When you say “the bush” in the United States, you likely think of shrubbery and landscape design. But, the bush in Australian culture is as iconic as the Outback. To Australians, the bush means lush, barely-inhabited regions of their mainland (whereas Outback represents the more dry, interior areas of the continent). And, Aussies have attached bush to many terms over time, including “Bush Music,” “Bush Cricket,” and the topic of here, Australian bush medicine.
Throughout the course of history of the Australian Aboriginal peoples, bush medicine proves itself a competent healthcare system that helped manage wellness for them until the arrival of colonists in the late 18th century. I will cover its history and practices, fundamentals of Australian bush medicine, and where we find the ancient healing practices of the bush today.
History of Australian Bush Medicine
The first convicts arrived in what is now modern-day Sydney, Australia, in January 1788. The first of its kind, Australia started as a “purpose-designed penal colony,” notes the Booker Prize-winning historian and author, Thomas Keneally, in “Convicts and colonisers: the early history of Australia.” And, with these convict-colonizers came exotic diseases to the native people of Australia, the Australian Aborigines.
Throughout the next several generations and hundred plus years, Aborigines went from the kings and queens of their domain to an endangered species. But, it wasn’t always that way. And, it wouldn’t stay that way. While the populations were decimated by conflict and new illnesses brought by these British outcasts, the Australian Aboriginal tribes were resilient in the face of great odds.
Dr. Philip Clarke, anthropologist in the ethnographical collections of the South Australian Museum since the early 1980’s, studies the Aboriginal people and their ethnomedicinal practices in particular over these past 30 years. What he has learned, detailed more fully in his article, “Aboriginal healing practices and Australian bush medicine,” is intriguing, and I’ll summarize the pertinent points next about the framework through which the Australian Aborigines view and practice their Australian bush medicine.
Australian Bush Medicine Was All About Community and Eating Right
These natives of the Australian continent see health, generally, similarly to the way in which we do in the Western world today, in that our mental and physical health are intertwined. But, they go further than that in the way in which they see the health of any given person. It’s not dissimilar to many of the other ancient cultures’ healing practices that we have discussed. The mind, body, emotion and spirit are distinctly connected to the health of the individual and to the community as a whole.
For intents and purposes, there is a general understanding among the Australian Aboriginal tribes that you are as healthy as you eat. Eating right, eating well, is a fundamental component of your health and wellbeing. So, that’s certainly something we can all learn from, in terms of watching what we eat, so that we can prevent illness in the first place and stay healthy throughout our life.
If someone in the Australian Aboriginal community is ill physically or emotionally, a ngangkari (healer) handles the matter, acting as part-doctor, part-shaman and psychiatrist in their culture. Further, ngankeres are charged with diagnosing the community’s health along with that of the individual; if something that affected one person is caused by the community, that needs to be remedied as much as the individual physical or emotional ailment. The importance of keeping the tribe intact and healthy is very important to these people.
And, then there are the treatments of Australian bush medicine, deeply rooted in the herbalism provided by the lush flora and fauna of the Australian bush.
Australian Bush Medicine: Ancient Herbalism Through Today
For nearly a dozen millennia, the Aboriginal leaders learned and developed Australian bush medicine. And, as is customary among the Aboriginal tribes and clans, this knowledge of the plant-based medicines was handed down from generation to generation through ritual song and dance. Unfortunately, as with many cultures that only pass wisdom by oral tradition and not by producing a pharmacopeia, much of Australian bush medicine is being lost to time as culture changes.
The herbal uses of Australian bush medicine are diminishing and it behooves anthropological and medical researchers to study these ancient healing practices. We are learning that there are modern medical breakthroughs coming from it, including the use of turmeric as an anti-inflammatory. So, thankfully, there is a bit of interest around cataloguing and maintaining at least the ethnobotanical parts of bush medicine.
For example, Emu bush leaves, originating from the Northern Territory tribes, have antibacterial and antiseptic properties when applied to the body. As noted in the Australian Geographic, “Top 10 Aboriginal bush medicines,” these leaves are being studied by scientists as a sterilizing agent for implants. Among the other Australian bush medicines, that many of us know about here in the States are tea tree oil (antiseptic properties) and eucalyptus oil (used as mouthwash and cough suppressant).
On the other hand, there are others you may never have heard of from the same article, including:
- Billy goat plum (highest source of Vitamin C on the planet),
- Snake vine, or Tinospora smilacina (anti-inflammatory used as headache, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammation-associated issues), and
- Kangaroo apple, or Solanum laciniatum / Solanum aviculare (used as a swollen joint covering because it contains a steroid).
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There are many others, and it’s important for us to learn the bush medicinal properties in the complementary, integrative medical field, to perpetuate the Australian Aboriginal wisdom that can help people in and beyond the bush today and tomorrow.