The Shamanic Benefits of Sananga Eye Drops

Some indigenous Amazonian tribes, such as the Matsés, Ticuna, Huni Kuin, and Yawanawá, use medicinal eye drops called Sananga to treat their eyes.

When you take sananga, you may feel an intense stinging pain that seeps into your whole body – but you will feel energized, cleansed, and sharpened afterward.

As well as treating eye disorders and improving visual perception, it is also a powerful shamanic cleanser. When combined with other plant medicines like ayahuasca, it increases their spiritual effects.

What is Sananga?

Sananga refers to eye drops made from the Tabernaemontana sananho plant. They are more commonly known by the Matsés and Huni Kuin as ‘becchete’ and ‘mana hein’. Medicinal eye drops made from plants are common throughout the Amazon. Nevertheless, both sananga and becchete come from plants in the same family, and the effects are very similar.

Traditional Amazonian uses of sananga eye drops include treating eye problems, sharpening vision, and removing negative spiritual energy, as well as an accompaniment to ayahuasca ceremonies. Sananga works differently to kambo, as it removes negative energy from the body through pain rather than physical expulsion!

Shamanic Uses and Benefits of Sananga

With Sananga, users can access the medicinal and spiritual properties of the Tabernaemontana plants, which are believed to treat a number of physical ailments. It is obvious that the power of the sananga is entering your body when it causes intense pain. In order to understand what is happening, the pain of the experience is crucial – it indicates that the plant’s soul is being absorbed by the body, starting at the eyes, then moving deep into the veins and viscera.

An infusion of the plant spirit of sananga assists in eliminating negative or melancholy energies from the body (also known as panema). Emotional disorders such as sadness and grief can be treated, and even bad dreams can be removed by it.

By attacking these malevolent spirits through the sting, the plant removes them from your body.  A sananga experience leaves you feeling clean, refreshed, and sharpened, once the pain has passed. Hunting with sananga is said to provide hunters with increased power and vision for several days.

Sananga is also traditionally used to help people prepare themselves for other plant medicines, such as ayahuasca. As part of a wider process of cleansing the body and mind, it can serve as an initial cleansing in preparation for the deep and often difficult introspection associated with ayahuasca.

It is possible to reduce the impact of shamanic purges by using several different plants and techniques, and different plants can even synergize with one another to help you avoid harm during their realms.

Sananga is an alternative or addition to kambo that is popular for cleansing and purifying before ayahuasca ceremonies. It is indeed painful, but it does not involve as much harsh purging as kambo, and it can be a more subtle complement to ayahuasca.

Ayahuasca ceremonies can also be potentiated by sananga, which sharpens and improves your eyesight. Often, following sananga, people report being able to see more clearly. This can be combined with ayahuasca for a more intense experience.

How to Take Sananga Safely

The medicine Sananga isn’t pleasant to take!

Sananga will hurt, so be prepared.

Buy your sananga from The Kambo Shop to ensure your sananga experience is safe and effective.

If you want to preserve the potency of sananga, keep it in the refrigerator.

Sananga should not be used with contact lenses on, and contact lenses should not be put on within 24 hours of using sananga.

It is recommended to contact your doctor if you have any eye conditions before taking sananga.

Sananga should not be used more than once a day. Some people use sananga every day for as long as six weeks. We caution that no studies have been conducted on the health risks of this practice, and traditional use usually involves taking sananga every few days or weeks.

The following tips will help you enjoy your Sananga experience:

  • Spend some time preparing your space to make it comfortable and relaxing;
  • To ground yourself in your body, do some breathing exercises;
  • Consider setting your intention for the experience, and, if it helps, acknowledge the plant medicine that you are about to encounter.
  • Be sure to remove any contact lenses;
  • Wearing eye makeup should be removed;
  • You can use saline eye drops or a bowl of tap water to wash your eyes in case the sananga hurts too much;
  • Prepare your sananga dropper on a comfortable surface;
  • Put a drop of sananga in each corner of your eyes. To do this with your eyes closed, put the dropper against the inner curve of your nose at the corner of your eyebrow and let the droplet fall into your eye.
  • By blinking quickly, you allow the liquid to spread evenly across your eyes at the same time;
  • Face your pain instead of resisting it by breathing through it. Your pain may peak for several minutes. Remember that sananga’s power is influenced by the pain it causes;
  • To become fully aware of the effects of the sananga on your mind and body after the pain has passed, it can be helpful to enter into meditation or another mindfulness practice;
  • Take part in whatever practices you feel the sananga could support – whether it be visual tasks, entheogenic plant medicine exploration, or exercise.

After the experience, you may experience pain for several hours, and you may have red eyes for several days afterward. Seek medical attention if you experience these symptoms longer than 3 days.

Take a break if you experience long-term irritation. As often as possible, try to take a few weeks off from sananga use if you do embark on a long period of use.

Explore Sananga with pleasure! Consider keeping a journal to track its effects, and try experimenting with the way it enhances other plant medicines or even your appreciation of your daily routine.