Tobacco
NICOTIANA TABACUM
Origin BOLIVIA
Active ingredient NICOTINE
RITUAL, RECREATIONAL use
The use of tobacco in indigenous practices integrates spirituality, medicine and culture, with women guardians of ancestral knowledge. Sacred, tobacco is used in purification rituals and to invoke spirits. In some communities, tobacco also has protective functions. Guarani women use the petygua (pipe) in healing rituals, connecting health and the Guarani "way of being" (Nhandereko).
References:
Viotti, Ana Carolina de Carvalho. "The medicinal virtues of tobacco, the 'holy herb', described by a European missionary in the Orient (c. 16th century)." Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Human Sciences 15 (April 22, 2020): e20190147. https://doi.org/10.1590/2178-2547-BGOELDI-2019-0147.