rapé snuffs is the tobacco species Nicotiana rustica. This Amazonian tobacco, also known as mapacho, is used extensively in tribal rituals and is much stronger than N. tabacum, the type of tobacco found in cigarettes.

In addition to the tobacco, 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.

Potential Benefits of Hapé

• Offers energetic protection that comes from connecting with the tobacco plant, an ally for strength, clarity, and focus.
• Connects you to the Earth, it is very grounding, centering, awakening, and some blends are super exhilarating.
• Clears negativity and stills the mind. Helps focus and sharpen the mind..
• Opens up the 3rd eye and is said to decalcify the pineal gland (which naturally hardens and calcifies with age and exposure to fluoride).
• Clears a person or space of distracting, or negative energies. It is used often 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 ayahuasca ceremonies.
• Clears sinuses of mucus and bacteria, thereby helping to combat colds and respiratory ailments. Purifies and cleanses the sinuses and respiratory tract. Can help heal sinus issues and reduce mucus.
• Provides a calming, grounding effect on the emotions that lasts much longer than the initial intense sensation.
• Can be used in conjunction with other treatments for addiction and mental illness.
• Supports the digestive system, helps the bowels into their natural flow. 

The Experience of Using Hapé 

The tobacco 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. 

It is ideal at first to utilize this medicine while being Served with a two-person pipe and an experienced shaman or practitioner administering the snuff. After you are more experienced with the facilitation, there are also pipes designed for use by one person for yourself. Both styles of pipes are available at Ceremony. 

Rapé is a cleansing medicine, and has many different blends so the effects after taking it vary, you may experience a huge buzzing feeling, like when you eat a whole bit of Wasabi, which you feel in your third eye, crown chakra and pineal gland. Sometimes stronger Hapé have deeper 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 of the experience feeling calmer, more focused, and more in line with your true self.

This sacred medicine comes from many indigenous tribes.