Meet the Medicines

A doorway into some of the medicines and traditions you may encounter at Roots. The medicines introduced here belong to living traditions, practised and passed from one generation to the next. Practices and understandings differ between communities and lineages. What follows is an introduction rather than an attempt to explain everything.

Some understanding comes through words.
Much comes through experience.

Yagé (Ayahuasca)

A medicine of relationship

At Roots, the medicine at the heart of the ceremonial week is Yagé — often known more widely as Ayahuasca. Preparations vary between communities and lineages. Yagé commonly brings together the Yagé vine with a companion plant, known in parts of Colombia as chagropanga. The preparation belongs within a much wider ceremonial and cultural tradition, carried differently by the communities who work with it. No two ceremonies are the same. No two people experience them in exactly the same way.

Rapé / Hapé

Finding the present moment

Rapé, also known as Hapé in some contemporary usage, is a traditional tobacco preparation. Recipes vary between communities and may include other plant materials and plant or wood ash. Traditionally administered through the nose, it is shared with intention and care. Its significance belongs not simply to the preparation itself, but to the ceremony and culture surrounding it.

Tobacco in Indigenous Traditions

A different relationship

For many people, tobacco is associated with commercial cigarettes. Within many Indigenous traditions, however, tobacco occupies a very different place. Traditionally prepared tobacco may be used in prayer, blessing, cleansing, protection and ceremony. Understanding this distinction helps us recognise why context matters as much as the plant itself.

Mambe

Conversation as medicine

Mambe is traditionally prepared from coca leaves together with alkaline plant ash. Within some Indigenous communities, it accompanies conversation, storytelling and the passing of knowledge between generations. Space to listen. Space to speak thoughtfully. Space to learn from one another. Mambe is often shared alongside Ambil.

Ambil

Words spoken with care

Ambil is a traditional tobacco preparation, usually taking the form of a concentrated paste. Preparations vary between communities and may include alkaline plant salts or ashes. It accompanies reflection, intention and thoughtful conversation. Within some traditions, speaking begins with listening. Conversation becomes an opportunity for relationship rather than simply an exchange of information.

Sananga

A moment of stillness

Sananga is traditionally prepared from plants of the Amazon and is used within several Indigenous traditions. Preparations and ways of working with Sananga vary between communities. Its application may be brief yet intense.

Cacao

Gathering together

Cacao has been cultivated and honoured by Indigenous peoples of Central and South America for generations. Traditions differ between communities, but cacao may accompany hospitality, gratitude, reflection, conversation or ceremony. At Roots, it may offer another simple way of gathering together.

Kambo

Where offered

Unlike the other medicines introduced here, Kambo is not a plant medicine. It is a secretion traditionally collected from the giant monkey frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) and used by a number of Indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Kambo is not part of every Roots retreat. Where offered, it is introduced separately with informed consent, appropriate health screening and careful preparation. Participation is always optional.

Medicinal Plants of the Region

The forest teaches quietly

The forests surrounding Roots are home to plants known, cultivated and respected across generations. Some are used within ceremony. Some are prepared as everyday medicines. Others nourish through food, fragrance or simple presence. Guests may encounter plants such as the Yagé vine, chagropanga, guayusa, cacao and achiote, alongside trees, vines and herbs whose stories continue to be carried by the communities who know them. The forest changes when we begin to recognise that the plants around us carry stories of their own.

The Relationships That Make This Possible

These traditions are carried by people and communities, through knowledge and relationships built across generations.

A Deeper Layer

There is more to these traditions than can — or should — be held on a website. For those who choose to journey with Roots, there is a deeper layer to explore — one we prefer to reveal in its own time. Some things are better discovered when the journey has begun.