The medicine art of Kambo comes from indigenous tribes of the Amazonian jungle and was hidden from the western world for millennia. The first known caucassian to experience Kambo had to wait 18 months before the local medicine man would administer it. Unfortunately it caught on by loggers of the Amazon, and the frogs from which the medicine comes were hunted almost to extinction in that area. Thus Brazil became the first, and still only, country in which Kambo is illegal. Nowadays Kambo can be attained sustainably, with no physical harm done to the frogs. The frogs are captured once a year (when they naturally descend from the jungle canopy), the excretion is gently wiped off their backs and legs, and they are released.
As the legend goes, a man named Kampu went on a solo medicine journey with Ayahuasca. In his vision the spirit of Ayahuasca appeared to him in full goddess form with the particular species of frog in her hands. He learned that to administer it, on must make a small abrasion in the skin (usually a burn from a twig ember), and apply the frog’s natural protective excretion from the skin. Traditionally this is used as either a detox (it activates excretion of bile from the gallbladder), or extended hunting trips in the jungle. For hunting the use of Kambo is twofold: it acts as an antibiotic and immune booster and results in the acumen of the physical senses such as eyesight, hearing, and smell.
I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to experience this rare medicine on the island of Kauai with a man who has found his roots with the medicine as his great great great grandfather was a Kambo medicine man. I appreciated his way of holding space and creating a sacred space for the ceremony to take place. Though it can be done unceremoniously, I personally wouldn’t recommend ever entering altered states without intention and some amount of spiritual regard. It’s not because I’m superstitious, but rather it is simply my experience and understanding of the human nervous system, the unconscious, and the fact that no matter who you are, you have ancestry steeped in tradition – so it is literally in your DNA.
Now I mentioned altered states, but Kambo isn’t like plant medicines where there might be an extensive visual or dreamtime journey. Some people may receive flashes of that, but generally the initiate feels quite ill for about 10 minutes and then regains faculty, with waves of feeling a bit off or energized for the next 24 hours or so. But enough background info, which you can find plenty more of by doing your own research. Here is my personal journey.
I met at Adrian’s place at the appointed time. Actually I was a bit early. I sat and looked at the amazing view of the jungle, and distant waterfalls tumbling down the sheer cliffs that overtook the horizon – the conjoined river of which I would visit later that day on recommendation of connecting with a water source to consummate receiving the frog medicine. I heard another voice, the person that would be joining me in ceremony that day. It turned out to be a friend who I didn’t realize would also be there, and whom I felt especially comfortable in joining me on this journey. So it goes - the magic of ceremony.
We sat on pillows with a candle burning, incense, and some traditional flute music in the background. Adrian gave us some background story that I touched on above, and some information on what to expect. He gave space to set intentions, which we did, but neither me nor my friend (who I shall call Wand) felt inclined to do out-loud. It was a no-pressure situation, which I appreciate. Adrian did some blessings with tobacco, palo santo, and such, and then administered our choice of hapé. The hapé was strong and a tear come down my left cheek, however it purportedly stimulates the system in preparation for the medicine by naturally releasing epinephrine. He prayed to the medicine, and to Wand and I, as he prepared it with some scraping the stick and adding sacred water hand-collected from the weeping wall of Wai’ale’ale here on Kauai.
As mentioned it was necessary to make a small burn to administer the Kambo medicine. This was done with the glowing hot end of a koa twig from Koke’e. It was a bit more painful than a mosquito bite, but quite a bit less painful than a typical hornet sting. By the 5th burn (5 total, generally considered safe for a first time) it hardly bothered me at all. Then he did Wand’s burns. I didn’t look at my own for some reason, but I looked at hers. It looked just like other people’s marks who I’ve seen who have also had the Kambo experience. Apparently they fade eventually, but generally last at least a few months.
The medicine came next. Adrian sang loudly in Portuguese as he administered it – one glob of frog goo per burn. I felt my body react almost immediately. For the first minute or so I maintained meditative equipoise, but quickly my body started speaking to me. There was a tightening in my stomach, as if closing in, and I could feel the lymph tracts of my throat activate. It felt as if my body said the following:
“Do I need to puke?”
“No, the stomach is empty because I haven’t eaten.” (as per recommendation I hadn’t eaten in about 18 hours)
“Do I need to poop?”
“No, I already did that this morning. I’m good”
“Do I need to pee?”
“I could, but I don’t think it will help much”
“I’m out of options…”
“This is just going to last as long as it lasts.”
“Oh glob, what have I done… … …”
I felt my arm move up and twist a bit in an unusual way. I was giving in to all the sensations slowly as I knew resisting would likely cause more suffering. I didn’t fully want to give in too quickly – logically I thought it might be too much and somehow a light resistance has an effect, but perhaps not and it’s more that I have a resistance to going in to things too quickly as a formative response from being subject to a forced birth when I became an infant. That last idea is just something that’s come in to my awareness recently, so I’m not surprised it showed up in that moment.
I tried leaning back, and I tried leaning forward. It was simply uncomfortable throughout and the best I could do was make peace with the non-peace of it. Eventually I felt it would be okay if I just lay back. The worst of it was over. However Wand was having the physical purge into the provided bucket. Luckily this didn’t affect my own feeling state. Perhaps it was the magic Peruvian vest that Adrian put on, stating that it is made to keep “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours”, somehow also extended to between Wand and I.
I rapidly started feeling better, and sat up delighted that the worst of it was over. My sense of time was a little curious – was it minutes that had passed, or an hour or so? Not sure, but I felt happy, content, and a little excited. Wand started coming around too. That time anomaly was one of the first things we talked about. It was likely about 10 minutes though. What’s strange is that later I learned that I had passed out for about half a minute on Adrian’s shoulder. He was compassionate enough to remove the medicine at that point, and also removed Wand’s when she started purging.
Before the medicine was applied I was asked where I wanted it. Since it was traditional to put it on the arm, I thought I’d just go for that and started rolling up my left sleeve. Then Adrian said the left is generally for a more spiritual cleanse, and the right more physical. I paused, thinking that I wanted the physical, but Adrian liked that I intuitively started rolling up the left so we went with that. I figured the two are pretty interrelated anyway. Wand went with the right arm. In the end it would seem that it worked out that way – she had a physical purge, and I passed out which is a sign of a spiritual download. I’m not sure what exactly that download was since I was unconscious, but here I am the next day and I’m still feeling pretty good, renewed, and happy to be engaging with life. Perhaps in time I will understand the specifics better. Such is the magic of the universe.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them below. If you’ve enjoyed this article, please upvote it. If you’d like more, please subscribe. If I get enough feedback I will post an update on what long-term effects I have noticed. Mahalo and safe journeys!