Plants that heal

Hertin began the ethnobotany class presentations by covering the use of a plant he termed kidi for the treatment of the culture bound syndrome soumwahen naniak, a form of soumwahen ohl.


The sap from the leaf stem of soft taro is used on Yap to fade "hickeys." On Yap the plant is called mal and a hickey is called atniy. Another medicine from Yap is the use of pounded soursop (sausau in Yapese) seeds to kill head lice (flayko yinuk). The pounded seeds are mixed with copra and applied to the head.

Jasmine noted the use of tehn mahi, breadfruit leaf, specifically the fallen ones, for the treatment of earaches.
Mae brought in koahiei (kehiei) for the treatment of an unspecified culture bound syndrome.
Kehiei.

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