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Herbal Medicine Natural Remedies 150 Herbal Remedies to Heal Common Ailments Anne Kennedy
The right of Anne McIntyre to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-91159-745-2
Printed in Great Britain
www.aeonbooks.co.uk
Introduction 1
Global Herbal Traditions 5
The Chemistry of Herbs 47
The Herbal Consultation 61
The Herbal Pharmacy 77
The Materia Medica 93
Treating Common Ailments 277
Growing, Harvesting and Storing Herbs 357
Glossary of Terms 367
Introduction
Herbs are the most extraordinary plants. Their incredible ability to heal on all levels of our being never ceases to amaze and inspire me. Through my years in practice as a herbalist I have been asked many times how I came to be in this profession. The story actually begins in my childhood.
Herbal Roots
I have loved herbs ever since I was a child. I was intrigued by their delicious scents, all so unique, and their beautiful shapes and forms. Brought up in the country, I loved being surrounded by natural beauty, to the point that I have never been able to live in a town or city. My mother gave me a piece of her garden when I was little so I could grow my own herbs and flowers. This was my favourite occupation.
Studies in Herbalism
my life, I resolved to find a place to study herbal medicine. After four years of study I became a member of the National Institute of Medical
In my early twenties, while living in a cottage on a small island off the east coast of England, growing my own food and harvesting as much from the wild as I could, I began to learn about the wild herbs that were growing around me. I realised that the earth provides all the raw ingredients for our health and well being and that herbs have the ability to keep us balanced in body, mind, emotions and spirit, if we can only understand the potential of their gifts to us to its fullest extent. After travelling in many parts of the world, looking for meaning in existence that would guide me to finding the right direction in At work in my herb garden.
Herbalists, a professional body of herbalists that has existed since 1864.
Once in practice I continued to study, constantly searching for more pointers towards understanding the human organism and the keys to health and harmony, so that I could better serve my patients as well as my family and myself. Over the next few years I studied homoeopathy, aromatherapy, therapeutic massage and counselling. Finally I found Ayurveda, the system that resonated with me more that any other to date. Ayurveda is a body of knowledge and wisdom from India that incorporates a complex system of medicine, as well as guidelines for a way of living that aims, not only for freedom from suffering in mind and body, but for enlightenment itself. Today, I continue to study both herbal medicine and Ayurveda, and to incorporate the wisdom of all I learn into my practice and my writing.
A Holistic Approach
The writing of The Complete Herbal Tutor is motivated by the growing interest in using herbal medicine, in a practical and informed way, amongst healthcare practitioners and lay people alike. There is a great need for contemporary information encompassing a holistic view that acknowledges the intimate connection of mind and body, and promoting health and health education, rather than solely addressing illnesses and how to treat symptoms arising from them. This book provides a practical, easy reference guide to the 150 most commonly used herbs in the modern practice of Western herbal medicine and their uses, and, by this measure, it highlights the great contribution herbs can make to modern medical care.
Throughout, I have endeavoured to emphasise how herbs are used most effectively when they are
prescribed after the taking of a full case history, with the intention of aiding innate homeostatic mechanisms, while addressing the underlying problems that give rise to health problems including diet and lifestyle.
Treatment Advice
While describing the herbal treatment of over 100 common ailments, The Complete Herbal Tutor is not intended to replace medical care which may require the greater knowledge and expertise of
My dispensary.
the professional medical herbalist or mainstream healthcare practitioner. The format of the Ailments section in the book follows a system approach, including the main systems affected by common illness, and the health problems covered in the text are those that I have commonly encountered in my practice of nearly forty years as a professional herbalist, and that I consider to be most applicable to treatment using herbs.
Our Herbal Heritage
A conventional medical view might take some exception to aspects of Western herbal philosophy and approach to treatment which may follow some rather unorthodox lines. There may not be much scientific justification for the use of “alterative” or cleansing herbs to clear the body of toxins, or cooling herbs to clear “accumulated heat”. The use of these, however, is integral to the philosophies of ancient and respected systems of medicine, such as the Chinese, Tibetan and Ayurvedic, that have survived almost intact for at least 5000 years, and still provide frameworks for the healthcare of millions of people today. I think we can greatly benefit from the great wisdom and insight of these systems, which provide a background and context for understanding how herbs are used, and for this reason I have included a chapter on Global Herbal Traditions.
Practical Guidance
The hedgerows, our gardens and the shelves of health food shops and pharmacies alike are lined with dazzling arrays of herbs which can be overwhelming to many who feel they lack the necessary knowledge to choose those appropriate to their needs with confidence. The media presentation of herbs has shifted from extolling the virtue of herbs and their “miraculous cures”,
declaring that everything natural had to be safe and free from the side effects of modern drugs, to the opposite view, which perhaps makes more exciting reading, alarming the public that herbs have potential side effects and may even be dangerous. Without sufficient real evidence it is easy for lay persons and professionals alike to be susceptible to such hype, but with more information it is possible to have a more realistic understanding. I hope that this book will serve those using herbs for themselves, their friends and family, or their patients, and who wish to learn more about the safe and effective use of herbal medicines in order to navigate themselves through questions regarding dosage, interactions and contraindications, so that they can use herbs with the confidence they deserve.
Plants and herbs profiled in Nicholas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (1652) are still in use today.
Global Herbal Traditions
Today’s herbalists draw on a variety of healing traditions, from shamanic ritual to remedies proven by scientific trials. Many of the world’s traditional systems of healing share a common thesis: that everything in the universe, including plants and human beings, is composed of energy and matter and manifested as five elements, and that keeping them in balance is the key to ensuring health and wellbeing. This is the basis of the humoral system of the ancient Greek physicians, as well as Indian Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine and Islamic Unani Tibb. Herbs play a central role in all these systems, preventing and treating a wide range of health problems in mind and body.
The use of herbs as medicines on physical, as well as subtler, levels is common to all cultures, and has been for as far back as we know. We can trace the link between human life and healing herbs to the Neanderthal era. In 1963, archeologists opened the grave of a man in a cave in Iraq, who had been placed there 60,000 years ago. He had been buried with many herbs, including horsetail, hollyhock, St Barnaby’s thistle, yarrow, grape hyacinth and ephedra. The herbs appeared to have been chosen for their symbolic and healing virtues, for amongst them were diuretics, emetics, astringents, stimulants, and pain relievers.
Ancient and Modern Medicine
With the vast network of communication that has developed in recent decades has come a wealth of information and wisdom concerning healing. This has engendered a considerable amount of integration of herbal traditions so that herbalists today can draw on the knowledge of a number of medicinal systems and philosophies, both ancient and modern, and can access herbs from most corners of the world.
Some therapeutic traditions, such as Chinese, Ayurvedic, Unani and Tibetan medicine, are based on systems of healing that have remained almost intact through thousands of years and still form the primary healthcare system for a significant proportion of the population in those countries today. Many students and practitioners of Western herbal medicine study these traditions, and incorporate their ancient wisdom and practices into their own diagnostic methods and treatments.
Other age-old systems of herbal healing, particularly in the Western world, have largely been broken and replaced by modern drugs and allopathy (conventional medicine). The current popularity of herbal medicine has inspired a re-evaluation of our global medical roots, with their rich source of effective medicines that certainly have their place in modern medical practice. Herbs such as garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, echinacea and St John’s wort have proved themselves to the world, becoming household names in the process, and many are recommended by some doctors.
