Tobacco: A Plant With Conflicting Views
Introduction to Hapé
The Nectar Barn is a local healing place of sorts located in Nevada City, California. Shamans, tabaqueros, energy healers, kambo practitioners, medicine men and women from all over the world have come to this tiny town to serve medicine and bring their ancestor’s traditions. The Nectar Barn is adorned with cactus, sacred geometry and wafts of warm smelling incense burning.
It was a cold November night when we gathered at the nectar Barn for a night of tea and various talks on indigenous wisdom. As we sat in the circle and introduced ourselves, I noticed a woman named Sophie had begun to make her way around to each person and blow powder up their nose with a long, hollow stick. I would later come to know this powder as hapé, pronounced “ha-peh”. A powdered substance containing finely ground tobacco, tree ash and various herbs to potentiate healing. Everyone’s reaction had been quite dramatic upon receiving the hapê, some were gagging and spitting, others were sweating and some sat peacefully in meditation. Regardless, I found it to be quite an odd process as I had never seen anything like it.
Lost in observing other participants reactions to the substance, I didn't notice that Sophie had already made her way around to me. “Would you like to try some hapé?” Sophie held up her palm filled with brown powder as if to tempt me further.
“Sure, why not” I replied, nonchalantly. Although I had never worked with hapé and it made me a bit nervous, my curiosity always prevails. Sophie began to scoop the brown powder into one side of the stick until half of it was gone. “This hapê is made from Arapiraca tobacco, Parice ashes and a touch of Guarana for a nice recharge of the batteries.” Sophie explained to me as she held the hollow stick up to my nostril.
Sophie blew a short, yet very powerful blow that almost knocked me backwards. My focus was concentrated solely on the pain that was hammering through my nostrils. I hadn’t properly digested the first nostril before it was time for the second. This blow didn’t hurt quite as bad but it still rocked me a bit. A few moments later the pain subsided and a wave of calm and presence washed over me. I found it challenging to not be present, when normally it is quite the contrary. A deep sense of inner peace and desire to be exactly where I was made its way through me without any effort.
Tobacco in South America
In the West, tobacco has suffered some terrible name calling over the years, “cancer causing”, “death sticks”, “tobacco kills”, are a few examples. On the contrary, in South American countries tobacco has been referred to as a “master plant teacher” or “healer”. How can one plant have such opposing views? Well first, we must look at how the plant is being used in the divergent geographic locations.
The indigenous tribes of South America work primarily with Mapacho. Mapacho is a form of tobacco differing in its darker color shade, being grown in organic, nutrient dense, Amazonian soil and without added chemicals or pesticides.
Hapé tobacco snuff is primarily used in ceremonies, rituals or for grounding and cleansing one's energetic field. This finely ground powder is prepared along with hours of prayer and intention. Hapé is traditionally insuffulated into both nostrils using a pipe called a tepi. Prior to ingesting hapê, it is a common ritual to set an intention and be thankful for the opportunity to sit with the wisdom of the plant.
Working with tobacco in conjunction with intention and prayer is a common practice used in the Amazon. A Tobaquero, a healer who works primarily with tobacco, said this about the plant, “the tobacco’s healing power in the energetic realm is outstanding; I have worked with many other power plants, very good ones, but none of them compared to tobacco in this context.”
At times, tobacco is not even ingested by the user but instead the smoke is worked with. In many indigenous communities tobacco smoke is believed to carry prayers directly to the Gods, used to cleanse spaces, objects and living organisms of “negative energy” and used to communicate with the spirit of the plant for guidance.
In indigenous communities tobacco is a highly respected plant that is used with intention and with high regard for the power that the plant possesses.
Tobacco in the West
In the West, it is not a common practice to work with tobacco in an intentional way. Chemical ridden cigarettes are the common form of ingesting the plant. Primarily being sought out due to addiction or as a way to relieve stress. The tobacco used by the Indigenous tribes is much different than the tobacco being sold on store shelves today. Big Tobacco Companies go as far as manipulating the nicotine levels in the leaves of the tobacco plants in order to increase addiction. Let’s not forget to mention the poor soil that the plants are grown in here in the West.
Tobacco is commonly consumed to feed a “fix” , in Western society, due to the users addicted relationship to the plant. As stated in Jeremy Narby’s book, Plant Teachers, “Traditional consumers of tobacco did not suffer from lung cancer or mouth cancer. But consumers of “fine” cigarettes get cancer, because they consume in excess and without guidelines. In life, all things used in excess are harmful. Smoke is not suited to human consumption. In small doses, tobacco smoke is medicinal, but in abundance it destroys the cells and deteriorates the organism.” Many are quick to point the finger at the plant as being the culprit to disease instead of blaming how and to what amount we are consuming it. The truth of the matter is, it is us humans who abuse this wise and beautiful plant teacher. We as a society need to start taking responsibility for our own habits instead of putting the blame on the substance.
As a society, we should begin reflecting on positive habits we can implement in our life in order to reduce stress on our own, without reaching for anything. This can be through meditation, yoga and being in nature, to name a few. It is important to become aware of our levels of consumption and how we consume. Are we grateful and do we take a moment to be present with tobacco before working with it. Purchasing organically grown, chemical free tobacco is an important step as well. By achieving this, and understanding the innate wisdom this plant possesses, we can begin to have a more positive relationship with tobacco.
