Bush Medicine

8/1/2013

Most safari camps and lodges within the game-rich Sabi Sand Game Reserve offer a mid-day walk as an optional activity. During these walks your guide will focus on the more esoteric aspects of the bush such as myriad medicinal uses of the plants and trees. The biodiversity of plant life in the Sabi Sabi area provides a veritable "medicine chest" of natural remedies still used by the local Shangaan communities.

For example, the Magic Guarri bush is thought to possess both medicinal and supernatural powers - the wood is considered so sacred that it is never burned for fuel and pieces of the branches are carried as good luck charms. The Shangaan use the branches as divining rods to locate water sources. They also grind the roots and apply a poultice to the skin as a cure for leprosy. The same ground roots can be used for the relief of toothache or to prevent tooth decay and can even be used as a "bush toothbrush". Many traditional healers use the Magic Guarri to treat abdominal pains associated with pregnancy and to prevent miscarriage. A handful of cut roots is boiled and drunk by the expectant mother after it is cooled and flavored with star anise. The same mixture is also thought to help with female infertility.