In recent decades, the scientific world has identified specific constituents of herbs, as well as their properties and interactions. Modern studies into their efficacy using double-blind, clinically controlled trials have proven that herbs can be effective medicines, vindicating the ancient use of such plants that goes back thousands of years.
Traditional Chinese herbal treatment has been shown to be effective in treating eczema.
Shamanic Healing
The earliest known herbalists of every culture were shamans – important men or women whose instincts were raised to a highly intuitive level through years of training to develop their inner eye. This deeper perception enabled them to communicate directly with the plant and spirit world, and to visit other realities through their own spirit allies.
Origins
Shamanistic practices are said to predate all organised religions, dating back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. Many shamanic traditions, including European, Tibetan, Mongolian, Korean, Japanese, and Native American from both North and South America, originally came from Siberia and metamorphosed as they traveled to other parts of the world. African slaves took their shamanic traditions to America, where they merged divination and other rituals with Christian practices to produce, for example, Haitian voodoo (vodou), Cuban santería, and Brazilian candomblé Elsewhere, shamanism became absorbed into religion, clearly shown in, for example, Tibetan Buddhism. In some cultures, the early shamans were known as priest physicians. They were also sorcerers, magicians, diviners; intermediaries between the mortal and the spirit worlds.
Contemporary Shamanism
Today, shamanism is still alive and well especially in Siberia. It exists in a variety of different forms, mainly among indigenous peoples in rural areas, often as the main form of treatment available. It is also found in cities and shantytowns, particularly
in Africa, Central America and South America, where it is an important part of the culture and used alongside, or as an alternative to, any available modern medicine. Belief in witchcraft and sorcery, known as brujeria in South America, is still prevalent in many shamanic societies. Some cultures, including several from Africa, distinguish shamans who cure from sorcerers who harm, while others believe that all shamans have the power to both cure and kill. Shamanism is also still practiced in South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Inuit and Eskimo cultures, Papua New Guinea, Australia and Tibet.
The Shaman’s Journey
In some cultures the shaman’s powers are believed to be inherited, while in others a shaman follows a “calling”, sometimes from their dreams, and endures rigorous training. Initiation occurs often through a transformational experience, which could be a serious illness, or being struck by lightning. In North America, Native Americans may seek communion with the spirit world through a “vision quest”, while an aspiring shaman in South America might apprentice themselves to a respected shaman.
Shamans enter altered states of consciousness, often ecstatic trance states, journeying to the beat of a drum or rattle, or using singing, music, sweat lodges, vision quests, or fasting to communicate with other realms of reality and the entities that guide them (a teacher, a spirit guide from the animal or plant world or a totem), asking for wisdom and guidance. In this way they gain their knowledge and power. The shaman’s journey is intended to help the patient or community to rediscover their connection to nature and spirit. In the Ecuadorian and Peruvian rainforests, shamans are known as curanderos. Some base their healing work on the use of ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant that can induce divine revelation and healing, mental and emotional as well as physical. Visiting an Ayahuasquero has become popular among Western spiritual seekers who can now go on tours into the jungle for just this purpose.
Other Native American shamans alter their consciousness through the use of mind altering plants such as psychedelic mushrooms, cannabis, San Pedro cactus, peyote, datura, fly agaric and salvia divinorum. In so doing, shamans can put themselves at risk. They therefore use rituals to protect themselves from enemies and rivals in the spirit and human world. Many of the plants they use are poisonous in large doses, and not being able to return from out of body experiences can be fatal. These plants are best used under the guidance of an authentic shaman.
Illness in shamanism is generally attributed to spiritual causes. It could be the bad will of another towards the patient, the work of evil spirits, witchcraft or divine intervention, and both spiritual and physical methods are used to heal, depending on what is recommended in the spirit world. In the healing rituals the shaman will “enter the body” of the patient to confront and banish the
spirit responsible. Incense and aromatic plants are often burnt as tools of transformation to help transport the minds of the participants to another dimension – the origins of modern aromatherapy. Spells, incantations, amulets and ritual dances are used to dispel or placate the spirits thought to be responsible for the patient’s ill health.
Shamanism Today
There has been a surge of interest in shamanic culture in the past few years, and many contemporary therapists are incorporating some of the traditional practices into their work. Some are attracted to healing practices from the East or Native American traditions, while others access the roots of European shamanism, with its mystical beliefs and practices that were suppressed by the Christian church.
In their healing work, a shaman can bring about transformation of the energy and experience of the patient. Loss of vital energy from stress, trauma, illness, or accidents can cause what is known as “soul loss” and this is remedied by “soul retrieval” where the energy and part
A Tongan shaman in Zambia sits among his remedies, which include gourds and animal horns.
of the patient’s life that has been traumatised is returned and healed. Loss of power, caused by stress, pressure, abusive relationships, lack of love and support for example, leading to feelings of low self esteem, can be remedied through the shaman’s connection to their patient’s power animal; they can re-empower the patient through
enhancing their own relationship to their power animal and enable them to make changes in their lives. Plant spirit medicine, in which the shaman calls on the healing spirit of a plant to help the patient, often forms part of the healing. Plant spirits can be summoned by songs. Totem items like rocks with special powers are also used.
Peyote is used by Native American shamans to free their minds from everyday consciousness.
Humoral Medicine
Around the time of the development of the Ancient Greek empire, the transition from hunter-gatherer to nomadic tribes, and then into farming communities, meant the development of trade and agriculture. At this time huge advances in the development of medicine were taking place.
As densely populated centres of trade developed, they incubated epidemics of diseases including malaria, tuberculosis, measles, digestive and chest infections, caused by the insanitary living conditions. These presented challenges to shamans with their ritualistic approaches to healing. Shamanic practice and control gave way to complex philosophical systems of medical theory and practice arising from the increase in trade and travel, and the exchange of ideas between cultures of Egypt, Syria, Persia, China and India.
The Father of Medicine
The increasingly sophisticated and educated clientele of the physicians expected good results and a rationale behind their prescriptions. This was the beginning of rational medicine, and theories were developed to explain patterns of illness. Physicians studied studied anatomy, physiology and surgery at the great medical school of Alexandria in Egypt. One of the greatest legacies of this period of learning was the development of holistic medicine, largely inspired by the great 5th century BC philosopher and physician Hippocrates, who observed that the body was subject to natural laws and that susceptibility to illness depended on a person’s constitution, hereditary tendencies, and
the influence of environmental factors, including diet, water, hygiene, climate and society.
Hippocrates has been called “the father of medicine” as he laid down many of the principles of medicine and his work formed the basis for medical theory and practice that has been developed until the present day. He emphasised the value of ethical medicine, working for the benefit of the sick and not the physician’s pocket alone and this is incorporated in the Hippocratic oath still used in modern medical schools today. He taught close observation of patients through the senses, touch, smell, taste and sound and encouraged keeping written case histories and basing treatment on results. He promoted addressing the whole person, not suppression of the symptoms, and enhancing the ability of the body to heal itself through herbs, fresh air, exercise, bathing and diet. He is recorded as using around 400 herbs.
The Five Elements
Hippocrates’ humoral system of medicine paralleled other great traditional systems with five element theory that existed at the time in India and China. He saw that all matter could be explained by the five basic elements, ether, air, fire,
Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician and philosopher, is widely regarded as the father of medicine.
water and earth, and the individuality of people explained by the four humours arising from these elements, blood, phlegm, choler (yellow bile) and melancholy. The proportions of these humours in each person would determine their personality and body type, and their susceptibility to particular kinds of imbalance and illness. Hippocrates thus perceived that illness was not a punishment of the Gods, as believed by his forefathers, but arose from imbalances of the elements that composed everything in nature.
