On a sunny and really hot day we decided to join another Maasai settlement in order to learn about their way of living.
Part of the day was spent going around the dessert looking at all the different plants the Maasai use for their healing properties.
Our guide said that they discovered these properties after years of trial and error efforts to find natural medicines.
I do believe that the solutions to a lot of our problems in general are provided by nature itself in one way or another so I find this guide particularly intriguing.
Here is the list of plants the Maasai use for their medicinal benefits (I have probably got the spelling completely wrong as I just noted the way they were pronounced by our guide and could not later on find them online to double check):
Aloe Vera
Can be boiled in water and the solution is then drunk to alleviate gastric pain; aloe vera gel can be used to massage bone pain away and as sun screen; interestingly enough its bark is used in making local beer.
Ol-orondoi
Its milk has antiseptic properties and thus can be used as soap for bathing.
Shili-shili
Its juice is rubber-oily so it used as a body moisturising lotion and baby soap; also used on wounds to keep them well hydrated
Ol-okunonoi
Its bark is boiled and the resulting solution acts as diarrhoea relief medication when drunk.
Opopom cactus
Its milk is used as antiseptic for possible wounds on their cattle.
Ol-dovai
The roots of it can be boiled and then the solution can be rubbed over the back to alleviate pain.
Ol-emui
It has a smelly juice which acts as an insect repellent (particularly useful for mosquiotes); can be used on people and on cattle.
Ol-kirimanu
The branches are boiled and the resulting solution is drunk to treat pancreatitis.
Ol-depe
The branches are boiled and the resulting solution can be drunk to heal gastric and intestinal ulceration.
Ol-parawui
Its bark is boiled and the resulting solution can, when drunk, alleaviate headache.
Orlilili
Its juices can be used as a wound antisepcitc
Oilti
Can be used to alleaviate the symtpoms of heartburn and food poisoning.
Saragi
A kind of mint used to increase appetite.
Ol-pante
Boiled and solution drunk to treat sexually-trasmitted-infection symtpoms.
Armatanguiu (aka the Viagra of Maasai)
Roots eaten and boilt; acts as an erection enhancer.
Niraawa
Can be used if your are anaemic
A TASTE OF TANZANIA 