About Hapé

Hapé or rapé, pronounced (hap-aay) is shamanic healing snuff crafted and used by indigenous tribes across the Brazilian Amazon.

This is highly developed plant technology; many blends are created following ancient ancestral recipes. They are handmade by the tribes in a sacred manner, with ritual, ceremony and song, and infused with specific healing plants, ashes, seeds, flowers and tobacco (see below for more information). 

Click here to view the hapé we stock.

Traditionally hapé is blown into both nostrils using a pipe. A long pipe known as a tepi allows one person sitting in front to blow into the the nostrils of the other.

A smaller V-shaped pipe known as a kurupi is used to self apply. One end is inserted in the mouth and the other in the nostril. 

This ancient technology has been used for thousands of years for healing, and is commonly used to cleanse the body and energy, to ground, centre, align, connect, receive clarity, release tension, reset and meditate. 

It is recommended to use it with intention, in a ritualistic way, in a calm and safe setting. This will support its healing potential.

Hapé effects vary with dosage. We provide a very fresh and potent supply, so start small: a pea-sized amount divided between both nostrils is a safe place to start.

Using it in this manner can be extremely powerful. We are also aware that too much of a good thing is not always helpful! We provide this medicine with the aim of it helping and supporting you. Some of the tribes do not recommend daily use, as this can diminish the power and ability of the healing. If you experience a loss of smell or a blocked nose it is a sign that it is being overused.

Tobacco

In the west the word tobacco is commonly used to refer to cigarettes. 

Nicotiana tobacum is the strain of tobacco used in the cigarette industry, but it is only one strain in a large family of plants.

The key ingredient in hapé is nicotiana rustica, known to some as mapacho. This is an ancient wild Amazonian tobacco plant that is used in healing rituals by most tribes.

This pure and natural tobacco is nothing like the tobacco used in cigarettes. It has been used for thousands of years by these tribes, with no association with disease. In fact it is one of the main curative medicines to for the body and mind. 

Cigarettes only contain about 70% tobacco, with the remaining 30% made up of fillers and additives. These plants are usually grown with pesticides, fertilisers, herbicides and many other chemicals to increase production yield, preserve products shelf life and to speed up burning.

Tobacco in a medicinal context is is usually snorted, chewed, and drunk. In some cases, it is also burnt but not inhaled. Amongst indigenous people, Its effects are known to ground, clear the mind, centre, cleanse the body and to communicate with the spirit realm.