The element earth corresponded to the melancholic humour or temperament, black bile and the season of autumn. It had a cold and dry nature, giving rise to symptoms such as constipation, arthritis, depression or anxiety. Warming herbs such as ginger and senna would be used to clear
black bile and restore balance. Water corresponded to phlegm and a phlegmatic temperament. Phlegm had a cold and damp nature, epitomised by the season of winter, and gave rise to illnesses such as catarrh, respiratory infections, weight gain and fluid retention. Warming and drying herbs such as thyme, hyssop and ginger were used to clear cold and damp symptoms, and thereby restore the balance of the humours. Fire corresponded to choler, or yellow bile, related to summer. A choleric type would be hot tempered and prone to liver and digestive problems. Cooling and moistening herbs such as dandelion, violets and lettuce would help to balance the excess heat and dryness of the choleric temperament. Air corresponded to blood and the sanguine temperament, epitomised by spring. A sanguine type would be easy going and good humoured, but prone to excesses and
Thyme is a warming herb and was therefore used to clear cold and damp symptoms and restore the balance of the humours in the body.
over-indulgence, giving rise to problems such as gout and diarrhoea. Cool dry herbs such as burdock or figwort were used to balance the humours.
Great Greek Herbals
Another famous Greek physician was Theophrastus (372-286 BC), a friend and pupil of Aristotle, who inherited Aristotle’s garden and library and wrote the first important herbal, Enquiry into Plants, which has survived until today. He listed 500 healing plants, and the properties of oils and spices, basing much of his work on Aristotle’s botanical writings that expanded much of Hippocrates’ work. Another great source of herbal knowledge derives from the Alexandrian school, which enabled Greek medicine to flourish – it drew on Greek herbal knowledge as well as Egyptian, Sumerian and Assyrian healing traditions, and included knowledge brought back from campaigns in Asia. The strong traditions
developed here survived into medieval Europe through the writers and scholars of the Arab world.
Galen (131-200 AD), another notable Greek physician, studied at the Alexandrian school and later became renowned as surgeon to the gladiators in Rome, and personal physician to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD). In his herbal De Simplicibus he expanded on Hippocrates’ philosophy and classification of herbs into the four humours. His works became the standard medical text of Rome and later of the Arab physicians and medieval monks. His theories are still clearly to be found in Unani Tibb medicine today (pages 20-23).
Pedanius Dioscorides was a Greek physician serving with the Roman army during the reign of Emperor Nero, which allowed him to travel extensively in Asia Minor. Around 60 AD he set himself the enormous task of collating all the current knowledge on medicinal plants and
Taraxacum officinale, or dandelion, was believed to balance the excess heat and dryness of the choleric temperament.
healing substances in one work, De Materia Medica. It included discussion of the components of perfumes and their medicinal properties, and the aromatic herbs used for these included balm, basil, coriander, fennel, garlic, hyssop, marjoram, mint, myrtle, rosemary and violet. His famous herbal provided the major source of herbal knowledge for all the herbals that followed for the next 1500 years and has been copied and quoted to the present day.
Continuing Legacy
Under the Romans the Catholic papacy grew more powerful, and the early Christians, feeling that the church, rather than physicians, should be responsible for health of mind and soul, started to repress the use of many “pagan” herbs. In 529 AD Pope Gregory the Great ruled that learning that was not in accordance with the political ambitions of the papacy should be forbidden. Thus, during
Steiner’s theory of temperaments divides personalities into four types, and explains how each type relates to the others, and the world.
the Dark Ages (around 200-800 AD) knowledge of herbs and the use of the great herbals was pushed underground and scientific research and writing in Europe came to a halt.
However, the highly sophisticated Arab culture of the time maintained and developed the healing legacy of the Greeks, merging it with their ancient folk medicine and surviving Egyptian traditions. By 900 AD, all Greek herbal and botanical texts thathadsurvivedweretranslatedintoArabicinthe culturalcentresof Cairo,DamascusandBaghdad. When Arab armies invaded North Africa and Spain they took with them their knowledge of healing plants and medicine. In Spain, particularly in Cordoba, schools of medicine were established that kept alive the Greek and Arabic medical traditions in the medieval period, spreading the teachings throughout Europe. Indeed, as late as the 18th century, the standard textbook in use in medieval schools across Europe, Avicenna’s Canon Medicinae or The Canon of Medicine, was a fusion of ancient Greek, Arabic and Indian systems of medicine and herbal healing
The knowledge of humoral medicine preserved bytheArabicschoolscanbeseeninsomeoftoday’s practice of herbal medicine. Rudolf Steiner, for example, derived many of his ideas of anthroposophical medicine from Graeco-Arabic thought. His four temperaments are related to the dominance of one or more of the four levels of self. Choleric with the ego (which Steiner associates with warmth and “fire”), sanguine with the astral body, phlegmatic with the etheric body, and melancholic with the physical body The personality types described by Hans Eysenck (basically extrovert and introvert) are also divided into four different types resembling the influence of the humours. Introverted types tend to be melancholic and phlegmatic, while extroverts tend to be choleric and sanguine.
Unani Tibb
Between the 9th and 13th centuries, Graeco-Roman medicine from Hippocrates and Galen was assimilated by the Arabs, and an Arabic tradition of medicine, known as Unani Tibb, developed. The word Unani (meaning “Ionian”) reflects the strong Greek influence to this tradition, while Tibb means the knowledge of the states of the human body in health and disease.
A succession of renowned Arab physicians including Albucasis, Razis and Ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna) were particularly responsible for the development of medicine at this time, adding their own inventions and discoveries to the sum of herbal and botanical knowledge. Avicenna (980-1037 AD) brought together all that was available on the nature of disease, plant medicines, aromatics and medical theories, including the teachings of Sushruta and Charaka from the Ayurvedic tradition, in his Canon Medicinae. It was Avicenna who developed the process of distillation originated in the Alexandrian school around the 3rd century. He invented the apparatus and method of alembic distillation to extract essential oils from aromatic plants – a great landmark in the history of aromatherapy. Fragrant oils were particularly used for their purifying and restorative properties at this time and were thought to reduce the impact of destructive emotions such as grief and fear on the health of the body.
Practice in India and Beyond
When the Mongols invaded Persia and Central Asia, many scholars and physicians of Unani fled to India. Once established in India, Unani Tibb then suffered setbacks under British rule, although it still flourished unofficially. In the ensuing struggle against British colonialism a friend of Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ajmal Khan, founded the Unani Tibb and Ayurvedic College in Delhi in 1916, a landmark in its survival. Today Unani is practiced in Iran, Pakistan, China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and other parts of the Middle East. In India there are now many Unani medical colleges where, after a five and half year course, graduates are awarded a BUMS (Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery) degree and can practice as government approved doctors. There are about 10 Unani medical colleges awarding postgraduate degrees. There are also schools of Unani in Australia and the US. The American Institute of Unani Medicine was founded in 1986.
