What was the Chumash Indians' medicine made out of?
There were many kinds of medicine. Besides bark, roots, and
flowers of various kinds of plants, minerals were sometimes ground up, mixed with animal fat and
painted on the sick person. Sea water was drunk as a purgative to clean the digestive system. Certain kinds of treatment required swallowing
live red ants.
Nettle was used as a treatment for rheumatism and paralysis. The shaman would make a bed
of cut stalks then the patient would lie down and actively roll around; or by taking a handful of nettle stalks, the doctor would whip the body
of the afflicted individual.