10 Indigenous Medicines for Today’s Modern Times

People have been engaged in the healing arts for as long as mankind has existed; with evidence linking back to before writing was thought to exist. Indigenous medicine is the compilation of the practices, knowledge and skills of any given culture for the purpose of healing. For thousands of years, healing was locally-based as people relied on the herbs and remedies easily at hand.

Indigenous healing comes from a community mindset that the earth is a source of life that is directly and intricately related to human health. Holistic in nature, traditional medicine emphasizes the need for balance between the body, mind, spirit, nature and the land beneath us. These healing practices are often derived using the medicinal properties found on earth to prevent chronic disease, treat ailments and promote balanced well-being.

Traditionally, indigenous medicine and healing practices have been passed to generations orally; sharing knowledge directly and teaching the practices to future healers. Today, there are many modern practitioners recognizing the value or indigenous medicine. These modern-day healers have mastered the knowledge and apply it fervently in their practical work. A great deal of importance is placed on prevention and our bodies’ self-healing powers with the purpose of maintaining a harmony and balance between the body, mind and nature.

Indigenous Medicine At The Core of Nature

For thousands of years, human beings have looked to nature and asked, “How do the deer survive when they get ill? How do horses survive when they fall sick? Can we learn something from that?” Healers have learned from studying animals that there are different plants around the planet that aid in curing different ailments and these tend to be unique to each culture. For example, a yarrow root grows well in Ireland, so it used frequently in Irish indigenous medicine. Other cultures are known for their own specialties that use the healing properties of the plants that grow in their specific regions.

It is only recently that “modern medicine“ has become more widespread. Advances in communication and travel have had a profound effect on our global understanding of various healing arts. Today we reap the benefits from something one culture and share it all over the world because we can transport it there. Modern medical companies have spent tens of millions of dollars sending scientists all over the planet to learn about different plants, and herbs, studying their benefits and trying to then identify key active ingredients. Modern medicines has, in large part, developed out of indigenous medicine.

The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of Asian and African cultures derive their primary health care needs from traditional medicines that would be classified as indigenous. Several strong cultures were particularly good at documenting the treatments that work best. These include:

1. Traditional Chinese Medicine  Traditional Chinese medicine dates back over thousands of years. This indigenous medicine uses a blend of herbal medicines, and procedures including acupuncture, TCM practitioners use herbal medicines and various mind and body practices, such as acupuncture, massage, exercise such as  tai ch and nutrition i, to prevent and treat chronic illness.
2. Traditional Korean Medicine The foundation of Traditional Korean Medicine is Traditional Chinese Medicine but the Koreans developed diagnostic processes and treatments unique to them.
3. Irani Traditional Medicine Irani Traditional Medicine bases its treatment around the four humors, which consists of phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile. It is a sophisticated healthcare system that goes back to the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen with roots to ancient Iran and India.
4. Traditional Ayurvedic Medicine Ayurvedic medicine dates back over 3,000 years ago with its in India where it continues to be practiced on a widespread basis. It uses its own unique blend of herbs, nutrition and practices.
5. Traditional African Medicine  Traditional African Medicine is heavily based on spirituality and herbalism practices with specialists with a variety of healing expertise, including midwives, diviners and herbalists.
6. Traditional Native American Medicine  Native American Medicine uses a combination of native herbal treatments with a variety of practices based largely on their observation of deer, elk and bear healing processes.
7. Traditional Greek Medicine  Dating back to the 4^th century B.C.E., Greek Medicine is referred to as Unani Tibb Medicine. This medical system combines homeopathy, nephropathy and chiropractic measures. As with other Indigenous medicine practices, it seeks to balance using the forces of nature.
8. Traditional Irish Medicine Traditional Irish Medicine is largely botanical-based and the Irish is known to have one of the most robust collection of manuscripts on herbal medicine in the world.
9.  Traditional Inca Medicine Inca medicine has its roots in the belief of supernatural forces. Religion and healthcare were closely linked with priests often acting as doctors integrating magic while using herbs and minerals.
10. Curanderismo  Originating in Latina American culture, curanderismo combines herbalism, spiritual cleansing rituals and other healing practices to prevent and treat ailments.

Those who have studied many of these various indigenous medicines have found that there is a great deal of overlap between methodologies found around the world. When you find multiple cultures using similar modalities to cure a given health issue, that provides a strong indication that a particular methodology is particularly effective, having stood the test of time and having been corroborated across multiple civilizations.  One example of this is Gua sha, is a technique known as scraping, where someone uses a stone or spoon or coin along the surface of the skin to induce the body to expel something out of its system.  While it may go by different names, the Chinese, Japanes, Greeks, Irish, Romans and most of the European cultures all have versions of this technique.

Acupuncture is another example. There’s a Korean system, a Chinese system, a Japanese system, an Egyptian version and even a Neanderthal version that predates all the others. Each of these cultures found ways to make the same concept work at different times in different manners without any interaction with each other.

 How Can Indigenous Medicine Complement Mainstream Medicine?

Do these indigenous medicines have a place in our modern world? Of course they do! Mankind has been perfecting the healing arts throughout time, and the most successful remedies that pass the proverbial test of time are very relevant to today’s illnesses. As today’s modern health care system has evolved, it has come to acknowledge the effectiveness of indigenous, traditional healing. In fact, there is now a more mainstream acceptance of these holistic forms of health, which combine physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects for balanced health and healing.

Many professionals have found success in blending three, four or five different treatments for preventing or combatting an illness. There is no need to choose one over the other, but one can definitely complement the other. A cough is a good example. You can take cough medicines or cough syrups, but it’s been known for 1,000 years that honey is extremely beneficial for knocking down a cough… without the side effects.

One of the biggest differences between indigenous medicines and “modern” medical practice is the role that energy plays in healing. Today’s modern medical paradigm all throughout Europe and the United States follows a very biologically-based view of healthcare.  It approaches the biology of the human being as nothing but physical parts, very chemically-based. They’re matter. They have a border. They have containment. We can measure them, weigh them, see them, hold them, feel them.

More recently, however, world health-care organizations are realizing the benefits of traditional healing and we are seeing the integration of indigenous practices into conventional treatment. Care is becoming more customized and holistic in nature. Mainstream medicine has also been more focused on preventive solutions to healthcare rather than simply treating established disease.

The Staying Power of Indigenous Medicine

People often think, if it weren’t for modern medicine, we’d all be dead right now. But the reality of it is modern medicine has only been around for about 100 – 150 years. How did we make it the first 10,000 years then? How did people survive? The truth is that for thousands of years, people have been following indigenous medicine, harmonizing with nature to support body function, instead of trying to dictate and control it. Indigenous medicine supports and restores normal function.

The best way to ensure that you are getting the best out of both indigenous and modern medicine is to gather your information from a trained healthcare professional who has widely studied the world’s traditional medicines and combines those treatments with modern day modalities, advancements and technical information.

Dr. McCaffrey is a health and wellness professional who incorporates more than 13 types of indigenous medicine into his practice, including Traditional Chinese Medicine, many styles of Acupuncture, as well as Greek, Persian, Native American and Irish Indigenous medicine. Dr. McCaffrey works with individuals whose bodies are under degenerative stress and helps to transform them into reinvigorated and balanced individuals. He holds a Post-Doctoral License in Digestive Health and Internal Health and a Doctorate of Chiropractic Degree. He is also certified as an Internal Health Specialist.