The Seven Components
According to Unani, the human body is composed of seven components called Umoor e Tabaiyah, which are responsible for maintenance of health. Changes to any of these can predispose to imbalance and disease, and each need to be taken in to consideration in diagnosis and assessment of the correct treatment. These are:
• Arkan (Elements)
• Mizaj (Temperament)
• Akhlaat (Humours)
• Aaza (Organs)
• Arwah (Vital forces or Neuro)
• Quwa (Faculties)
• Afaal (Functions)
The balance of one’s constitution can be disrupted by emotional, psychological, social, environmental or spiritual factors, or by diet. Environmental and lifestyle factors that are vital to good health are divided into five categories, and any imbalance of these can predispose to disturbance of the humours and lead to ill health. They are:
• Fresh air
• Food and drink
• Movement and rest
• Sleep
• Emotions
The Four Humours
The four elements, known as Anasir-e-Arba (hava, pani, mitti, and dhup), are earth, water, fire and air. In varying combinations these four elements constitute four bodily humours (akhlaat):
• Blood (dam)
• Phlegm (kafa)
• Bile (safra)
• Black bile (souda)
According to Unani theory, the humours develop in the liver from digested nutrients, and are carried around the body in the blood. Each person’s unique balance of these substances determines his temperament, mizaj or individual metabolic constitution; a predominance of blood
Alembic distillation was perfected by Arab physicians to extract oil from plants.
gives a sanguine temperament; a predominance of phlegm makes one phlegmatic; yellow bile, bilious or choleric; and black bile, melancholic. As long as these humours are in balance, the human system is healthy; it is imbalance which leads to ill health and disease.
Each individual has their own innate healing mechanisms, akin to ojas in Ayurveda and known in Unani as the tabiyat-e-muddabare badan, which is considered the best physician, and it is this that maintains the equilibrium of the four humours or akhlat so that we can be in good health and the happy state of mind that is our birthright.
Disciplines and Diagnoses
There are eight branches of Unani medicine resembling those in the Ayurvedic system:
• Internal medicine (moalijat)
• Gynaecology including obstetrics and paediatrics
• Diseases of the head and neck
• Toxicology
• Psychiatry
• Rejuvenation therapy including geriatrics
• Sexology
• Regimental therapy
• Dietotherapy
• Hydrotherapy
The diagnostic skills of practitioners of Unani, known as hakims, include observation, pulse taking, questioning, palpation and urine analysis. Pulse diagnosis requires the hakim to be in a clear state of spiritual awareness to enable him to analyse the subtle qualities of the pulse. Practices including breathing and voice exercises and visualisations to help to calm and clear the mind. In the initial consultation, the Tibb practitioner will take a detailed case history from the patient
and make observations of their skin, tongue, eyes, hands and nails. They will also take their pulse, as a considerable amount of information about the patient’s state of health can be gleaned from this in just minutes.
Unani classifies health in three different stages: health, disease and neutral. Neutral exists between health and disease when symptoms have not yet manifested. Disease occurs when the functions associated with the vital, natural and psychic forces of the body are obstructed or unbalanced due to some form of deviation.
Symptoms of illness are seen in a positive light, as an opportunity to cleanse and balance us on physical, emotional, mental, as well as spiritual levels. Pain, for example, is a message that something is wrong, the underlying causes of which need to be addressed so that our health can be better in the future. A “healing crisis” is simply tabiyat, or the homoeostatic mechanisms of the body attempting to eliminate toxins through vomiting, diarrhoea, fevers, sweating, and increased urination in order to re-establish equilibrium of the humours, health and well being.
The Tibb practitioner will always take the pulse of their patient.
Treatment
Unani healers follow strict ethical codes of conduct and practice, which are based on Islam. These include earning the respect of their patients, proper cleansing routines, moderation in food and drink, and spiritual purification techniques. As in Ayurvedic and Tibetan medicine, both prevention and treatment of health problems are based on each person’s body type, personality and mizaj, or individual metabolic constitution.
Treatment is aimed at rebalancing the patient physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It is based largely on lifestyle advice, including advocating bathing, fresh air, fresh food and codes of conduct to promote and maintain health. Hakims also prescribe herbs, precious metals and stones (gold, silver, gems and pearls), detoxification and dietary regimes, minerals, and aromatherapy. Oils or attars are extracted from herbs and given singly or in combinations, according to the needs of the patient, to affect body, mind and emotions. Some of the herbs, such as saffron, fennel, caraway, haritaki (Terminalia chebula), bibhitaki (Terminalia bellerica), and amalaki (Emblica officinalis) are also used in Ayurvedic and Tibetan traditions. Other herbs used in the Unani tradition include guggulu (Commiphora mukul), ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), coriander, bacopa (Bacopa monnieri), violet, liquorice, long pepper, and guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia). Massage or cold/heat suction cups might be used, as well as puncturing certain reflex points to release a few drops of blood in acute disease.
Food and Taste
Foods and herbs are categorised according to their own miza, or balance of the humours and elements, and appropriate treatments are prescribed to suit the imbalances of an individual’s constitution, which obviously vary from one person to another. Substances in foods and herbs are also classified
according to whether their therapeutic effects are mild (which can be used by anyone), moderate, or powerful (includes potential poisons for use only by hakims). Qualities of hot, cold, wet and dry are also attributed to physical conditions, foods and herbs.
In common with Chinese, Tibetan and Ayurvedic systems, Unani Tibb emphasises the importance of tastes as well as the manner in which food is prepared to adjust the imbalances which contribute to ill health. There are five tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, pungent, and sour, each of which affects the humours in its own way. In addition appropriate warming and cooling spices and herbs are added to cooking to help address underlying imbalances of the humours. Even the aromas from preparing, cooking, eating and digesting food contribute to the healing benefit and are taken into consideration in planning meals. Cooking and eating are seen as rituals which, if containing the right foods and herbs and practiced with a pure heart, good intent and clear focus, can help transform the energy of the meal and contribute to the healing process.
HERBS COMMONLY USED IN UNANI TIBB
Althea officinalis (see page 104)
Cassia senna (see page 138)
Cinnamomum zeylanicum (see page 142)
Coriandrum sativum (see page 148)
Elettaria cardamomum (see page 159)
Emblica officinalis (see page 161)
Foeniculum vulgare (see page 169)
Glycyrrhiza glabra (see page 178)
Mentha piperita (see page 201)
Piper longum (see page 216)
Viola odorata (see page 266)
Zingiber officinale (see page 274)
Tibetan Medicine
Tibetan Medicine is a highly evolved system of medicine that developed as a synthesis of medical knowledge and wisdom from Indian Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Greek medicine and Unani Tibb. Its origins can be traced back to at least the 7th century. It also incorporated Buddhist philosophy that was introduced to Tibet over two thousand years ago. Being deeply rooted in Buddhist philosophy, its perspective is that physical illness is inextricably bound with mental, social and spiritual illness.
Tibetan medicine has developed into a sophisticated and complex medical science with intricate theories about causes of disease, diagnosis and therapeutics, and has existed in its present form for over one thousand years. Sangye Menla, the “medicine Buddha”, is respected as the source of medical teachings and the inspiration for correct practice as a physician. The essential aspects of this teaching are summarised in the rGyud-Bzhi (pronunciation giu shi) or the Four Medical Tantras, the twelfth century text in four volumes, which is still taught today. The Tibetan system of healing, known as sowa rigpa, or the knowledge of healing, is still practiced in Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Ladakh, Siberia, China, Russia and Mongolia, as well as in parts of Europe and North America.
The Three Humours
Like other Asian systems of medicine, Tibetan medicine is based on the principle that everything in the cosmos, including human life, is composed
of five elements: earth, water, fire, wind and space. These are symbols for matter, cohesion, energy, movement and space that affect the mind as well as the body. The universe and the body are a result of the interplay of these five elements, which manifest themselves in the form of energy into three humours or energies:
1. Wind (rLung, pronunciation loong) is vital for movement, responsible for breathing, circulation of bodily fluids including blood and lymph, mental activity like thinking, speech, energy, and transmission of nerve impulses. There are five subcategories of rLung each with different locations and functions: Srog-’Dzin rLung, Gyen-rGyu rLung, Khyab-Byed rLung, Me-mNyam rLung, Thur-Sel rLung.
