Magical Medicine Men

Learning about the process of “smoking the baby” made me curious about other Aboriginal medicine practices. An article I found online talked about the traditional Australian bush medicine. The author said that although the Indigenous Australian people had been relatively cut off from sources of disease, they were still, at times, in need of medical treatments. Occasionally, Aboriginals suffered from burns because at night they slept in close proximity to fire. Headaches caused by some foods or prolonged exposure to the sun and upset stomachs caused by the consumption of rotten fruit or spoiled meat were other common medical dilemmas. The indigenous people often suffered from eye infections and for some, the consumption of gritty food could wear teeth down to the nerves. Fighting and hunting was also known to at times lead to severe injuries requiring treatment. Aborigines also had to worry about a bite or sting from a native, poisonous species; which included snakes, spiders and jellyfish. Aborigines used a wide variety of remedies to treat these ailments. These treatments included the use of: wild herbs, animal products, steam baths, clay pits, charcoal and mud, massages, string amulets and secret chants and ceremonies.

Many aboriginal tribes have medicine men who they believe have a magical ability to cure ailments with special stones spirits placed in their bodies. The medicine man is not only responsible for removing the Ullinka (a pointing stick with a hooked end that they believed was placed in an individual’s body by a spirit that wanted to annoy them), but also for determining the person responsible for another’s death.

I thought the Aboriginal medical practices were fascinating. The processes involved are really intricate. The large involvement of spirits in Aboriginal beliefs clearly reaches into every element of their lives. The differences between Western Society and Aboriginal Belief is substantial in this area of culture. The biggest and most surprising difference that I found was the practice of assigning blame to another for a death. In America, the doctor is the first person the family of a person who passed away wants to blame for the death their particular sickness caused. Although this response is mostly out of grief, it shows the value Aboriginals see in medicine men, believing they can do no wrong, and that any negative outcome is directly caused by spirits or a person practicing sorcery.

Works Cited:

Spencer, Baldwin, and F.J. Gillen
1968 The Native Tribes of Central Australia.
Dover Publications, Inc.

Unknown Author
2000 Traditional Aboriginal Bush Medicine. Electronic document,
http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/medicine.php, accessed Nov 20.

Image Source: http://media.canada.com/idl/edjn/20060807/87393-32320.jpg