Bush medicine facts for kids

Bush medicine is a type of traditional medicine used by Indigenous Australians, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For thousands of years, Indigenous people have used different parts of native Australian plants and some animals as medicine. Many still go to healers in their communities for medicines and spiritual help.

Some of these traditional methods have even helped create modern medicines. For example, a medicine for seasickness was used during the Invasion of Normandy in World War II. Today, traditional healers and their medicines are sometimes used in modern hospitals to help sick Indigenous people.

Understanding Bush Medicine

Traditional medicine is all the knowledge, skills, and practices from different cultures. It's used to stay healthy, prevent sickness, and treat physical and mental problems. Bush medicine is also connected to a "whole-of-life" view. This means it looks at how physical, emotional, social, and spiritual parts of a person work together for good health.

Modern medicine and Aboriginal culture have different ways of looking at health. Modern medicine focuses on the direct causes of illness. But the Aboriginal view of health includes not just the body, but also the social, emotional, and cultural well-being of the whole community. It's a "whole-of-life" idea that also includes the cycle of life, death, and new life.

Most societies see illness as natural, human-caused, or supernatural. In traditional Aboriginal culture, problems in the community or with spirits can cause illness. Serious sickness is often seen as caused by spirits. Aboriginal ideas about illness and pain are different from Western medicine. For example, a bad headache might be thought to come from an evil spirit in the head. It's also believed that harm to sacred sites linked to Dreamtime stories can cause serious illness. To understand bush medicine, it's important to know these beliefs.

Generally, bush medicine in Australia is made from plants. These include bark, leaves, and seeds. Sometimes, animal products are also used. A big part of traditional medicine is herbal medicine. This means using natural plant substances to treat or stop illness. Aboriginal remedies are different among the many Aboriginal groups across Australia. There isn't just one set of Aboriginal medicines, just like there isn't just one Aboriginal language.

Amazing Bush Remedies

Herbal medicine is a key part of traditional healing. The Aboriginal people see E. alternifolia as a valuable plant. Some Australians think it's just a weed, but many Indigenous people carry its leaves with them. They use it to treat symptoms of the common cold and flu. Some even believe it can cure these illnesses.

Other plants used in bush medicine include the leaves of the emu bush. Some Northern Territory Aboriginal people used these leaves to clean sores and cuts. They could also gargle with it. The stinging nettle has also been used in some Aboriginal bush medicine. It helps treat problems like paralysis and rheumatism.

Mitchell Park, which is now part of Cattai National Park near Sydney Basin in NSW, had many plants used by Aboriginal people for remedies. Nine types of eucalyptus trees in the park could be used as medicines. The red gum kino is known to have a lot of tannins, which can help tighten tissues. This park also had native plants that early European settlers used. The sweet liquid from banksia flowers was used as a cough syrup. A throat gargle was made from native grapes (Cissus hypoglauca).

Animals and other living things can also be used in bush medicine. In Warrabri, Northern Territory, one way to cure an earache is to squeeze the fatty part of a witchetty grub into the sore ear.

Traditional Healers

Aboriginal people believe their healers, called "medicine men," have special powers. These powers are given to them by their spiritual ancestors to heal. They act like both a general practitioner (a regular doctor) and a psychiatrist (a doctor for the mind). They heal both the body and the mind.

For the Aṉangu people of the Western Desert cultural bloc, bush medicine practitioners are called ngangkari. They cure illnesses through healing rituals that might involve magic. For example, a ritual might include singing, massaging, and sucking to remove a bad object from the body. They might also call on the power of the war god Ancestor Ngurunderi to heal wounds. Besides physical healing, ngangkari also help with mental health. They try to solve problems in the community and offer advice. For every sickness, the ngangkari not only gives a diagnosis and advice on remedies, but also thinks about how the sickness affects the community.

Many Aboriginal people choose to be treated by bush medicine. They might use it instead of, or along with, Western treatments. There are several reasons for this. Some Aboriginal people feel uncomfortable in a clean, Western clinic. Aboriginal bush medicine includes physical, spiritual, and emotional healing, which Western medicine often doesn't. Also, they believe that using these traditional treatments brings them closer to their ancestors.

Bush Medicine Today

Past Uses (20th Century)

A medicine made by Aboriginal peoples from the eastern states of Australia came from the soft corkwood tree, or Duboisia myoporoides. This medicine was used by the Allies in World War II. It helped stop soldiers from getting seasick when they crossed the English Channel. This was during the Invasion of Normandy, when they went to free France and defeat Hitler. The medicine was secretly flown to Europe and developed by Canadian researchers. This "mystery pill" was given to every soldier for the huge military operation. The operation had been delayed many times because of seasickness.

Later, it was found that the same medicine could be used to make drugs called tropane alkaloids, like scopolamine and hyoscyamine. These are useful for eye surgery. A multi-million dollar industry grew in Queensland based on this substance. As a bush medicine, this plant was used by different Aboriginal groups for catching fish, in ceremonies, and as a sleeping potion, among other things.

A study in 1969 showed that many bush medicine techniques were still being used. In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, eucalypt kino (gum) was drunk for influenza, colds, and coughs.

A survey in 1994 found that 22% of 15,000 Aboriginal people from all over Australia had used bush medicine in the six months before the survey.

Modern Uses (21st Century)

Many traditions in southern and eastern Australia have been lost. But anthropologists are working to record traditions from Aboriginal people in central and north-western Australia. In the Northern Territory, bush medicine is still quite well-known. Ngangkaris are sometimes present in health clinics. They perform rituals and give medical advice when needed.

The use of bush medicine and natural remedies in Australia has gone down. This is partly because information has been lost. In Aboriginal culture, knowledge is passed down through singing and dancing ceremonies, not writing. These ceremonies are becoming much rarer. Without them, thousands of years of knowledge held by Aboriginal elders can be lost.

In 2019, the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network created a formal way to support ngangkari healers. They now work in hospitals like Lyell McEwin and Modbury. They also work in other units, including mental health facilities. Traditional healing methods used include Pampuni (healing touch), Mapampa (blowing), and Marali (spiritual healing and bush medicines). These methods work alongside regular hospital treatments.