An unknown people in an unknown land : an account of the life and customs of the Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco, with adventures and experiences during twenty years' pioneering and exploration amongst them / by W. Barbrooke Grubb.

  • Wilfred Barbrooke Grubb
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: An unknown people in an unknown land : an account of the life and customs of the Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco, with adventures and experiences during twenty years' pioneering and exploration amongst them / by W. Barbrooke Grubb. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    discouraging to my would-be murderers. So, shortly after my arrival, I laid myself out to expatiate upon the great advantages that we should derive now that we had proved the practicability of bringing in provisions by bullock-cart. My colleague, Andrew Pride, and myself, had often been very short of food, and on account of this we were thinner than we cared to be. “But now,” I said triumphantly, “you will soon see in what line condition we shall be.” I heard afterwards that the wizards did not enjoy this and other such remarks. In spite of all the superstition and trickery connected with witchcraft, the wizards possess a certain amount of practical knowledge, and really make use of it. They know of many herbs which they employ as medicines. Unfortunately, some of them are utilized for improper purposes, but others are used advisedly to relieve suffering. The bitter bark of a tree is known to allay fever. The malva, or mallow plant, is used in cleansing wounds, and so are other herbs They have also a plant which relieves toothache, and others of less or greater efficacy are used in specific diseases. Snake-bite they often succeed in curing, chiefly by suction and by tying a ligature between the wound and the heart. They also have some idea of inoculation for snake-bite, using the fangs very carefully in scratching parts of their bodies. They practise massage with considerable success. Saliva is freely used on wounds, and to stop bleeding they apply clay or earth. They are very accurate in calculating the probabilities of recovery or death, judging principally from the appearance of the eyes. Ihere is no doubt that these witch-doctors have much more medical knowledge than they are generally credited with, and this incredulity as to their knowledge is owing, I think, to the fact that it is so mixed up with superstition. But it would require a medical man to study their methods, in order to estimate the real extent of their knowledge. 169