No, not the kind of frog you might lick recreationally for it's secretion of DMT (should you be so inclined.) That would be the Colorado River toad. This is Phyllomedusa bicolor, an Amazonian rainforest treefrog.
And talk about right of passage - this little fucker took me down!
Sapo, frog "medicine" - or poison - is administered to boost ones mojo. Traditionally taken to hone hunting skills, keen the senses, boost immune and reset nervous system, or in other parlance - to realign the chakras, emphasis on the third - personal power, deep cleanse the body through purging for health and vitality, strength, passion and prosperity (success in hunt or business)...
OK, thought I, lets give it a try...
We're at the lovely sanctuary of El Molle outside Pisac in the Sacred Valley, Peru, sitting in a row, buckets in front of each of us, mats, on the grass, in the morning sun, at the base of lilting peaks, and our good man Adrian (French accent) and a handful of benevolent assistants are sitting opposite us. Adrian is explaining to us with reverence, the practice, purpose, and what to expect. The intensity of the experience will peak and be over within ten minutes.
An insightful, poignant and humble prayer is offered for us and the spirit of the medicine, after which Adrian deftly applies the waxy secretion to spot wounds on our skin, previously burnt with the fine tip of a glowing vine to remove a single layer.
Almost immediately I feel my heart race and my head flush and before I know what's hit me, I am experiencing the most awful feeling of malaise imaginable. Poisoned! I hear myself groaning pitifully. I become aware that though I am sitting squarely on the ground with my hands supporting me, I become unable to hold myself up and my head has drooped down into my bucket. Someone pulls me back upright, but I collapse again within a moment having almost no strength or control of my body, my head inside this god damned bucket again. I am supported by two people now and I hear Adrian telling me to breath. I feel like the black death, am sweating profusely, reach for the bucket and involuntarily project green and bitter bile in a surprisingly forceful and copious stream - serious liver detox - and with that out - it's over. I begin to recover consciousness and composure, feeling much lighter and somewhat euphoric, sitting in this spectacular place on this vibrant morning and i feel grateful to be alive and well!
Well I know I have a lighter liver, but I'll tell you how the hunting goes over the next few weeks...
Meanwhile, don't do anything I wouldn't do.
