Traditional healing methods with special reference to Manipur
- Part 2 -

Dr K Paochunbou *

A Heikru Pareng (Garland made of heikru) before the start of Heikru hidongba festival

Treatment on hydrophobia, a fatal disease caused by a neurotropic virus

A mad-dog can produce rabies when it bites a man within a few days. It is, therefore, advisable to avoid a fatal disease that can be caused by a neurotropic virus. As soon as a mad-dog bites a man, care should be taken to eat cloves of garlic at least 10-15 immediately and a papaya fruit whether ripe or unripe – atleast one fruit should be eaten.

If possible, the whole fruit including skin, shell, seeds & latex should be cut into small pieces to make it a paste and mix it with honey and eat it as much as possible. If fruit is not available, use the roots of papaya tree and trunk and it should be cut into small pieces and it should boil it for 15 minutes and a man should drink the decoction mixed with honey 3 to 4 times daily. This treatment should continue for 20 to 25 days on every day basis to kill the fatal virus. This same treatment followed by garlic should be carried out daily and it is the key to success of 100% as proved by many victims/patients in olden days.

As stated above, rabies is a viral neuroinvasive disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals like dog & others. It is zoonitic most common by a bite from an infected dog. Experts say that rabies virus transmits or travels to the brain by following the peripheral nerves. The incubation period of the disease depends on how far the virus would travel to reach at the central nervous system perhaps it is usually taking a few weeks or months.

If the virus reaches at the central nervous system, the symptoms will appear in an untreatable way by barking like a dog. Incubation period is estimated even one year. So, immediate treatment under the system of folk-medicine is pre-requisite particularly in the hill areas where medical facility is not available adequately. Normally, early initial symptoms of rabies are fever, restless, in-somnia, malaise, headache including acute pain, violent movements to the extent of uncontrollable excitement, depression and inability to swallow water.

The patient will not like to see light and the patient feels uncomfortable to stay in an airy room also. In the final stage, the patient will experience of mania and lethargy followed by coma. As an additional measure of treatment, one may try with a red worm / eelworm which lives in the midst of banana stems and it is to be caught and soaked in a salted water for 15 to 20 minutes and swallow it with a ripe banana to ensure healing.

Treatment in the case of cholera ?

Cholera is an acute epidemic disease caused by vibrio comma. The main symptoms are the evacuation of copious rice-water stools accompanied by agonizing cramp and severe collapse. Mortality is very high. So, immediate herbal treatment is required particularly in the hill areas of Manipur.

Suppose cholera breaks out in any locality or in any tribal village or hamlet, when there is no doctor, nurse or hospital, the traditional healer will depend on cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium. L). Local name: Hameng Sampakpi, Hindi: Banokra. This herbs is poisonous but its toxic substances are removed by boiling it. Pluck 5 to 6 fresh leafs and boil them in small pot for 15 to 20 minutes and if available, mix it with honey and drink the decoction 4 to 5 times daily.

This is a most wonderful remedy. Try it when need arises and you will get the efficacy.

How to Control diabetes ?

Based on my findings in research on type I and type II diabetes, I have found that diabetes has two forms – type I and type II. Nine out of 10 people with diabetes have type II diabetes claimed by the American Medical Association, USA, September 1996. Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism – the way in which your body converts the food you eat into energy. Most of the food you eat is broken down by digestive juices into chemicals including a simple sugar called glucose. Glucose is your body's main source of energy.

After digestion, glucose passes into your bloodstream, where it is available for cells to take in and use or store for later use. Everyone knows about all these factors. Diabetes has life-threatening complications. Diet plays a very significant role in all diseases, more so in diabetes. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the main causes of kidney failure as documented by the professional experts.

A diabetic patient needs low sugar, low fat but delicious and healthy food. In the course of my research study on herbal medicine to control diabetes, I would like to draw the attention of the diabetic patients to focus on the following home remedies.

Drink green tea daily mainly locally processed green tea.
Eat 20-30 gms boiled soybean sweetened with honey daily.
Take and use only refined soybean oil in cooking in lieu of mustard oil.
Take 10-15 gms of the root and thick bark of Cinnamon (dalchini) daily.
Take ripe papaya fruit regularly and apple and sweet orange.
Drink the decoction of leaves of tulsi and lemon grass sweetened with honey as herbal tea.
Drink the decoction of the leave of Nettle to decrease blood sugar.
Take the boiled leafs of Clerodendrum colebrookianum. Walp. daily if available.
Take fresh leafs of periwinkle and garden mint regularly.

A diabetic patient must develop healthy eating habit. In season, a diabetic patient should arrange to get the green leafs of Clerodendrum serratum. L. Moon, Local name: Moirangkhanam as much as possible and keep them dry for use in off-season throughout the year. Boil the leafs either fresh ones or dried ones and drink the decoction mixed with honey daily. This is one of the best option to keep your diabetes under control.

Your hormone called insulin must be present in your blood. No insulin shot be required. But you need to consult your physician regularly. Many indigenous / traditional healers have identified as many as plant species as anti-diabetic plants. By way of diabetic complication, a diabetic patient is bound to suffer from anaphrodisiac effect

Amla (Indian gooseberry) is also helpful in the secretion of insulin in the diabetic patients. Bitter gourd, neem, turmeric, jam, brinjal, gurmar, mango leaves, fenugreek, soyabean, tomato, groundnut, Bengal gram, periwinkle are useful in reducing sugar levels.

Bitter gourd (Karela) contains high dosage of plant insulin which is effective for treating diabetes. Carrot is a good substitute for cow's milk, it is also a helpful antidote for diabetes because it contains an insulin type of compound.

Curry leaf should be one of the daily basic needs to be eaten after cooking with curry. Soyabean should be one basic item to be boiled completely for the diabetic patient to eat during meal.

Folk medicine healers used to advise this item to eat to get instant energy. There are more than 33 herbal plants which can be used by the diabetic patient daily without side-effect. However, care should be taken to select the herbs depending on the conditions of the patient. Decoction of the tender leaves of jamun and mango is good for some patients if taken daily followed by 5/6 leaves of insulin plant (costus pictus).

A tree called U-Khajing and Its botanical name is Oreocinide integrifolio (Gaud) Miq, (Urticaceae) and a Southern nettle tree called Hei-greng and its botanical name is celtis timorensis span are useful in the treatment of diabetes which a patient has to drink the decoction of bark and leaves daily. The trees are growing wild in all jungles.

In the case of diabetic patient, he will be sexually inactive in all seasons and herbs and cash crops which are highly aphrodisiac would be regularly used, such as, garlic, onion, almond, wintercherry, turmeric, cashew nut, walnut, dalchini, goat meat, goat milk, ginger to promote aphrodisiac effect and to maintain to control diabetes. And the diabetic patient will certainly achieve snowball-effect at least 100% of normal sexual life. It is advisable to cook the tender leaves of U-khajing as curry mixed with dried fish and it is quite effective to control diabetes

To be continued...