2. Bile (mKhrispa, pronunciation Tripa) is heating energy, which regulates digestion and metabolism, liver function and maintains body temperature and the discriminating mind. The five subcategories of mKhris-pa are Ju-Byed
3. Phlegm (Badkan, pronunciation Beken) governs the structure of the physical body such as bone and muscle as well as mucous membranes. It is responsible for some aspects of digestion, the maintenance of our physical structure, joint health and mental stability. The five subcategories of Bad-kan are: rTen-Byed Bad-kan, Myag-byed Bad-kan, Myong-Byed Bad-kan, Tsim-Byed Bad-kan, Byor-Byed Bad-kan.
Health depends on the equilibrium of the humours, so disease is caused when they are
out of balance. The three energies are present in different proportions in each person and determine their constitution including their body shape, temperament, and susceptibility to specific health problems.
Balancing the Humours
Another important concept in Tibetan medicine is the dichotomy between warm and cold. Diseases, as well as remedies and food, are distinguished as warm and cold or as warming and cooling respectively. mKhrispa is warm and badkan is cool. rLung is a special case and is basically neutral, it can aggravate “warm” and “cold”, much like wind is able to boost a fire as well as cool down the body. A rLung imbalance is at the root of most diseases.
The understanding of physiology is governed by the dynamic interaction of three humours (rLung, mKhrispa and badkan). Health is a dynamic equilibrium and is therefore relative because all three humours must be in a corresponding balance for each individual. The aim of Tibetan therapy is thus to restore this equilibrium in the patient.
Diagnosis and Treatment
As in Ayurveda and Unani medicine, the balance of the humours determines the constitution of each individual. This balance is influenced by our external and internal environment, including diet, lifestyle, relationships and emotional, mental and spiritual influences. The dynamic equilibrium of the humours also changes with the climate, the seasons and the ageing process. In Buddhist thought, all physical and mental suffering, and hence all illness, is caused by the three mental poisons: attachment, anger and ignorance, as well as the effect of past karma.
Thangka painting on fabric, depicting the medicine Buddha Sangye Menia.
Tibetan medicine stresses the importance of compassion in healing.
Diagnosis of imbalance and disease involves observation and an in-depth interview of the patient, taking the pulse, and examining urine and faeces as well as the tongue. Once the imbalance of the humours has been ascertained, treatment specific to the individual is recommended, designed to re-establish mental harmony and equilibrium of the three humours. This can include advice on lifestyle, exercise, conduct and behaviour, healing of the mind through mantras and meditation, yoga, moxibustion (burning of the herb mugwort), the use of herbs, vegetable and mineral supplements, massage and inhalations with specially formulated herbal oils, bathing, cupping and occasionally acupuncture. Foods and herbs all consist of their own individual balance of the five elements and three humours. Foods and diets appropriate to each patient and the balance of the humours are recommended, and this includes quantities of food, and when they are eaten.
Herbal Medicines
If dietary and behavioural changes are not sufficient to remedy the condition, herbs are prescribed. The Tibetan Materia Medica consists largely of medicinal herbs, as well as minerals and, to a lesser extent, animal substances. As in Ayurveda, medicinal substances are grouped according to their properties, their taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent), their potency (heavy/light, oily/rough, hot/cold and blunt/sharp) and the effect of these on the humours. Tibetan medicines are frequently composed of 20 or more different ingredients, and include one major group of ingredients and two minor ones aimed at supporting the major group
and preventing unwanted side effects. Herbs that are used in the Tibetan tradition include amalaki, roses, calendula, nettles, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, garlic, rhodiola, gentian and liquorice. Medicines are considered to be offerings to the Medicine Buddha and other medicine deities and are prepared with spiritual rituals by traditional methods of drying, grinding, mixing and pressing the plants to make pills, powders or decoctions.
The annexation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the 1950s had a great impact on Tibetan medicine. During the Cultural Revolution in particular, practitioners suffered great persecution, and clinical practice, study and research largely censored by the repressive Chinese. Nevertheless, Tibetan medicine has survived almost intact. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama lives in exile in Dharamasala and has been a powerful influence in Tibetan
HERBS COMMONLY USED IN TIBETAN MEDICINE
Allium sativum (see page 102)
Calendula officinalis (see page 132)
Cinnamomum zeylanicum (see page 142)
Coriandrum sativum (see page 148)
Elettaria cardamomum (see page 159)
Emblica officinalis (see page 161)
Gentiana lutea (see page 175)
Glycyrrhiza glabra (see page 178)
Myristica fragrans (see page 204)
Rhodiola rosea (see page 224)
Rosa spp (see page 225)
Urtica dioica (see page 257)
Zingiber officinale (see page 274)
medicine. In 1961 he founded the Men-TseeKhang (the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute – TMAI) which has a college of Tibetan medicine, a clinic, a pharmacy that produces and dispenses medicines, and carries out research and publication of medical and astrological texts. There are other schools and clinics in Tibet, India and Nepal and recently huge pharmaceutical factories have started making traditional Tibetan formulas in China.
Many herbs used in Tibetan medicine, for example garlic and ginger, are already part of our daily lives.
Ayurvedic Medicine
The name Ayurveda derives from two Sanskrit words: ayur meaning life, and veda meaning knowledge or science. Ayurveda is the knowledge or science of life. More than just a system of medicine, Ayurveda is a way of life encompassing science, religion and philosophy that enhances well being, increases longevity and ultimately enables self realisation. It aims to bring about a union of physical, emotional and spiritual health or swasthya, which is a prerequisite for attaining moksha or liberation.
The lotus flower, with its far reaching roots, symbolises the Ayurvedic approach to deep individual healing.
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VERTREK.
Die maaltyd wat voorafgaan aan die vertrek van iemand uit ’n famielie, kom in treurigheid ooreen met die eerste waaraan die famielie weer deelneem nadat een van hul lede vir altyd uit hul kring verdwyn het. Al is almal nog daar, die vreugde is al verban. Elkeen probeer tevergeefs om vrolik te wees, en die aandoenlike, dog vrugtelose pogings maak die smart nog dieper.
So is dit ook stil en gedruk in die eetkamer van Maupas, hoewel die sonnetjie inskyn deur die rame. Marcel sal teen die aand vertrek met die rytuig; hy moet van die stasie weggaan met die trein van sesuur. As die gesprek val, dan neem niemand weer die draad daarvan op nie—skaars lewensvatbaar flikker dit nou en dan op uit ’n onbeduidende woordjie om dan weer uit te gaan. Marie, die ou huismeid, het dié kos klaargemaak wat die kaptein graag eet; maar sy skud haar hoof en is self ook bedroef as sy die skottels terugdra kombuis-toe nog amper heeltemal vol.
Na die maaltyd loop Marcel met sy suster buiten-toe, hy sê aan haar:
—Kom, ek wil ons ou wandelpaadjies nog eenkeer sien.
Teen die hang op gaan hul deur die wingerd tot by die kastaiingbome, waar hulle dikwels as kinders in die koelte gespeel het. In die sluimerende water van die meertjie in die verte spieël die berge hulle af—teen die aand is die tinte altyd die mooiste.
