About Hapé

ABOUT HAPÉ

What is Hapé (Rappeh)?

Hapé Medicine (Pronounced Ha-Pay) is also commonly referred as Rapé Medicine (pronounced as Ra-Pay), is a sacred Amazonian snuff made from mapacho strain of Nicotiana Rustica and often mixed with alkaline ashes from plants, seeds, leaves, and tree barks. Hapé has many different names on the Spanish side of the Amazon known as rapé, rape, or rappeh plant medicine, this powdered snuff is traditionally used by indigenous cultures of the Amazon for spiritual, ceremonial, and healing purposes.

At Collective Journey Art, we use the term "hapé" to honor its sacred nature and its deep connection to ancestral traditions.

The Ingredients of Hapé

Hapé is typically made from cured mapacho, a tobacco plant that has 8-20 times more nicotine. It may also include other natural elements like tree ash, seeds, leaves, and plants. Each ingredient is selected with intention, often accompanied by prayer, to create specific energetic or healing effects. There is also hapé blends that does not carry any nicotine. Yopo and Apurina hapé variations may not contain mapacho but still carry profound spiritual significance.

How to Self-Administer Hapé Medicine (Amazonian Snuff) Ceremonially?

Sitting & Setting Intentions

Find a Comfortable Position: Sit comfortably on the floor or ground, ensuring your posture is relaxed and steady. Prepare the Medicine: Gently pour the desired amount of hapé onto the palm of your hand. This quantity will be used for your first nostril. Scoop the Medicine: Using the longer edge of your V-shaped kuripe (self-applicator), carefully scoop up the hapé. Center Yourself: Take a moment to connect with your body, mind, and soul. This practice enhances the experience, so focus inward before proceeding with a brief breathwork session.

Breathwork & Serving

Take Three Deep Breaths: First: Bless Mother Earth, holding the kuripe toward the ground, and exhale completely. Second: Bless Father Sky, exhale in a cleansing manner. Third: Fill your lungs fully and bring the kuripe closer to your heart. Prepare for Inhalation: Hold your breath, place the shorter side of the kuripe between your lips, and position the longer side at your nostril’s entrance. Administer the Medicine: Aim for the upper bridge of your nose with balanced force to blow—not too soft, nor too strong.

Journey Through

First Nostril: Use the first nostril with an intention to release what no longer serves you or to let go of the undesired. After the first serving, exhale fully through your mouth, and continue to breathe through the mouth for the remainder of the process. Second Nostril: Use the second nostril to invite rebirth, focusing on what you desire or wish to manifest. Blowing the medicine should be with slower but longer breath, finishing with a final, stronger push to expel all the medicine from the applicator. Afterward, exhale through your mouth and continue breathing through your mouth for the next few minutes.

Receive The Blessings

Aho, Mitakuye Oyasin (Lakota saying: With all beings, my relatives, in harmony and oneness!) Now, you are in the compassionate hands of the medicine. Surrender to the unfolding spirits and the prayers that have been infused into the medicine, accepting them without resistance. Remain in a meditative state, seated, for 10-15 minutes, allowing the experience to unfold. During this time, resist the urge to blow your nose. Simply wipe it as needed. Blowing your nose should only be done when your upper respiratory system feels fluid and you sense a release in the back of your throat. Aho!

How to Self-Administer Hapé Medicine-Short Version (Non-ceremonial)

1-Sit comfortably on the floor or ground in a relaxed position.
2-Pour the desired amount of hapé onto your palm. For the first timers, a pea-sized amount per nostril is suggested for the introduction. Scoop it with the tip (longer side) of your applicator.
3- Take a deep breath and focus your energy. Fill your lungs completely, bring the applicator to your heart, and call in your personal allies or guides for blessings.
4-Blow the hapé into your first nostril. If serving a partner, have them hold their breath, too, before you blow the medicine in. Afterward, they should breathe only through the mouth as well.
5-Immediately, when possible, serve the other nostril with the remaining hapé.
6-Ensure your lungs are filled with air before receiving or serving the medicine. After each serving, exhale only through the mouth if you are the receiver.
7-Sit quietly and breathe only through your mouth for 10-15 minutes as the medicine settles and is absorbed. Avoid blowing your nose—wipe it as needed. Only blow your nose when you feel the upper respiratory system is fluid and there’s a release at the back of your throat.

