Some people might assume, due to the fact that rapé contains tobacco, that you should smoke the snuff. Because the powder is so fine, having the ingredients been pounded in a mortar and pestle, then passed time and time again through a fine cloth, it would be quite difficult to smoke it. The correct way to take rapé is to have it administered into your nose, as part of a ceremony (that may well be followed by other practices, too). Firstly and most importantly, it is essential that the people interested in making use of medicinal tobacco, be it through the use of rapé, should dedicate time into understanding its purpose and cultural significance, as well as having an educated view of the ceremony and using it with respect and thoughtfulness. It takes years of apprenticeship for shamans to learn how to make their tribe’s rapé, the administration of the snuff, and the rituals.

Now, to more technical details. While rapé enters the body through the nose, it shouldn’t be snorted or simply inhaled. Instead, a pea-sized amount of the blend is scooped into a rapé applicator, or a pipe, and blown into the subject’s nose; it is important to try and “hold in” the rapé for a few instants before blowing it out again – which is a process that will most likely happen naturally, too. Usually, it is easier to have an experienced practitioner or shaman blow on the pipe (in this instance, called a tepi pipe, which is more elongated) and drive the rapé into the other’s nostrils; those who have already experienced the ceremony other times and are accustomed with the practice might prefer a personal pipe, or a kuripe, which is shaped in a V-angle so the snuff can be blown from one person’s mouth into their own nose. It is important that both sides receive the rapé to achieve balance between the things one desires to let go and what they wish to receive and welcome, or the whole process might slightly backfire – fear and rejection of part of the ritual might be considered as rejecting the spirit of the rapé.