Utilomar (Guettarda speciosa
- Rubiaceae) |
Some Marshallese
medicines and their treatments are common knowledge. Other medicines and
treatments are less well known. One who wishes to know more about these
traditional medicines may be taught by a relative or inspired by a dream.
Some knowledge about the medicinal use of plants are private, and known by
only a few people. For example, the contents and method of preparation may
be known by many people, but not the time for picking fruit or leaves.
It is common for
medicinal formulae to utilize several plant species (and sometimes earth,
coral, or other non-plant materials). When a plant is said to be
"used for" a particular illness, it is likely be one of a number
of ingredients and the medicine in which it is used may be only part of a
complex regimen of treatment.
Much of Marshallese medicinal practice focuses on the
treatment of mothers and their babies. For more information, see
Traditional Medicine of the Marshall Islands: The Women, The Plants,
The Treatments, by Irene J Taafaki, Maria Kabua Fowler, and Randolph
R
Thaman (IPS Publications, University of the South Pacific, 2006; see
http://www.ipsbooks.usp.ac.fj).
Kiden (Tournefortia argentea - Boraginaceae)
Meria (Plumeria rubra - Apocynaceae)
|