—Laat ons nou na die waterval gaan, sê Marcel.
Voor hy weggaan, wil hy nog ’n keer vars indrukke kry van al die afgeleë en besielende plekkies wat bygedra het tot die vorming van sy vurige gemoed.
Marcel bly staan as hy die waterval deur die bome sien—’n lang dun sluier, vallende van ’n hoogte van honderd voet, ’n opslag van silwere stof verspreiende in die sonlig. Hy glimlag van plesier.
—Ons moenie verder na bo gaan nie, sê hy Ons moet nog na die bos en na die kloof gaan.
Die gronde het vroeër almal by Maupas behoor, maar deur die ongeluk met hul fortuin, het hul dit moet afgee. Maar al is die plekke verkoop, die bekoring daarvan bly nog dieselfde. Die skoonhede van die aarde is nie te koop of te verkoop nie: hulle behoor aan dié wat ’n ope oog het om te begryp en te geniet.
Die kloof van Foresan is diep; die kante is dig begroei met struike. Op sommige plekke kan ’n mens langs die skuinste afgaan tot aan die kristal-heldere stroompie in die diepte. Daar, onder ’n lang blaredak, is die tuis van die vreedsame, diepe, allesvergetende stilte.
Marcel loop voor Hy kyk om en sien hoe sy suster haar rok vasgeraak het in die klimop-plante langs die voetpad. Voordat hy haar gaan help, sê hy:
—Hoe mooi lyk jy, hier tussen die bome!
—Kom help my liewer in plaas van onsin te praat.
Maar hy maak nie gou nie. Die lewendige natuurlike bevalligheid van die jongmeisie stem so volkome ooreen met die maagdelike en frisse omgewing. Hy kan nie help om met bewondering te kyk na die lenigheid van haar beweginge nie terwyl sy besig is om haar aan die plante te ontworstel—die wandeling het ’n gloed van gesondheid in haar wange gedryf. Voor hy nog by haar is, spring sy al vooruit, los van die bossies wat haar vasgehou het:
—Jy is te laat!
—Bravo, Paula! Jy sal nie bang wees vir die bosse van die verre lande nie. Miskien kom jy nog eendag daar. Jy is van dieselfde ras as jou broers.
—Ek! sê sy, en die vlam in haar oë verdof, ek sal op Maupas bly tot ek sterf.
Deur die bome klim hulle weer teen die skuinste uit. Die windjie speel deur die bome, wat al half beroof is van hul somertooi. Die blare wat hul nog dra, is van ’n rooiagtige goudkleur, net soos die dik tapyt daarvan wat alreeds op die grond lê. Dit word aand en die hele
bos is gedompel in ’n violetkleurige newel wat daar iets geheimsinnigs en plegtigs aan meedeel. In die vensters van ’n plaashuis vlam die rooi gloed van die ondergaande son.
By ’n omgekapte boom bly Marcel en Paula staan, en gaan daarop sit.
Onder hulle sien hul die voetpad wat hul uitgeklim het; die dooie blare wat daarop lê, neem ’n rose en pers kleur aan. ’n Skotskar met hooi, deur twee osse getrek, kom verby hulle. Teen die gloed van die westerlug vertoon die asem, uit die osse se neusgate, hom elke keer soos ’n ligtende wolkie. Dis of die aarde vreedsaam en met lang asemhaling die groot winterslaap ingaan, treurig en beroof van al sy groen weilande en blaretooi.
Marcel neem die hand van sy suster. Net soos sy sy handdruk voel, bars sy in trane uit. Alvorens die uur van afskeidneem het hul al te veel gevoelens in hul harte opgehoop. Hy dink aan die swakheid van Alida, en Paula dink aan hom. ’n Oomblik bly hy stil, uit eerbied vir Paula haar trane, hy laat die vrye loop daaraan, dan sê hy:
—Luister, jy moet ma mooi oppas: ek sal miskien baie lank wegbly.
Sy het ’n onrustige voorgevoel van ’n nuwe ongeluk wat dreig. Meteens oorwen sy haarself.
—Jy kom mos aanstaande jaar terug van Algiers, nie waar nie?
Hy sien haar liefderyk aan:
—Ek weet nie, sus; ek behoor by die kommando wat dwarsdeur die Saharawoestyn gaan.
—O, sê sy, dit het ek wel gedink. Jy verg te veel van ons moed, Marcel. Ma is al baie oud en gedaan. Die swaar druk vir haar net so erg as vir ons. Jy moet haar spaar.
Hy kyk na die vreedsame veld en kry ’n gedagte dat dit wel soet moet wees om hier te bly by sy ma en sy suster. Maar dis ’n verbygaande begeerte, en hy hervat:
—Maar jy, ons goeie sus, is mos hier Ek moet baie vèr gaan . en ek moet vergeet. Moet nog nie vir ma vertel nie. Ek vertel vir jou alles. Ma sal maar alte gou ook hoor.
Sy vra eenvoudig:
—Sal die kommando lank wegbly?
—Met sekerheid kan niks gesê word nie—waarskynlik agtien maande.
Sy probeer haar smart te verberg, maar sy beswyk:
—Jy weet nie hoe lief ma en ek jou het nie. Ag! as dit tog maar moontlik was om daardie een wat nie gedurf het nie, aan jou te bind; sy sou jou ten minste hier gehou het, wat ons nie kan doen nie.
Hy omarm haar en kus haar. Seker van haar vriendskap en manhaftigheid, wag hy tot die bui van wanhoop verby is. Maar Alida haar naam noem hy nie. Nooit sou die naam weer oor sy lippe kom nie. Hy verwaardig hom slegs om geringagtend van sy liefde te sê:
—Moenie daarvan praat nie, sus; die huwelik sou my minder gemaak het. Ongelukkige vroue wat die lewenswerk van hul mans belemmer! Die liefde is in ons dae nie meer sterk genoeg om skeiding en smarte te kan verdra, of ’n offer te bring nie. Dis jammer, want my pad lê deur die groot wêreld.
—Jy vergeet, sê sy, dat daar vroue is soos dié van ons broer Etienne.
Hy gee haar ’n kus en sê:
—Ja, en ek vergeet een soos jy is ook. Jy sal die hart sterk maak van hom wat jou sal liefhê.
Sy trek haar fier op:
—Nie vir my nie!
Haar woorde dui ’n inwendige terugstoting aan, wat hy begryp.
Te jonk het die teenhede van die lewe haar oorval op ’n leeftyd as alles nog sonnig en vrolik wil wees; en sedert die dood van haar vader het sy te veel lae ondank en kwetsende neerbuiendheid
ondervind—sy en haar moeder Haar kragte is daardeur gehard, maar ’n verbitterde trots het sy ook daarvan oorgehou. Sy verwag niks meer van die toekoms nie; sy probeer om haarself te vergeet, soos almal haar vergeet. Met haar liefde as suster en dogter, stel sy haar tevrede. Fier in haar waardigheid en minagting van die wêreld, wil sy die verborge roeringe wat in haar vurige hart ontkiem, nie deurgrond nie. Hy weet dat sy net soos hy is, in haarself geslote en nie graag haarself beklaende nie. Hy probeer haar af te lei en sy groot liefde vir haar lê in sy woorde:
—Moenie ongerus wees nie, Paula: ééndag sal jy gelukkig word. Dis ek wat jou dit vertel. Jy verdien dit.
Maar sy lei die gesprek op iets anders en vra hom omtrent sy kommando.
