Bushman poison bulb

Bushman poison bulb: Boophone disticha

The Khoisan people believed this bulb has the power to transport the dead through the doorway of the spirit to the life hereafter. For this reason it is revered and feared by the Khoisan who regard it as enormously powerful.

in South Africa, and you will find traditional healers or ‘sangomas’ using it to psychoanalyse emotional disorders in their patients. The process is called ‘bioscope’.

The healer medicates the patient with a minute quantity of Boophone and then sits them in front of a blank white screen.

Once the medicine has taken effect, the healer asks the patient what s/he sees on the screen (hence ‘bioscope’) in order to analyse their imaginings.

From here the healer induces vomiting in the patient to purge the Boophone, hopefully along with their troubles.

While Boophone is widely used in the treatment of psychological troubles, it also has powerful physical healing attributes and is used by traditional healers to treat circumcision wounds.

It is well known in medical circles that the alkaloids in Boophone are extremely effective painkillers. The scales of the bulb are wrapped around the circumcised penis to reduce the pain as well as to sterilise the wound.

Boophone might also be taken orally as a painkiller in the form of a weak infusion, but the dose could prove lethal if administered by anyone but a highly trained healer.

More: karoospace.co.za/bushman-poison-bulb-doorway-hereafter/

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