Healing
Studies have shown that the Bushmen have many strategies
for dealing with ill health.
The women are experts at harvesting and preparing medicinal
plants for the treatment of a wide range of ailments.
Blood letting and scarification may also serve as a
medicinal function.
The best-known Bushmen medical practice is the healing
dance. This is when the healers or shamans enter a trance
by way of rhythmic clapping and stamping of the dancers
feet. See What
is a Trance Dance? and Who
are the Shamans & Medicine People?
While in a trance, it is believed the healers can intercede
or do battle with the spirits who cause illnesses, both
physical and psychological. The healer, after wrestling
with the spirits is believed to have the power to remove
sickness from the body of his or her patients.
