Chumash traditional medicine facts for kids

Datura plant, commonly used in traditional Chumash spirituality

Chumash traditional medicine is a type of traditional medicine practiced by the Chumash people of the southern coastal regions of California.

Chumash medicine focused on treating mind, spirit, and body alike to promote the wellness of both the individual and the larger community. Healing practices included a knowledge of local plants, as well as a mix of spiritual practices including prayer, singing, and dancing. Post-European contact, Chumash healers adapted these methods to treat changes in environment and the introduction of deadly diseases. Prevention was key in promoting health, and healers took responsibility for ensuring all people worked and felt valued in the community.

In the modern day, certain medicinal practices are viewed as controversial, including the use of poisonous datura plant and the consumption of dangerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Herbalism

List of Chumash medicinal herbs

The climate of the Chumash territory supported a variety of plant species, many of which were used in medicine. The following list provides a sampling of commonly used plants in Chumash healing practices, but cannot be considered complete.

Similarity to Chinese herbalism

Certain aspects of Chumash healing practices have been compared to those used in Chinese healing. The use of certain healing touches, as well as spiritual practices in healing are well-documented in both cultures. Notably, plants of the same genus were often used to achieve the same healing effect. For example, the poppies Papaver californicum in California and Papaver somniferum were used to treat pain. Both cultures used diterpenoids and flavones to treat skin irritations and flavonols and tannins for diarrhea.

Spiritual foundations

Both medical philosophies rely on maintaining the balance between two forces; Yin and Yang for the Chinese, a similar Chumash concept being “the Sun and Sky Coyote“. In Chinese practice, Yin is the inhibiting force, while Yang is the activating. The Sun and Sky Coyote personify the dualistic philosophy of the Chumash, the hot sun and cool sky.

As with traditional Chinese medicine treatment principles, balance must be maintained to achieve good health, and treatment for illness usually looks to fortify whichever side is lacking, as determined by a trained healer. This duality is represented in divisions of day and night, male and female, and hot and cold, etc. For example, treatment of diseases caused by excess “cold” would include plant remedies which “warm” the patient, such as those with adrenergic properties that increase heart rate and blood flow. This principle was behind the Chumash practices of bathing daily in cold water, as well as using sweat lodges and hot springs to harness the healing properties of heat.

Cross-cultural contact

Some historians argue that Chinese explorers landed in California in the early 15th century, as well as other Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories, but the validity of such claims remain in dispute. However, it is likely that Polynesian peoples had contact with both the Chinese and Indigenous peoples of California, potentially facilitating the transfer of herbology.

Still some maintain that humans innately look to plants as potential medicines, and only those groups which successfully utilize plants are able to survive.

Spiritualism in healing

For the Chumash people, spiritual practices played an equally important role as medicinal plants in the healing process.

Body, mind, and spirit were seen as indistinguishable, so treatments had to account for all aspects of the self to be effective. The first remedies focused on the spiritual to open the mind and body to healing.

In Chumash culture, the most important work of the healer was thought to occur before anyone fell ill by helping foster a balance of tribal values.

Obesity was virtually non-existent, largely due to diet and a culture which did not tolerate laziness, seen to lead to excessive weight gain. By working all day, the Chumash kept physically fit, reducing the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. The value of being an essential part of the community was thought to help strengthen the spirit. Additionally, it was common for the Chumash to bathe regularly, promoting good hygiene habits and as a preventative against disease.

Healers regularly encouraged these practices, and they themselves practiced routine fasting and prayer in order to strengthen their spirits.

Before treating a patient, the healer would begin with prayer to invite the participation of God (Xoy in Chumash) in the healing process. A patient would often lie beside a fire to benefit from the therapeutic warmth and sound of the flames. As healing was also seen as a communal process, the patient was often joined by family and friends who might offer support by participation in dancing, singing, fasting, and praying.

Generally, white sage was burned in a seashell to strengthen the spirit and help calm the patient, keeping them in a rational, coherent state. The shell was moved so as to allow the smoke to touch all parts of the patient. Small amounts of momoy could be given to those who do not listen well, or have domineering personalities, to help them relax. Humor was another valuable tool for the healer to relieve anxieties and allow the patient's spirit a chance to heal.