Warning: The use of applicators is crucial in the administration of hapé. The reason we blow this medicine (not snorting) is due to the extremely fine particles in the mapacho and ash blend, which are too small to be ingested directly into the lungs. The goal is to deliver the medicine to the upper bridge of the nose, allowing the body to absorb it. Therefore, it’s essential to use a Kuripe (blowpipe) for self-application or a Tepi to serve a partner.

Hapé Serving Techniques: The Art of Blowing the Medicine

The art of serving hapé is not simply about the act of blowing; it is a sacred practice, one that requires mindfulness, intention, and respect for the medicine. The techniques used to blow or serve the medicine facilitate its journey into the body, mind, and spirit, allowing the healing energy to flow in a controlled and purposeful manner. There are several techniques, each with its unique energy and purpose, but they all share one common thread—the connection to the spirit of the medicine.

1. The Deer Breath (Breath of Power)

The Deer Breath is one of the most common and foundational techniques used to blow hapé. It is a slow, controlled, and intentional breath, often used when deep connection and cleansing are required
Begin by taking a deep breath into your stomach, allowing the breath to connect with your inner power and the healing energy of the medicine. As you exhale, do so steadily and forcefully, allowing the breath to push the hapé with purpose. At the end of the exhale, seal your throat momentarily, creating a concentrated release of energy, directing the medicine precisely into the nostrils.
The Deer Breath is a powerful and grounding technique, used to release negative energy, cleanse the body, and bring balance to the spirit. Its deep, strong breath symbolizes strength, presence, and the ability to navigate through challenges with clarity and grace.

2. The Hummingbird Breath (Breath of Precision)

The Hummingbird Breath is a gentle and focused technique, often used when the medicine needs to be delivered with fine precision and clarity. This method requires a soft yet intentional exhale, creating a gentle hum that directs the energy with care.
Inhale deeply, but with a light and soft breath, connecting to the subtle energy of the medicine. As you exhale, do so slowly and evenly, with a controlled flow, much like the hummingbird’s delicate hum. This breath is focused, yet it carries the medicine with grace and subtlety, allowing it to settle into the body with intention. The Hummingbird Breath is often used for more refined work, where a calm and focused energy is desired. It helps to bring clarity and peace, while still allowing the medicine to permeate the body. This breath supports gentle healing, spiritual insight, and a deep connection with the inner self.

3. The Serpent Breath (Breath of Transformation)

The Serpent Breath is a technique used to invoke deep transformation. It is often employed when one seeks to release old patterns, emotions, or energy that no longer serve them, inviting renewal and personal growth.Begin by taking a slow and deliberate breath into the body, visualizing the energy of transformation flowing through you. As you exhale, let the breath be deep, long, and undisturbed, resembling the slow, sinuous movement of a serpent. With this breath, push the medicine into the nostrils with intention, allowing it to clear the path for transformation.

This technique is used for deep spiritual and emotional clearing. The Serpent Breath helps to shed what is no longer needed, making space for new growth, wisdom, and insight. It connects you to the energy of personal renewal, transformation, and evolution.

4. The Humming Breath (Breath of Sacred Sound)

The Humming Breath combines the rhythmic qualities of sound with breath, offering a gentle and calming way to serve the medicine. This technique creates a vibration that echoes through the body, aligning energy and harmonizing the spirit.

Inhale deeply through your nose, and as you exhale, create a soft humming sound with your breath. The sound should be steady, rhythmic, and continuous, much like a gentle vibration. This breath directs the medicine with a soothing and healing flow, encouraging relaxation and peace.

