Nu-nu is a
herbal
A herbal is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their medicinal, tonic, culinary, toxic, hallucinatory, aromatic, or magical powers, and the legends associated with them.Arber, p. 14. A herbal m ...
stimulant
Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...
used by the
Matsés people
The Matsés or Mayoruna are an indigenous people of the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon. Their traditional homelands are located between the Javari and Galvez rivers. The Matsés have long guarded their lands from other indigenous tribes and stru ...
of the Amazon to prepare the men for a successful hunt.
Recipe
To prepare the
snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
, the powdered roasted leaves of
mapacho
''Nicotiana rustica'', commonly known as Aztec tobacco or strong tobacco, is a rainforest plant in the family Solanaceae. It is a very potent variety of tobacco, containing up to nine times more nicotine than common species of ''Nicotiana'' such ...
(a variety of tobacco) are mixed with
alkaline
In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...
ashes of the inner bark of the mocambo tree (''
Theobroma bicolor
''Theobroma bicolor'', known commonly as the mocambo tree, jaguar tree, balamte, or pataxte, among various other common names, is a tree in the genus ''Theobroma'' (family Malvaceae), which also contains the better-known ''Theobroma cacao'' (coco ...
''), which, in the proper amount, improves the absorption of the drug while lessening the nasal irritation. The leaves and alkalizing ashes are ground into a very fine powder and mixed.
Consumption
A Matsés man administers the prepared snuff by blowing the powder through a bamboo tube into the recipient's nostril. Under the effects of the drug, the recipient is said to have visions of the location of
game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
(such as
peccary
A peccary (also javelina or skunk pig) is a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North ...
) in the surrounding rainforest. A Matsés man may receive as many as four doses of nu-nu in each nostril.
Alternatively, nu-nu is also taken
sublingually
Sublingual (abbreviated SL), from the Latin for "under the tongue", refers to the pharmacological route of administration by which substances diffuse into the blood through tissues under the tongue.
The sublingual glands receive their primary ...
, to much milder effect.
See also
* ''
Anadenanthera peregrina'', a plant whose seeds are also used to prepare a psychotropic snuff
*
Insufflation (medicine)
Insufflation ( la, insufflare, lit=to blow into) is the act of blowing something (such as a gas, powder, or vapor) into a body cavity. Insufflation has many medical uses, most notably as a route of administration for various drugs.
Medical uses ...
*
Peruvian Amazon
Peruvian Amazonia ( es, Amazonía del Perú) is the area of the Amazon rainforest included within the country of Peru, from east of the Andes to the borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia. This region comprises 60% of the country ...
References
{{Reflist
Entheogens
Herbal and fungal hallucinogens