It is most likely because of the many highly valued ethnobotanical uses that this fruiting tree is so well dispersed throughout all of tropical and Sub tropical Central and South America.
No one can say exactly how long Jagua Body painting has been carried out by the indigenous people of the Amazon and Chocó rainforests. A lot of the tribes are very remote and are still completely cut off from ‘Western Civilisation’. However as the world becomes a smaller place, there are now indigenous people who have opened up their worlds to us. For example, the Wounan & Emberra of Panama and Colombia, the Bakairi of Brazil and the Kadiewéu of Paraguay.
It is apparent however that the Jagua Body Painting Tradition is an old one, it goes back as long as people can remember. Passed down through the generations, different tribes have different techniques for preparing their paint, different tools and methods of application and many varied reasons and occasions for applying it and of course they also have different designs and patterns to symbolize and capture different aspects of their cultures.