Mambe & Ambil: A Sacred Combination of Amazonian Coca & Tobacco 🌱
Created by the Murui Muina (Uitoto) peoples of the Colombian Amazon, mambe & ambil are now widely used across Colombia to facilitate communication & spiritual connection.
"Mambe is the pure essence of Mother Earth, that when consumed as medicine, allows us the dialogue to take care of life, of existence, and of nature," — Fernando Choa.
Choa, whose tribal name is Nɨmairatofe, is an author and member of the Murui Muina indigenous community — also known as the Uitoto, native to the Colombian Amazon.
"Ambil is supreme divinity, our father," he said. "When we consume ambil, we feel the sacred and mystery of nature."
Choa explains that the two medicines from which mambe and ambil are derived, coca leaf and tobacco, were given to the indigenous peoples by the "supreme being" at the beginning of time. The Murui Muina recognize themselves as the children of coca, tobacco, and sweet yucca.
Nowadays, these medicines have spread beyond the borders of those Amazonian communities. Mambe and ambil are commonly used in medicine communities across Colombia, in mambeos, and in other rituals and settings where being alert, present, and communicative is required.
Let's dive deeper into what exactly is it that these medicines facilitate, their role in traditional contexts, and what responsible use looks like.
What Exactly Are Mambe & Ambil?
Mambe comes from the sacred coca plant. It's a vibrant green powder made out of toasted coca leaf and the ashes of the leaves of the yarumo tree.
It's said in indigenous communities that coca is a feminine plant, often referred to as "mama coca." Mambe is said to "sweeten the word" and facilitates communication and concentration, increases alertness, and dampens hunger.
Ambil is a dark, thick tobacco paste made using vegetal jungle salts. While mambe sweetens the word, tobacco sweetens the thought. Its masculine essence is reflected in its power to help us "order" our minds.
These two medicines go perfectly together, as they allow us to express ourselves with clarity and harmony, as well as better listen and understand whatever is being shared with us.
To take mambe and ambil, or to mambear, you first take a very small amount of ambil, either with your pinky or a small wooden stick, and rub it on your gums or tongue.
The ambil comes first because it helps you salivate. This counteracts the effects of mambe, which instead makes your mouth feel dry.
Then, you take a spoon of mambe and put it in your mouth, using your saliva to turn it into a ball of paste and push it into your cheek. The ball of mambe then stays in your cheek until it dissolves.
How Are Mambe & Ambil Used?
In Amazonian indigenous communities, mambe and ambil are used for both spiritual and practical reasons.
"Mambe and ambil are used by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon in accordance to principles. To take care of the forest, of the rivers, the animals, the birds, everything that has to do with nature," — said Choa.
"And also to be able to communicate with those mysteries, with those spirits of the jungle. To give order to the jungle. To give an order of life where the jaguar, the animals, the man, the insects can exist in a natural equilibrium where everything is well organized."
In the jungle and elsewhere, mambe and ambil are commonly used in mambeos. A mambeo is a gathering of people from the community, often during the evening and/or nighttime and inside a maloka, where everyone sits in a circle so they can see each other. During mambeos, elders share stories and wisdom, and disputes are resolved.
Choa spent his childhood listening to stories and learning from elders in these kinds of community spaces. Many indigenous traditions in the Amazon are oral, so mambeos are crucial for passing down stories of the tribe's culture, philosophy and cosmovision to younger generations.
"This sacred substance that is born from the coca plant unites us, strengthens our beliefs and maintains good energies to achieve the social balance and spiritual harmony we need," — said Rosendo López Bolívar, leader of the Murui Muina indigenous community, to Radio Nacional de Colombia.
"Connect with Spirituality, the Divine"
Mambe and ambil are central to the way of life in these communities. Not only do they facilitate the sharing of wisdom — but they are also used for healing and in ceremonial rituals.
One community in Putumayo, Colombia, used mambe and ambil in a sacred ritual to heal the wounds caused by the country's armed conflict.
An elder named Braulio, who took part in the ritual, said to the Colombian national newspaper El Espectador:
"One sucks ambil and mambea and enters spirituality. That spirit enters the person's body and gives him the wisdom for narrations, for chants, for healings, for the rejection of bad spirits, and for one's own defenses. When one invokes, at that moment we receive inspiration and concentration, that is why we have so much respect for it."
Since Spanish colonization and to present day, Amazonian peoples have suffered immeasurable violence and destruction of their territories at the hands of outsiders. Mambe and ambil are tools that support the conservation of their traditions and ancestral wisdom in the face of these threats.
Another village in Putumayo is even using mambeos to help conserve the native Murui Muina language.
"To mambear is to think, be in dialogue, self-analyze, connect with spirituality, the divine, and have clarity about the things that are being built," — said elder Hermes Ortiz to Radio Nacional de Colombia.
Using Mambe & Ambil Responsibly
As with any sacred medicine, mambe and ambil should be used with respect, and not mindlessly.
"During ancient times mambe and ambil were blessed as sacred, so we cannot consume other medicines or plants when we consume mambe and ambil," — said Choa.
"Mambe and ambil are enough for you to be able to communicate, to have contact with energies."
Responsible use also means having an intention and using them in places where it's appropriate. These medicines are subtle yet create a feeling of well-being and alertness, so it's not uncommon for them to be used unconsciously and in inappropriate contexts.
In Colombia, I've seen mambe and ambil being used during healing retreats, ceremonies, sharing circles, and women's circles, and at times when clear, heart-centered communication is needed.
A Tool From Mother Earth
One incredible story of healing using mambe outside of a traditional context comes from Colombian Hare Krishna monk and medicine musician Bhaktivedanta Govinda Maharaja.
Maharaja credits mambe, along with other traditional medicines such as yagé and rapé, in helping him heal his 15-year cocaine addiction. But this time, using the coca plant with a lot of respect and honor for its sacredness.
"I was able to cure my cocaine addiction with coca itself. It's like when you wash a grease stain with soap. What is the soap made of? Grease," — said Maharaja.
"I was able to cure [the addiction] with coca by honoring it in the right way, as the elders teach. Asking for forgiveness, asking permission to the plant, thanking it. I was able to have a connection with coca but in an ancestral way."
"Mambe has a lot of goodness, as well as stimulating the word, it has many nutritional properties. It's good for gastritis, for insulin, for many things. And then you see that cocaine does the opposite – it doesn't let you sleep or eat, it awakens your vices," — he explained.
"Mother Earth has many tools to help you in your process."
Further Reading:
Sipping the Sacred Brew: One-On-One With a Taita From The Colombian Amazon
The Spirit’s Call: Shamanism, Neo-Shamanism, & Altered States of Consciousness
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