Shaman Tools, Medicines, and Remedies

[Narifia]

Last Updated: 12/27/13

▨Paths Unwinding▧
▨Shaman Tools, Medicines, and Remedies▧

Below is a work-in-progress list of tools, medicines, and remedies that shamans--particularly Mandrill Baboon shamans, such as Rafiki--might use in rituals and in healing. While I typically keep most of my work-in-progess lists and guides hidden until I finish them, I figured that this could end up being useful to anyone playing a shaman or healer character right now. And just like in real life, where discoveries in medicine and innovations in tools are made every day, so too can this list be constantly updated and added to.

✧ Tools ✧

◈ Gourds

Gourds have a number of uses. The bitter, inedible nectars of some varieties are often used in ceremony and anointments--such as in the christening of a newborn Lion King. Some nectars when mixed with pigments serve as paints for both ceremony and ritual or storytelling art. For the few varieties that have sweet, edible nectar or flesh, they serve as a sort of "soul food" for shamans; a food for the spirit which nourishes their soul and brings them closer to their god. It is often eaten as they are performing tasks such as scrying--divining the future--to help focus and clear their minds. Currently, there are no gourd species that have been discovered that serve any kind of a medicinal use.

As for the hard shells of the gourds themselves, they serve an equally important function as they can be used as a means of storage. Lopping the very tip off and fashioning a cap or plug for it (think corks) can make the emptied gourd shell an effective means of storing water or other medicinal liquids and nectars. Cracking a gourd in half and using the bottom portion of the shell makes very useful bowls. These bowls can be used for scrying and for storing medicinal powders and pastes (sometimes the top half of the gourd, if broken away from the bottom cleanly, can be used as "lids" to keep the contents inside safe from spilling or contamination). Finally, empty gourds can be filled with anything from seeds to small pebbles and used as primitive musical instuments, both for ceremony and for leisurely entertainment.

◈ Scrying Bowl

A bowl that is filled with water and used in conjunction with prayer to divine the future. This task is called "scrying."

For a shaman who practices Aiheuism (the worship of the lion god Aiheu), if one does not pray to Aiheu and ask for His guidance, one is leaving oneself open to evil spirits who seize the chance to possess the shaman and twist the truth around to prophesize misfortune.

◈ Saffron Yellow Seeds

A curious seed which, when mixed in the proper dosage, allows for direct contact with the spirits of the dead. The proper number is eighteen seeds: any less will cause only giddyness or depression, and any more will cause convulsion and death. Usually mixed with Tiko Root to combat the bitter taste. After contact is done and the effects worn off, a powerful headache will remain.

◈ Sepal Root

A curious root used in rare forms of scrying. Its power is not fully understood.

✧ Medicines and Remedies ✧

◈ Sonneratia Caseolaris (Red Alba)

A small, red, fruit-bearing flower. Similar to Sonneratia Alba, except that its petals are red instead of white. Thus shaman refer to this flower as "Red Alba" or even simply "Alba."

Alba, when moistened in water and then squeezed into dirt, makes a mud mixture that serves as a poultice. The cool mud relieves pain for cuts, bruises, sprains, and swelling. The fruits, depending on their ripeness, may be used to get rid of internal parasites (when ripe) or for coughs (when half ripe). The leaves and fruit of this plant are also edible.

Their roots are sometimes used as plugs or corks.

Since Red Alba grows only along the eastern coast of Africa, it is very difficult to obtain. Shaman who live in the savannah plains therefore must acquire this plant by trade or by long treks to the eastern coast. This makes them very rare and very precious in the Pridelands area and all surrounding territories. However, they are quite common in the coastal region of Busare.

◈ Dwe'dwe twig

A twig from a bush or tree that, when snapped in half, produces a sticky resin. This resin is used to seal up wounds.

◈ Tiko Root

Tiko Root is often powered and mixed into drinkable medicinal broths to prevent infection. It is also sometimes sun-dried into a jerky treat that Mandrills and young lion cubs adore. It has a minty smell and flavor.

◈ Bonewort

When soaked in a bowl of water, the broth from this root will aid in loosening tightness in stiff muscles and joints. When mixed into a paste, it can be used to numb the pain in in cuts.

◈ Senophaix bark and Timnophia root

These are both used as pain relievers, most commonly added as a supplement to medicinal broths.

◈ Campa Root

Campa is a plant with five leaves and black berries, the root of which serves as a powerful shamanistic medicine. The plant itself is also very strong, able to survive in the harshest weather. This makes the plant easy to identify and fairly common.

Campa Root, when finely ground into a powder and mixed with water, is useful for relieving stomach aches, cramps, and nausea. When the powder is made into a paste with mud, it is soothing for mildly irritated skin and is also said to prevent hair from thinning.

◈ Bedango Extract

A poultice made from Bedango leaves which when rubbed into cuts will reduce pain and swelling and help restore circulation. Can also prevent scarring.

◈ Mitobi Stalk

Still being researched

◈ Euphorbia

Still being researched

◈ Dakim Bark

Still being researched

◈ Mechoti

Still being researched

◈ Maraliscus and Heartleaf

By itself Maraliscus is deadly, as it suppresses breathing. Traditionally, it has been used as a merciful way to end the suffering of a terminal patient. However, when mixed with Heartleaf, which opens the lungs and promotes breathing, the negative effects of Maraliscus are negated. In the correct dosage, these two plants when powdered and mixed in water have great effects in preventing a miscarriage.

◈ Marhamu

An ointment for bee stings and insect bites.

◈ Fleabane

An elixir for killing fleas.

◈ Chi'pim

A strong whiff of this potent herb will help calm asthma attacks.

✧ Known Diseases and Cures ✧

◈ Dol Sani

Description: A childhood disease--similar to chicken pox, most individuals contract this disease in their youth. After having contracted this disease once, it is impossible to get it again.
Symptoms: Sore throat, loss of sleep, fatigue, rapid pulse, headache, dry nose, aching joints, and a distinctive itching under the arms.
Treatment: An elixir of Protothecus milleri--which unfortunately has a terrible, sulfuric odor.

◈ Mifupa

Description: Much like Dol Sani, but in elders.
Symptoms:
Treatment:

◈ Bhe'to

Description: A fatal disease of yet unknown origin.
Symptoms: Headaches, sharp pain in the temples, rapid pulse, swollen/hard glands, fever, and twitching, dilated eyes.
Treatment: There is no cure. At best, a treatment of Dakim Bark tea will ease the pain, allowing the patient a clear head in the final moments.

◈ Koh'suul

Description: A fatal disease that takes root fast and kills in a matter of days. It is highly contagious--any area occupied by a lion with Koh'suul must be purged of the disease with a special fire of dead grass, ferns, and powdered Alba before it can be occupied again. Direct contact of any kind will spread the disease.
Symptoms: Fever, trouble sleeping, muscle stiffness.
Treatment: Powdered Chi'pim mixed with water to relieve the fever and give the patient some clarity of thought. There is no cure--this is simply to make death easier.

References, Disclaimer, and Copyright:

SPOILER: Click to show

Special Disclaimer and Copyright Notice: Many of these ideas--although not all--are taken from or inspired by the original 1996 Chronicles of the Pridelands series written by John Burkitt and Dave Morris. They are used without permission; however, as a loving and loyal fan of the series, should the original authors stumble upon my humble forum and wish for me to take their ideas down, I shall gladly do so.

Other references:

- For "Red Alba"
www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/sonneratia.htm
mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1074.htm