—Ek het baie moeilikheid gehad, Paula, antwoord hy. Eindelik het ek dit so ver gekry dat Jan Berlier ook meegaan.
—So, so, meneer Berlier!
—Ja, en hy kom terug as kaptein, met ’n ereteken op sy bors. Bowenal sal hy gestaald terugkom. Die woestyn, soos die see, maak hart en hoof ruimer. ’n Mens dink daar nie aan „flirtery” nie. Maar hoekom noem jy hom nou meneer en nie Jan soos eers nie?
Sy antwoord nie. Hy kyk haar aan en staan op:
—Laat ons binne-toe gaan, dit word al donker; ons moet ma nie meer alleen laat nie.
Mevrou Kibert sit voor die deur en wag al vir hulle. Sy brei ’n paar kouse vir die dogtertjie van die boervrou. Elke keer kyk sy die laning op, deur haar bril; sy sien Marcel en Paula aankom, en glimlag. Terwyl hul die treedjies opstap, haal sy gou haar bril af om haar oë af te vee.
—Eindelik terug, sê sy.
Marcel kus haar.
—Ons het te lank versuim in die bos. Maar hier is ons nou. Dit word alte koud vir ma om nog buite te bly.
Hulle gaan binne-toe, Marcel maak die deur toe. Hy gaan naas sy ma sit op ’n laer stoeltjie, leun teen haar aan en neem haar hand. Hy kyk na die arme gekerfde werkhand, met vormlose vingers, sonder ringe, sprekende van ’n werksame lewe en van ouderdom. Mevrou Kibert weet waar Marcel aan dink, en sy sê:
—Ja, ek het my trouring moet afhaal: dit het my seergemaak. ’n Tydlank het ek die ring van jou vader gedra, maar die goud was al so dun geslyt, dat dit eendag gebreek het, soos glas.
En sy voeg daarby asof sy net vir haarself praat:
—Dis maar niks. Wat ons voel, is tog maar alles—en dit kan selfs die dood nie breek nie.
Marcel soek met sy oë aan die muur ’n ou portret van sy ma wat hy goed ken. Sy staan daarop as jongmeisie, slank en skoon, met iets teruggetrokkens in haar houding, en met ’n blom in haar mooi, lang vingers.
Hy buig hom oor die verlepte ou hand, wat hy vashou, en druk daar ’n soen op. Hy dink daaraan hoe sy moeg en terneergeslae teruggeloop het van Chenée, na die ongunstige antwoord wat sy daar gekry het, en hy onthou ook die onvriendelike woorde wat hy haar gesê het:
—Ma, ek is somtyds haastig gewees met my woorde.
Sy trek haar hand saggies uit syne en streel sy wang. En op haar gelaat lê die helder dog droewige glimlag wat spreek van ’n siel deur lye gereinig.
—Stil! sê sy, bewoë. Ek verbied jou om jouself te berispe. Elke dag dank ek die Heer vir die kinders wat Hy my gegee het.
Hulle is nou spraakloos. Die stilte omsluit hulle. Snel gaan die minute verby, onverbiddelik. Hul is alreeds geskei voor die afskeid nog daar is. Maar alles opsy skuiwende, geniet hul, tot martelens toe, hul bedreigde samesyn. Daar is niks wat siele so aanmekaarbind as gemeenskaplike sorge en smarte nie. Wanneer sal hul ooit weer so bymekaar wees in die goudkleurige najaar, die geel blare deur die venster sigbaar in hul sterwende skoonheid? Van
die drie wat hier bymekaar is, het twee ’n voorgevoel dat so ’n samesyn nooit weer sou kom nie. Mevrou Kibert probeer tevergeefs om, soos altyd, sterk te bly by die afskeid. Marcel se hart is swaar: hy dink aan die eensame woestyne van Afrika van waar menigeen nie weer terugkom nie.
Die bediende kom sê dat die rytuig ingespan is. Dis al nag as hul vertrek.
Hulle ry deur Chamberie. Onder ’n veranda in die straat sien Paula mevrou Delourens en haar dogter staan. Sy sien hoe Alida doodsbleek word; maar as sy haar broer aankyk, dan is sy verbaas om te sien dat hy heeltemal onverskillig is, hoewel sy voel dat hy hulle ook gesien het.
By die stasie moet hul nog wag en bly bymekaar in die wagkamer. Mevrou Kibert haar oë is net op haar seun, wat gaan vertrek. Sy sê meteens:
—Van al die kinders lyk jy die meeste na jou pa.
—Sy geloof in die lewe het ek nie, sê Marcel. Hom het ek nooit ontmoedig gesien nie. By teenspoed het hy laggend sy hoof opgehef en gesê „So lank ’n mens nog nie dood is nie, is daar niks verlore.”
—Vandat hy dood is, sê die ou vrou, is my krag weg.
—Hy leef nog in U, ma. Vir ons is hy nog hier.
—In julle ook. Vir my wag hy.
Marcel kus haar.
—Nee, ma, ons het ma nog nodig.
’n Spoorwegbeampte kom aan die deur en waarsku hulle. Hul gaan op die stoep en sien die twee lanterns van die naderende trein soos oë wat hul aanstaar. Hul moet afskeid neem van mekaar. Nog nooit het mevrou Kibert so bedroef gevoel nie. Sy omarm haar Marcel, en hy glimlag om haar moed te gee. Haar laaste woord is ’n seën-wens, ’n gebed:
—Dat God jou beskerm!
Krom gebuie na die aarde, wat haar aantrek, so bereik sy, aan Paula haar arm, die rytuig.
—Moenie ongerus wees nie, ma, sê Paula. Net ’n jaar bly hy weg. Die vorige keer het U beter uitgehou.
Maar sy het ’n geheime voorgevoel wat haar martel. Swyend ry hul terug na Maupas. Daar word die ou vrou nog ’n keer oorval deur ’n vreeslike aandoening van droefheid:
—O, ek is bang ek sal hom nooit weer sien nie.
Paula verbaas haar oor die wonderlike voorgevoel van gevaar, wat haar ma alleen het.
—Ek weet nie waarom ek so voel nie, sê die ou vrou. Ek voel net so bedroef, as die jaar toe jou pa gesterwe het.
Met grote selfbeheersing bedwing sy haar, om haar dogter ontwil. Sy neem die hand van haar laaste kind, met die sagte bevalligheid wat sy nog uit haar jong jare oorhou; en terwyl sy dink aan al die skeidinge, sommige vir lange tyd en sommige vir altyd, sê sy:
—My liewe kind, jy is nou die laaste blommetjie wat oorbly in my verlate tuin.
DEEL II.
I.
DERTIEN AAN TAFEL.
—Ons sou miskien aan tafel kan gaan.
Meneer Delourens waag om dit te sê, met ’n bangerige stem.
Onder die geselskap van sy vrou haar oog maak hy dadelik dat hy wegkom van die vuur, waar ’n paar groot eikeblokke vlam, en hy neem die vlug na ’n alleenstaande stoel ver daarvandaan. Laggend toon mevrou Delourens dan aan haar gaste ’n almanak wat in groot syfers die datum dra: 25 Februarie.
Mejuffrou Sonjon, verdroog en verouderd, kom nader—’n mens sou sê dat die verbygaande tyd haar besonder veel belang inboesem. Maar ál waar sy aan dink, is om ’n plekkie te verower naby die vuur. Sy kom net van Rome terug: in die winter skenk sy net haar aandag aan die gestigte van die suide—waar dit warm is. Om op laasgenoemde liefdadigheidstog te kan gaan, het sy skielik die vee moet laat verkoop van ’n boer wat agterstallig was met sy betaling. Sy maak haar groot voete warm en kyk na die almanak.
