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Yawanawa, Ruma and Sanaga – Arend Streit

The Yawanawa are an indigenous people in Acre, Brazil, for whom I co-organize a support project with Rick Doblin and Stuart Hameroff: http://www.yawanawa-project.org/ The Yawanawa use, next to Uní, an ayahuasca variant, Ruman (or Ruma), a snuff powder, and Sananga, an etheogen, which is dropped into the eyes. Ruma is also called rapeseed, which generally means snuff powder. It is made from tobacco and the ashes of the bark of a tree. Other ingredients may vary.

It is blown even or by others in the nose. the effect is non-linear, small amounts clear the consciousness, larger amounts can create trance-like states. Sananga can be freshly harvested from leaves (within 20-30 seconds) or extracted from a root, then lasts a little longer, but soon loses its effectiveness. It focuses attention and is specifically used for hunting. Supposedly it can cause the game to be seen in false colors and thus stand out from the background.

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