Tobacco
Golden line in between body and spirit
protective energy
“Tobacco is the mother plant of excellence in all of the original communities of the Americas, and in all ancestral ceremonies it is present as an ingredient that accompanies other sacred medicines. Tobacco leaves take the form of the tongue, and this characteristic helped the first grandfathers and grandmothers of the original communities to deduce that it was to be used for prayer and communication, and this is exactly how it has always been used. When used intentionally and for prayer, tobacco smoke carries our words, thoughts and intentions to the Superior Consciousness, God, The Creator, or The Great Spirit.”
“A myth from the Witoto nation who inhabit the southern extreme of Colombia says that there was once a tremendous blaze that consumed all life on the land. Afterwards, the first plant to rise from the ashes was the Grandfather Tobacco. We call certain plants Grandfather or Grandmother because they existed long before the arrival of human beings.”
“Tobacco also has other uses; its water, in cooking and infusions, can be used as an inhalant through the nose to treat common colds, catarrh (excess build-up phlegm), sinusitis, and rhinitis. Tobacco in powder form, like rapé, can be used to treat these ailments. Ambil, from the Witoto tradition, which is the result of cooking fresh tobacco leaves over various days until a type of honey tobacco paste is produced, is used by licking or eating in small quantities for prayer. It can also be used to clean or purge the body by being dissolved in water. Ambil is know as ‘water tobacco of life’ in South America. In North America, indigenous communities such as the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, Dine, Chayenne, and other tribes of the 405 nations of the Red Road, utilize tobacco for the sacred pipe, also know as the Chanupa Wakan.”
“Tobacco can also be rolled in dried corn husks. This act is a living example of the function of tobacco used for prayer. These forms of honoring the sacred plant give it the name ‘Fire of Life’.”
“Throughout the Americas, tobacco is associated with the elements. In Central America, from Panama to Mexico, tobacco is known as ‘tobacco of air’ or ‘air of life’ because of the characteristics of the air currents in those lands. As mentioned, in North America, tobacco is thought of as ‘the fire of life’ and is honored primarily and ceremonially through use in corn husks or the sacred Chanupa Wakan. Lastly, in South America the Grandfather Tobacco is of water.”
“Throughout the Americas, tobacco is associated with the elements. In Central America, from Panama to Mexico, tobacco is known as ‘tobacco of air’ or ‘air of life’ because of the characteristics of the air currents in those lands. As mentioned, in North America, tobacco is thought of as ‘the fire of life’ and is honored primarily and ceremonially through use in corn husks or the sacred Chanupa Wakan. Lastly, in South America the Grandfather Tobacco is of water.”
