Bush medicine

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bush medicine comprises

Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous people have been using various components of native Australian flora and some fauna
as medicine for thousands of years, and a minority turn to healers in their communities for medications aimed at providing physical and spiritual healing.

Traditional methods of healing have underwritten the development of non-Indigenous medicines throughout history. One notable example would be the development of a

seasickness
medication.

Today,

traditional healers
and medicines have been incorporated into modern clinical settings to help treat sick Indigenous people within some healthcare networks.

Overview

Traditional medicine has been defined as the sum of the total knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health,[1] as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness. Bush medicine is also connected to the holistic worldview in such a way that the interplay between the physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects is crucial in attaining wellbeing.[2]

The modern world and Aboriginal cultures have differing approaches for health. Whilst conventional medicine deals with direct causes of illness and science-based views of health, the Aboriginal view on health as defined by the National Aboriginal Health Strategy considers "not just the physical well being of the individual, but the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the whole community. This is the whole-of-life view and it also includes the cyclical concept of life-death-life".[3]

Broadly, most human societies see the manifestation of illness as natural, human or supernatural.

Dreamtime mythology may cause serious illness. The basic structures and more complex systems of belief need to be understood before the role of bush medicine or traditional healers can be grasped.[4]

Generally, bush medicine in Australia is made from plant materials, such as

Remedies

Herbal medicine is a major component of traditional medicine. The Aboriginal people view

Other plants used in bush medicine includes the leaves of the emu bush, which some Northern Territory Aboriginal people used to sterilise sores and cuts. It could also be gargled when necessary. The stinging nettle has also been used in some Aboriginal bush medicine to treat paralysis and rheumatism.[9]

Mitchell Park, now within

tannins.[11] Additionally, this park also contained native plants that were actually used by early European settlers. The nectar-laden liquid from banksia flowers was used as a cough syrup, and from the native grapes (Cissus hypoglauca) a throat gargle was made.[11]

The use of animals and other living things may also be used in bush medicine. In

Warrabri, Northern Territory, one believed cure for earache is squeezing the fatty part of a witchetty grub into the sore ear.[12] In Uluru, the purported cure involves squeezing rabbit urine into the ear.[13]

Healers

Aboriginal people believe that their healers, their "medicine men", have special powers which are bestowed upon them by their spiritual ancestors to heal. They have the roles of both a general practitioner and a psychiatrist, healing both the body and mind.[14]

For the Aṉangu of the Western Desert cultural bloc, practitioners of bush medicine are known as ngangkari. They cure illnesses through healing rituals that may involve magic. An example of such ritual would be singing, massaging and sucking to remove a foreign object that has entered the body, and invoking the power of the war god Ancestor Ngurunderi to heal the wounds of soldiers caused by spears and clubs. Aside from physical healing, ngangkaris also act as mental health practitioners, as they try to resolve conflicts within the community and offer advice as well. With every sickness, in addition to giving a diagnosis and advice on suitable remedies, the duty of the ngangkari is also to assess the impact of the sickness to the community.[15]

Many Aboriginal people choose to be treated by bush medicine instead of, or as well as, Western treatments for a number of reasons. These include: some Aboriginal people feel uncomfortable and out of place in a sterilised, Western clinic; Aboriginal bush medicine incorporates physical, spiritual and emotional healing, whereas Western medicine does not; and they believe that by using these treatments they are being drawn closer to their ancestors.[2]

Modern and non-Indigenous use

20th century use

A medicine developed by Aboriginal peoples of the

sleeping potion, among other uses.[16]

A 1969 study reported that variety of bush medicine techniques were still being used. In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, eucalypt kino (gum) was drunk for influenza, colds and coughs.[17]

A 1994 survey reported that 22% of the 15,000 Aboriginal people from all over Australia in the sample had practised bush medicine in the previous six months.[18]

21st century use

Traditions in southern and eastern Australia have largely been lost, but efforts are being made by anthropologists to record traditions from Aboriginal people in central and north-western Australia.[6] In the Northern Territory, however, it is still relatively well-preserved. Ngangkaris are said to be present in health clinics to perform rituals and give medical advice when necessary.[15]

The use of bush medicine and natural remedies in Australia has declined, partly due to the loss of information. This can primarily be attributed to the effects of colonisation, and policies made to eradicate Aboriginal people's and their culture such as the

Stolen Generation. In Aboriginal culture they do not pass on information through writing, but through singing and dancing ceremonies, which are becoming far rarer. This oral traditions means records do not last without a living culture. Without these ceremonies, the tens of thousands of years of knowledge that the Aboriginal elders hold can be lost.[19]

In 2019, the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network developed the first formalised, clinically endorsed mechanism to support ngangkaris working in accessed in acute, rehab, and palliative care inhospitals including Lyell McEwin and Modbury hospitals, as well as other units, including mental health facilities. Traditional healing methods used include Pampuni (healing touch), Mapampa (blowing), and Marali (spiritual healing and bush medicines) to complement mainstream treatment.[20]

As of 2022, research into various types of bush medicine is being carried out by

gumby gumby and Alstonia constricta (bitterbark) parts for the project. The study will include examination of the methods used to extract and process the plants.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine". Health Topics. WHO.int. World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  2. ^
    PMID 20569478
    .
  3. ^ National Aboriginal Health Strategy (NAHS) Working Party (1989) National Aboriginal Health Strategy Report Canberra: Department of Affairs
  4. ^ . Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Traditional Aboriginal Bush Medicine". Aboriginal Art Online. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Select Your Library - Credo Reference". search.credoreference.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  7. S2CID 35228662
    .
  8. ^ Top 10 Aboriginal bush medicines, Australian Geographic, 8 February 2011
  9. ^ Wohlmuth, H. (1997). Bush medicines of Western Sydney. Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism, 9(2), 50-3.
  10. ^ a b Low, T (1990) Bush Medicine: A pharmacopoeia of natural remedies Sydney: Angus & Robertson
  11. ^ Nabarula, Ada Dickinson (1978). "Bush medicines used at Warrabri". Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal. 2 (4): 12–14. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  12. ^ Umbidong, Emantura (1 September 1983). "Bush medicine at Uluru". Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal. 7 (3): 24–28. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  13. ^ Clarke, Philip (2008). "Aboriginal healing practices and Australian bush medicine" (PDF). Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  14. ^ a b Clarke, Philip (2008). "Aboriginal healing practices and Australian bush medicine" (PDF). Journal of the Anthropological Society of South Australia. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Visitors to Art of Healing exhibition told how Australian Indigenous bush medicine was given to every allied soldier landing at Normandy on D-Day". King's College London. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  16. ^ Webb LJ. 1969. The use of plant medicines and poisons by Australian Aborigines. Mankind 7: 137-46.
  17. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (1994). "National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survey: Social atlas" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ Kamenev, Marina (2011). "Top 10 Aboriginal bush medicines". Australian Geographic. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  19. ^ Dragon, Natalie (7 May 2019). "Aboriginal healers treat patients in SA hospitals". Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  20. ^ Hines, Jasmine (25 April 2022). "Gumby gumby trees and other Aboriginal medicines to be researched by CQ University". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 May 2022.

Further reading