Kambo: Poison Frog-Venom Ceremonies
The basic logistics of a Kambo ceremony: a guide will burn your skin with a smoldering stick, scrape off the blisters, and place poisonous frog venom on the exposed wounds (a.k.a., portals). The poison, then, will enter your blood stream, you will instantly feel an intense fever, and you will vomit intensely for the next 15 minutes.
I know. You must asking yourself, “Where do I sign up for that?!”
While some readers must be amazed that such a thing actually occurs, other readers (Kambo guides and practitioners) must be shocked by such a reductive description of Kambo magic and wonder. Such is the divide over this ceremony that is taking the Beehive State by storm.
Kambô, Phyllomedusa bicolor, is a tree frog that lives in the Amazon rainforest. When stressed, the frog’s skin produces the toxic poison that is harvested and used in Kambo ceremonies. The use of Kambo medicine is widely spread among indigenous groups in the Amazon and, more broadly, by many people throughout Brazil. Indigenous practitioners believe Kambo improves the success of hunts, by cleansing a hunter’s body and soul.
In the last decade, the use of Kambo has spread throughout the world, with practitioners believing a Kambo detox treats basically everything, like mental health, addiction, pain, bad energy, and depression. Practitioners believe that the complex array of peptides in the venom course throughout a person’s body, seeking and eliminating harmful toxins.
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Kambo use is legal throughout the United States, including Utah. Each day in the Beehive State, easily dozens of Kambo ceremonies are conducted. The vast majority are conducted as spiritual ceremonies and many are conducted specifically as religious ceremonies, which would be protected even if Government were to jump in and regulate Kambo.
Like any powerful substance, Kambo can present health risks, along with its purported benefits. Guides stress that, along Kambo’s direct effects on the heart (tachycardia), vomiting always presents risks of dehydration and electrolyte imbalances which must be taken into account. Thus, users should only work with experienced guides, who mitigate potential harms through advance preparation and a watchful eye.
If you are a Kambo guide or practitioner, the Utah Bee would like to hear your stories and experience.
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