Jungle, Our Healer
Botanical Therapy in Central and South America
First, the botanist prepared a decoction of various plants, and then he filled a bottle with a medicine made from a plant known as the “snake’s tongue.” This treatment proved to be remarkably effective.
In February of this year, I was in Panama, gathering material for a book about the Naso indigenous people living in the tropical hardwood forests along the Teribe River in the Bocas del Toro region.
I had caught a strange cold. In the high humidity, amidst the loud chirping of crickets throughout the night, I struggled to breathe with a cough and developed a fever. I considered seeking help from a shaman, but I had heard that the last remaining one lived upstream, and reaching there would take a few more days. However, every village had a “botanico,” a specialist in plants, who, unlike shamans, didn’t chant spells or perform magic but was knowledgeable about the properties of plants.
Boinic Village consisted of a dozen wooden houses protruding from a hill near the river. Most of the huts were elevated, providing excellent ventilation and moisture resistance. Mosquito nets covered the mattresses, and hammocks were hung on the terraces.
I visited the local botanico first thing in the morning. In a lively hearth, firewood burned, and herbal concoctions bubbled. Pulterco Quintero Duran, a sturdy older man with a low stature, immediately instilled confidence in me. He had been studying the secret properties of plants with three elders for eleven years, walking six hours upstream to the Naso capital, Sieiké Village, every Sunday at 4 am. “We heal what cannot be healed in the city. We use plants to treat what hospitals cannot,” he explained. “Let’s thank the gods who left us so many medicines in the forest!” he exclaimed.
The Secret Liana
First, I received a decoction of Palo Indio and Hoja de Murcielago. Palo Indio is a tree with reddish bark that peels off like sunburned skin, jokingly called the “tourist tree” by the indigenous people. The bark is used for treating syphilis, rheumatism, fever, and kidney diseases, while a decoction of the leaves alleviates skin diseases and snake bites, and soaked leaves provide relief for back pain and rheumatism, and the resin soothes ulcers. Hoja de Murcielago is a type of passionflower, bearing sweet gourd-like fruits, and its leaves resemble a bat’s wings. Information about the medicinal properties of Passionflower is scarce. According to the book “Flora of Guatemala” published by the Chicago Natural History Museum in 1961, this plant is used for kidney diseases and has diuretic properties.
So, I drank it. It had a delicious herbal tea-like taste. Furthermore, I was handed a vial of medicine with instructions to take it every two hours, claimed to be a decoction of the “snake’s tongue.” Sensing my apprehension, Pulterco explained, “This is commonly known as the liana with antipyretic properties.” I don’t know its specific species. Even after researching online, I couldn’t find information about a liana with this nickname. The infusion was extremely bitter, but its effects were outstanding, and all for just five dollars.
Upon returning from Panama, I spoke with Mark Plotkin, a globally renowned ethnobotanist in the United States, who mentioned having undergone treatments in the jungle twice. Despite his 30 years of experience, he confessed not knowing what exactly had helped him. When I described the bitterness of the decoction, he explained, “The bitterness signals the shaman to the plant’s power. Alkaloids, potent chemical compounds, are bitter to the extent of repelling.”
Certainly, Westerners regaining health with the help of tropical rainforest plants are not just limited to me and Plotkin. Quinine, the world’s first malaria prophylactic, originated from the Andean Quechua people, and Novocain, used as a local anesthetic, is found in coca leaves. Many substances used in the treatment of conditions like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s are derived from the toxic mixtures used by indigenous people to coat arrowheads before hunting.
Science from the Forest
Shamans possess various treatments for the myriad ailments of the mind and body. Pilocarpine, an alkaloid effective against glaucoma and ulcers, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, especially the nerve terminals of salivary, lacrimal, and sweat glands. It is also considered beneficial for contusions, cuts, and wounds. Cordontillo (Piper aduncum), a plant from the pepper family, has disinfectant and healing effects on wounds. The tea made from this plant aids in the treatment of digestive and respiratory system diseases. It also serves as a remedy for infertility, addiction, acne, and hemorrhages. Western medicine is trying to harness this potential, with the National Cancer Institute stating that 70% of plants with potential anticancer properties come from tropical regions.
Each plant has its own story. For example, Ayahuasca has been used by shamans to heal the mind and soul for at least a millennium, but in the West, its use in treating mental illnesses and addiction is gradually gaining acceptance. In the animal kingdom, the mucous secreted by frogs of the Philomedusa genus has hallucinogenic effects, and it includes the analgesic dermorphin.
Snake venom also has remarkable effects. Bothrops jararaca, when bitten, causes a rapid drop in blood pressure, leading to unconsciousness. In the late 1970s, a new antihypertensive drug called ACE inhibitors was developed based on this venom. Currently, over a billion people are suffering from hypertension worldwide, and these drugs are consumed by millions.
We have discovered many things, yet much remains unknown. According to WWF, on average, a new species of flora and fauna is discovered in the Amazon every three days. Unfortunately, many of these species remain unnamed and unexplored. We are losing tropical rainforests on an unprecedented scale. In Brazil alone, about 9,000 square kilometers of rainforest are destroyed each year (according to last year’s data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE)). The people living there are also losing. They lose their natural land to soy cultivation and livestock, receiving only meager compensation and temporary employment in return, eventually leading to migration to urban areas. The remaining people, like the Naso tribe, suffer as their world and culture impoverish. With the disappearance of shamans, valuable recipes also vanish.
Shaman Clinics
When Plotkin first recognized this issue 30 years ago, he felt fear. “What if the knowledge of shamans is truly lost? When he first visited Kwamalasamutu village in Suriname, the elders still lived there. However, the chief considered their traditional medicine practices demonic and had prohibited them.”
“I persuaded the chief to allow recording of ancient recipes. Ten years later, I convinced him to permit the use of herbal medicine again, not as a replacement but as a complement to Western medicine. And so, the first ‘Shamans’ Apprentice Clinic’ was built. It stands next to a Western medical clinic, giving people a choice.”
Currently, there are four such clinics in Suriname. These clinics, operated by the “Amazon Conservation Team,” support indigenous communities in protecting their territories and conserving the rainforest. Plotkin believes that indigenous medicine is more effective than Western medicine for many diseases, such as skin conditions, and the forest residents can access it for free.
“Recently, in one clinic, local people were making tea from local plants to activate the immune system. They were distributing this tea to people in surrounding villages, saying they wanted to avoid getting infected with the coronavirus. Does this drip have any effect? I don’t know. The fact that no one is getting sick doesn’t prove anything. However, this situation demonstrates that knowledge has not disappeared, and indigenous people are trying to address external issues in their own ways. I am proud of them. The concept of ‘preventive medicine,’ prescribing drugs to avoid getting sick, is relatively new in the West. However, rainforest shamans have been collaborating with people for thousands of years, helping maintain the balance of the body and harmonize with nature,” Plotkin reflects.
This year, we all realized the lack of effective treatments for threatening diseases. Even viruses and bacteria we know are constantly mutating and developing resistance. New drugs will be needed at that time, and there’s no guarantee they will be found. Let’s hope they won’t disappear with the tropical rainforest and its wise inhabitants.
