My Experience

First I got 4 holes burnt into my arm with a vine. Apparently 4 is only a beginner's dose or the warrior initiation as they call it. We had to fast 12 hours prior and drink at least 2 litres of water just before the frog venom got applied to our fresh burn spots.

After the kambo got smeared against my arm I almost immediately started to feel the effects. Kambo works in your automatic system, in the first phase it will affect your sympathetic system which is your fight or flight response, then it affects your parasympathetic system. My body got extremely hot like I was in a super charged sauna. My head and ears started to throb intensely while my face and throat started to swell up. I purged into my bucket.....a lot. I was pretty vocal about it too, not holding anything back. My vomit seemed to turn more yellow the more I purged. I had the most painful stomach cramp I've ever had, and my stomach and throat were absolutely burning as this vile fluorescent-yellow liquid was coming out of my body. I could feel so many toxins and gunk getting drained out of my system. I wasn't having the greatest time but I reminded myself to breathe and that this is all going to pass.

Everyone seemed to have been finished with their purge. I on the other hand, still felt like I had shit I needed to get out - even though I purged a great deal. And so out comes the rapé (pronounce ra-pay). Rapé is a name generally given to medicines (mostly tobacco) which are grinded into a fine powder and then blown into both nostrils through a pipe. The rapé that was present in this ceremony was made up from a jungle tobacco, which I got told helps with balancing both hemispheres of the brain and your energetic system, and also helps with the purging. I was definitely not looking forward to it especially after seeing one guy from our group experiencing rapé - it did not look like fun. I breathe in and out a couple of times to prepare myself until I let in one last inhale to hold my breath to receive the tobacco ashes up my nose. The shaman blows it into my left nostril and within one second I felt extreme burning sensations inside my face and sinuses. It did not tickle to say the least. The worst part about this was that I still had the other nostril left. She shoots the rapé into my remaining nostril while I was in pain. For some reason I let out a big ol' cry that had been inside me. I didn't cry from pain or any particular reason, it was just one of those cries from holding emotions in like pretty much all guys do. I knew I had to purge but I didn't know it was going to be in the form of tears. I forced the left over vile liquid in my system by forcing my fingers down my throat.

After 5 minutes or so the effects subsided and I felt a serenity come over me - it was finally over. It felt so good that I let out a big laughter like I was a mad man, it gave everyone else a good laugh though so that was good.

The rest of the day I was pretty buggered, after all I did detox quite hard! But I feel great now, a lot more energised and clear headed. I feel a lot cleaner, lighter and have a deeper sense of peace. I also feel more centered and a lot less afraid to do shit.