WICHI MEDICINE

Traditions of our eastern neighbors
By Pilar Cimato

Wichis also calls matacos are the people that live at Chaco, Salta and Formosa Province at the northwest of Argentina. At this area there is a group of “ settlement”, where are no more than a miillion, who live at the shores of Pilcomayo and Bermejo Rivers. Near this places live the Pilagás and Tobas another argentinian people

The area belongs to the "Distrito Chaqueño", that we call "impenetrable" o Chaco Rain Forest, or Chaco Woods. This flora have differents characteristics about Misiones Rain Forest. There are woods of Quebracho Colorado and Quebracho Blanco. They are big trees with a lumber concern. Even this geography, the abundant rains and high tempreatures,, during the summer made this place magic.

Palan Palan (Ncotiana glauca) has medicinal properties and is an excellente representative of Chaco. Belong to Solanaceas family, as patotes that we eat . in meal or supper in our house.
The Wichis always use it as antirreumatic and antiarthritis, to heal .hurt and burns.
To maturity foruncle the Wichis boil the plant with water during a minute, the saturate a pice of bread in this hot water and it put it as warmth.
Also it use for heal hemorrhoids, boiling a litre of water and, mix with the whole plant.

There are another interesting plant of the area:

Palo Santo (Bulnesia sarmientoi). It is a big tree wich belongsto the Impenetrable Chaqueño .You can cook the bark of the tree as chip or sawdust, then put it in water to boil, then leave them to rest. The liquid is used for hurts and arthitis pain. Also, the Wichis use the leaves and chips for grip and temperature.
The infusion, the water is boiled and then you can put the whole plant and then leave to rest
After that you can drink to improve your blood circulation

The plants have many reason to heal or to save health, but the most important is that they have the active biginnings, chemistries subtances that give them the therapeutics power. For this reason is very important to know that the phytoterapy must be administrated by "experts" through the ancestral knowdloge or from books

Source :
Cabrera, Angel - Enciclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería - Regiones Fitogegráficas.
Chifa, Carlos - Plantas Medicinales usadas por las Comunidades del Chaco Argentino - UNNE
Burgstaller, José - Lischit , - Antropología - EUDEBA

Pilar Cimato. Professor of Biological Sciences specialized in environmental health sciences. Her research background has focused on the native and exotic plants phytotherapy. Contact to: pilarc31@yahoo.com.ar