Desert Bush Medicine

Desert Aboriginal people have used bush medicines for thousands years and are still using them today. The same plants growing in different language group areas are often used in different ways. Different parts of the plant are considered more effective by different language groups and the way that the medicines are prepared differs from group to group.

In the old days plant extracts were often crushed and mixed with animal fats, such as emu and goanna. Nowadays, the animal fats are replaced by products such as Vaseline.

Rubbing medicines can also act like a moisturising lotion so at times it can be used daily to keep the moisture in the skin.

When you live here in Central Australia you can only imagine how dry the skin can get, so you need to rub some form of lotion on to protect yourself from the very harsh sun.

Water is the best medicine.

Cold sores and Mouth Ulcers

Arrernte	Untyeye
English	Long-leaved Corkwood
Scientific	Hakea suberea
Story	You collect the bark from this tree and put if on the edge of your fire until the bark starts to glow red.  Then take it off and let it cool. It will then be black. Crush the bark up into a black powder and rub it on the mouth ulcer or cold sore.  This will sooth the ulcer and clear up the sore.

Coughs and Colds

Arrernte	Arrethe
English	Rock Fushia Bush
Scientific	Eremophila Freelingii
Story	You collect a large handful of the leaves and you boil them in water until it turns dark in colour. Then you pour the mixture into a hot bath and lie and inhale the vapour. You can also crush the leaves and mix in hot Vaseline to make a rub. When it cools down rub it on your chest.

Teething Babies

Arrernte	Apweke-Apweke
English	Scarlet Bracket Fungus
Scientific	Pycnoporus coccineus
Story	When babies are teething, you look for this fungus on the dead trees on the ground. Rub the fungus on the baby’s gum and the pain will stop.

Broken Limbs

Arrernte	Ilkitjirra
English	Dead Finish
Scientific	Acacia tetragonophylla
Story	You dig up the roots of this tree and peel off the bark. Then you wrap this around the broken limb to protect the break.

Burns

Arrernte	Tyape
English	Witchetty grub
Scientific	Lavae of the Xyleutes moth
Story	You collect the witchetty grubs from the roots of the witchetty bush and crush them into a paste. Then you apply the paste and cover with a bandage or dressing. This protects the injured area from air and helps it to heal.

Cuts, Sores and Boils

Arrernte	Arrkenke
English	Desert Bloodwood Tree
Scientific	Corymbia opaca
Story	You can apply the sticky gum found on the trunk of the tree directly to a sore, cut or boil. This works as an antiseptic. You wash the gum off and re-apply frequently until the wound heals. If the gum has set hard on the tree, you can crush it into a powder and mix it with water and use it as an antiseptic wash.

Warts

Arrernte	Ilkitjirra
English	Dead Finish
Scientific	Acacia tetragonophylla
Story	You break off about six needles from the tree and stick around the base of the wart.  Break them so that only the needle points are in the flesh. You leave them for about four or five days until the wart falls off.

Narcotic

Arrernte	Ingkwelpe
English	Bush Tobacco
Scientific	Nicotiana gossei and Nicotiana Excelsior
Story	There are many different species of native tobacco.  Aboriginal people only use a few of the varieties. These are valued and sought after plants. You dry the leaves and crush them. Then you burn the bark of either the Ironwood Tree or the Red River Gum tree. This will make an ash. Then you mix the ash with the crushed native tobacco and chew it for it’s narcotic affect. This will slow your heart rate down and relax you. When you have chewed it, you will forget about your hunger pains and thirst and so you are able to travel long distances on foot.  (This is often mistakenly called ‘Pituri’ which is actually Emu Bush Duboisia Hopwoodii).

Compare with Sonoran Desert culture.