Healing with the Frog of Matsés Tradition (Peru)

In this powerful image, a maestro from the Matsés community of Río Yavarí, in the Loreto region of the Peruvian Amazon, holds a vibrant green frog, a Phyllomedusa bicolor. Unlike many other traditions that use plants for purification, the Matsés use the frog’s skin secretion in a ritual known as sapo. The frog is gently stressed to release its secretion, which is then dried into powder and mixed with the maestro’s saliva. This mixture is applied to small burns made on the patient’s skin using tiny wooden sticks. The body’s intense reaction, vomiting and sweating, is seen as a deep cleansing, believed to reveal and remove illness. For the Matsés, the frog is not just an animal but a sacred ally in the healing journey.