The Humming Breath is used for soothing and healing the spirit. It resonates deeply within the body, helping to balance energy and bring inner calm. This breath is ideal when one is seeking clarity, relaxation, or spiritual alignment.

5. The Eagle’s/Condor's Breath (Breath of Vision)

The Eagle’s Breath is a breath that invites visionary experiences, higher insight, and expanded consciousness. It is a breath that elevates the practitioner to new heights, offering a broader perspective on life, wisdom, and the journey ahead.

Take a deep breath in, filling your lungs completely, and visualize yourself soaring like an eagle, rising above all limitations. As you exhale, release the medicine with a strong and purposeful breath, letting it rise to meet your higher vision. The breath is clear, focused, and expansive, reaching towards the skies.
This technique is often used in ceremonies seeking higher guidance or profound vision. The Eagle’s Breath connects you to the spiritual realms, helping you see beyond the ordinary and gain insight into the mysteries of life.

The Sacredness of the Breath

Each of these techniques is a tool for directing the medicine, but it is the intention behind the breath that truly makes the medicine sacred. As you breathe with the hapé, you are engaging in a spiritual practice that transcends the physical, allowing the medicine to connect with your energy and spirit on a deeper level. The breath you choose reflects your inner state and the purpose you hold for the medicine—whether it is healing, cleansing, transformation, or spiritual insight.

Remember, the true power of hapé comes not only from the breath you use but from the reverence and respect you bring to the practice with an authentic self. With every breath, you are invited to become one with the medicine, allowing it to guide and heal you as you surrender to its transformative energy.

Su-Ata

Hapé Practitionor/Healer

Hapé as a Ritual

Singing medicne song or a mantra can enhance the effects of this medicine, while prayer serves as a powerful alternative. Often, the hapé naturally guides you into a meditative state, although it may occasionally induce intense purging or release. Though less frequent with smaller doses, purging, bowel movements, shaking, or other energetic releases can occur. Such purging is a testament to the medicine's profound capacity for healing and release.

Our collection features sixteen distinct hapé blends, each originating from diverse tribes across the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon. Collective Journey’s hapé medicine remains deeply rooted in its traditional origins. Each hapé is meticulously crafted with prayer and intention by Indigenous elders in their ancestral villages, imbuing each blend with unique purpose, healing properties, and spiritual essence.

Some hapé blends are designed for protection, while others focus on cleansing or grounding. Within our selection, you’ll find blends that embody a feminine essence, enriched with flowers or plants, as well as those with a more masculine energy. For instance, the Rose hapé, created by the Huni Kuin women, and the rappeh Nunu from the Matses tribe, our founder's masters, are known for their warm and nurturing qualities that have tandency to open our hearts. Conversely, our Mulateiro and Murici hapé, also by the Huni Kuin, exude a masculine force that promotes focus and a warrior spirit.

Furthermore, each hapé blend activates specific chakras and energy channels within the physical and spiritual body. While some may anchor you deeply to the earth, others might open channels in the third eye or crown chakra.

When & How Often to Work With Hapé?

Hapé, embraced by various indigenous cultures, offers a multitude of applications on a daily basis or as desired. The importance is to remain balanced and harmonious with your body. Hapé is not only beneficial physically but also impacts the mental psyche, emotional state, spiritual alignment, and energetic field. It possesses the remarkable ability to clear mental static, facilitating focus and mental clarity, which helps ground the individual. Additionally, it can heighten physical and spiritual senses, enhancing self-awareness while purifying and activating the pineal gland.

In Amazonian traditions, hapé is frequently employed before, during, or after ceremonies to foster grounding. It harmonizes well with numerous rituals and sacred plant medicines, including Ayahuasca and Kambo. Traditionally, it serves as a focal element within its own ceremonies or as an adjunct to others. Hapé is also used recreationally or prior to hunting to enhance sensory perception, awareness, and concentration. Known to indigenous tribes, hapé poses no contraindications to human health beyond the individual’s personal comfort level.