iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hi there !

Just another rumour that I have heard long time ago and want to check if it's true or false.

I've heard that during the hot season, in the deserts, some Aborigenes can "hunt" toads that hide underneath the earth and drink their "body water".
I've also heard that this toad's "water" had some hallucinogene effects...

If this is true, it would be the only drug that Aborigenes would traditionnally take, considering that they didn't have any alcohol, "magic" mushrooms, cactus or whatever...

True or false ?
Any links ?

Thanks

This sounds like someone has confused two different stories - true, there are burrowing frogs in arid areas that encase themselves in a moisture filled sac to survive and you could drink that liquid if needed (it would mean the death of the frog). I have heard stories that some white people find sucking a cane toad - an introduced pest in the north will produce hallucinogenic effects from the toxins present - it may be true but I wouldn't recommend it considering how poisonous they are. You'd have to be desperate wouldn't ya ??

Bufo alvarius, a toad from north america contains the hallucinogenic substance 5-meo DMT. Warts on the toads backs are squeezed and the resulting goo is dried and then smoked. Any reports of licking the toads or other species of toads producing the substance are just urban myth.

Alright, thanks Peter & Josh !

Any clue on the name of the australian's burrowing toads ?

hello there,

about the infamous cane toad, which is spreading all along the north of Australia after being introduced from somewhere else (Brazil, i think, but I can't remember)... I spent some time in the Daintree, looong ago, and we did sometimes (not many, hey!) smoke cigs after being rubbed on the toad's backs... the effect was a bit like mushies, although I'm not an expert on either toads nor mushrooms...
apparently u can never swallow the substance, but allrigt to smoke it.

not sure neither about the cane toad being [i]bufo marinus[/i] or bufo bufo...

and totally sure that this particular practice has noooothing to do with traditional aboriginal practices... [i]at least not with cane toads...

and, allow me to say, it wasn't any big deal but it could be a problem depending on the amount smoked and the tolerance to the substance...

m

Thanks for that info, Marcuz !

CANE TOAD

So there was indeed a mix-up in the rumour, but it was not THAT way off neither.

Thank you all !

Error... They had the PITJURI (or PITURI) to get high apparently
> LINK 1
> LINK 2
And this seems traditionnal...

If this is true, it would be the only drug that Aborigenes would traditionnally take, considering that they didn't have any alcohol, "magic" mushrooms, cactus or whatever...


This is not exactly right.....Pitjurri, Pitchery.......is one "high" (and was traded) also white acacia bark.........(Dimethyltripyiline) there are others..... a good source for info is Ethnobotanicals Australia

I can't be sure if Pituri should be called a hallucinogen, I think its main properties come from nicotine but then again nicotine in high doses like in some parts of South America where it is used in ritual can be hallucinogenic.

Guan

Some friends tried chewing pitjuri with Pintupi people in central desert and indeed it is not hallucinogenic at all.
They said it had a very soft effect that make you just a little bit dizzy, no more than a cigarette.

Hey Francis,

Cool, would have liked to have tried that too! Couldn't be as strong as chewing another leaf, Coca?

Guan

Here are some pictures of pitjurri preparation :



They cut gumtree bark in small pieces with an axe, then burn them in the metal bin.
The whiter the powder (ashes), the better the pitjurri.
They then mix it with chewing-tobacco and chew it while painting.

These pictures are screenshots from the video "Les Divas du Bush", a video relating my friends' trip in central desert in 2008.
Here is their blog > Wanampi <

Guan > no, couldn't be as strong as Coca ! And I guess the effects are not the same either. Pitjurri doesn't get you speed but rather cools you down I'd say.