The Legend of Kambo

Many Amazonian tribes have legends about the discovery of Kambo, with the Kaxinawá tribe of Brazil being the most well-known. 

As the story goes, the whole tribe was suffering from a serious illness, and the village shaman, despite his best efforts, could not find a cure. So he journeyed into the spirit world using Ayahuasca to search for knowledge. While under the influence of the sacred plant, he was greeted by a beautiful forest spirit who presented him with a bright green tree frog and instructed him on how to use a milky white secretion from the frog to cure his people. The shaman then returned to the village and administered this new sacrament to his people, who began to heal. 

The secretion became known as Kambo and its use spread among the Kaxinawá, Amahuaca, Katukina, Kulina, Yawanawá, Matsés, Marubo, and Mayoruna tribes. It is still widely used by indigenous people in the Amazon today, although the rituals surrounding its use vary among tribes.