Nu-nu
Nu-nu is a psychoactive drug prepared and administered by Matsés people of the Amazon to prepare the men for a successful hunt.[1][2]
To prepare the snuff, the powdered roasted leaves of mapacho (N. rustica tobacco) are mixed with alkaline ashes of the inner bark of the mocambo tree (wild cacao, Theobroma bicolor, a member of the cacao family), which, in the proper amount, improves the absorption of the drug while lessening the nasal irritation. The leaves and alkalizing ashes are ground into a very fine powder and mixed.
A Matsés man administers the prepared snuff by blowing the powder through a bamboo tube into the recipient's nostril. Under the effects of the drug, the recipient has visions of the location of game (such as peccary) in the surrounding rainforest. A Matsés man may receive as many as four doses of nu-nu in each nostril.[3]
Alternatively, nu-nu is also taken sublingually, to much milder effect.
See also
- Anadenanthera peregrina, a plant whose seeds are also used to prepare a psychotropic snuff
- Insufflation (medicine)
- Peruvian Amazon
References
- ↑ Clifton, Chas S. (1994). Shamanism and Witchcraft. St. Paul: Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 229. ISBN 9781567181500. OCLC 30027934.
- ↑ Staff writer (14 June 1992). "Vision Quest". Newsweek. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
- ↑ Pérez, Javier (12 July 2008). "El turno del Nunu". Cocholate Viajero. Retrieved 8 June 2014.