Rapé is a snuff which is widely used in the Amazon, sometimes in ayahuasca ceremonies. The thing about it is: it blows your head off! That’s not necessarily true, but it did for me and it does for many people, and not in a particularly nice way.
Whilst there are different types of rapé they are generally based on mapacho (nicotiana rustica) which has an extremely high nicotine content (and which I will write about downstream). Like mapacho it really did make me feel unwell, ill and in danger of passing out (or worse). I felt dizzy and very poorly. Added to this was the extreme nasal pain, complete with eyes watering, as the initial snort felt like a shot to the head. I limped to bed and lay down, hoping for it to pass quickly.
Following the mapacho experience I experienced a sort of clarity but I didn’t really notice this with rapé. There could have been something of a mental reset going on, although arguably there usually is after a quasi-traumatic experience.
So you can probably work out what’s coming as a takeaway: if you really are going to use this stuff take it easy and make sure you are in good health.
NOTE: For the unfamiliar, the item on the left is known as a kuripe, and is a pipe used to self-administer the rapé. A pinch of the substance is placed within and then blown powerfully up the nostril by oneself. Ouch.