—Maar dis 25 Februarie 1898! sê sy, en dis vandag 25 Februarie 1901—dis net drie jaar te laat.
Al die vrouens, behalwe Alida, kom kyk of dit so is; die almanak gaan van hand tot hand. Mevrou Orlandi hou Pistache op haar hart gedruk—’n verouderde Pistache, vet, half kaal en lelik, met half geslote ooglede oor sy tranerige oë; verwonderd en trots dat sy dit agtergekom het, roep sy uit:
—A, ek verstaan! U het die datum van u dogter haar huwelik op die almanak bewaar. Dis vandag net drie jaar gelede. Hoe vindingryk en teer is tog ’n moeder haar liefde! Dis nou net soos ek is, mevrou, ek onthou ook altyd sulke dae.
—Ek wil gerus wed, ma, sê Isabella—wat nou mevrou Landeau geword het—dat U al vergeet het wanneer ek getroud is.
—Nee maar dié Isabella! sy het tog altyd iets snaaks om te sê.
En, met alles behalwe fyne behendigheid, buig sy haar hoof oor haar mopshondjie, met ’n vloed van soet woordjies.
Mevrou Delourens—siende dat almal aan gesels is—werp ’n haastige blik op die klok, wat al kwart-voor-agt aanwys, en die afspraak was dat hul om sewenuur sou aansit.
—My gravinnetjie, het jy jou broer Clement nie vanmiddag gesien nie? vra sy aan haar dogter, wat afgetrokke en stil is.
—Nee, ma, antwoord Alida, fluisterend.
Vier of vyf maande na Marcel se vertrek was Alida—wanhopend, oorwonne, onderdanig, volgens die wyse raad van haar moeder— getroud met graaf Marthenay, wat toe luitenant was in Chamberie. Vir die derde maal word nou die verjaardag van haar „geluk” gevier. Haar bevallige jongmeisie-slapheid en slankheid was oorgegaan in neergedruktheid en maerheid. Haar helder oë, haar neergetrokke mondhoeke, getuig van ’n ingewortelde en diepe droefgeestigheid. Die suiwerheid van haar gelaatstrekke was nie verlore gegaan nie, maar deurdat haar wangbene meer uitsteek, haar neus vermaer en haar wange kleurloos is, het die vroeëre uitdrukking van jeug en onskuld plaas gemaak vir ’n aansien van pynlike gelatenheid en swakheid. Op haar gelaat dra sy die tekens van ’n marteling wat elke oomblik van haar lewe aan haar kou, en wat so seker deur haar man nooit opgemerk word nie. Om daarvan oortuig te wees, is dit genoeg om ’n oog op hom te slaan, soos hy daar agter haar staan, met sy opgeblase en puisterige gesig, die gedagtelose gesig van ’n vroegtydig afgeleefde man.
Mevrou Delourens kyk by die venster uit. Sy laat die gordyn weer val en kyk dan weer haar gaste besluiteloos aan. Almal is so aan gesels met mekaar, dat sy dink nog maar ’n bietjie te kan wag. En nie sonder bitterheid nie dink sy by haarself:
—Mevrou Orlandi, wat anders altyd te laat kom, is nou tog betyds.
Om die vuur luister al die vrouens na mejuffrou Sonjon, wat met geloofsywer vertel van die katakombe van Rome. Mevrou Orlandi— openlik haar gebrek aan morele gevoel openbarende, en onhandig om vergelykinge te maak—sê dat sy meer hou van die bouvalle van
Pompeii, omdat daar sulke vermaaklike muurskilderye te sien is.
Mevrou Lavernay en mevrou Ambelard—ouerige en plegstatige verskyninge—het niks te sê nie. Mevrou Delourens hou hulle aan om hulle adel, en praat altyd van hulle afkoms. Hulle is goed om die geselskap vol te maak, en meet die lewe af na die aantal uitnodiginge wat hul kry.
Hul mans is tafelskuimers van die eerste water en het iets ouderwets-deftigs oor hulle, vol vooroordele waarmee hulle maklik deur die wêreld rol, totaal onbekend met die moderne gedagtewêreld, maar met ’n ingewortelde plesierlus. Baron Ambelard, hoogrooi van kleur, hou van lekker eet; en graaf Lavernay, jonk ondanks sy wit kop, skenk al sy neerbuiende aandag aan die mooi dames. Hy kom net van die hofsittinge, en vertel aan die klompie mense om hom heen wat hy as jurielid ondervind het.
—Julle veroordeel ’n dief, maar ’n kindermoordenaarster laat jul vry, sê meneer Delourens; en, bang dat hy te veel gesê het, voeg die mannetjie daar haastig aan toe:
—Let wel, ek kritiseer u glad nie.
Meneer Lavernay lag sonder terughouding.
—My waarde heer, as ons kindermoordenaarsters sou veroordeel, dan sou ons geen diensmeisies meer kan kry nie.
—Hoe bespotlik ook, sê meneer Ambelard, om kinders te hê! ’n Mens se beurs moet eers geraadpleeg word. Wat sê u daar nou van, meneer Landeau?
Meneer Landeau beken dat hy daar geen gedagte oor het nie. Hy is miljoenêr en voer ’n verskriklike stryd in die besigheidswêreld om ’n reën van goud oor sy vrou te kan uitstort, om sodoende—soos ’n allesoortreffende tjek—haar trotse hart te win. Sy speel met hom soos ’n dieretemmer maak met ’n brullende leeu wat dreig en sy rug hoog maak. Onder voorwendsel van kinderpligte teenoor haar onverskillige ma, het sy geweier om met hom mee te gaan na Lyon; tweemaal in die week kom hy haar ’n besoek bring in die pragtige „villa” wat hy vir haar laat bou het. Sy lei hom in in die geselskappe, sy skouers is krom gebuig onder die las van sy besigheid, en sy
gelaatskleur is soos lood. En daar, in die geselskappe—onderworpe en brommend—bewonder hy die bedwelmende skoonheid van Isabella, in haar element; en sonder vreugde hoor hy haar harde lag aan—die lag wat haar glansende wit tande laat sien.
Meneer Ambelard hou sy hand voor sy mond, want hy gaap van ongeduld, hy verlang na die eetmaal.
Marthenay het totnogtoe stilgebly, maar word ook nou oproerig:
—Dis Clement se skuld: hy het seker ’n ongeluk gehad met sy motorkar.
Die wysers van die horlosie staan al op agtuur.
—Hy het nog nooit ’n ongeluk gehad nie, sê meneer Delourens— wat net na rustigheid verlang.
Marthenay is nou sonder medelye:
—Hy self nog nooit nie—daar is hy te slim voor. Maar daar is genoeg wat onder sy kar verongeluk: hoenders, honde—en die ander dag ’n ou vrou ook.
—Ons het daarvoor betaal, en selfs baie duur, sê mevrou Delourens verontwaardig.
—Nou loop sy kreupel vir u geld.
Ruiterlik, en sonder bybedoeling, lê meneer Marthenay uit hoe die arm mense baiemaal die motorkarre oor hulle laat ry om geldelike vergoeding te kry.
Almal is eenstemmig in die verdediging van die modesport, behalwe juffrou Sonjon, wat teen vooruitgang is. Daar kom die jong Clement eindelik binne, uitgelate vrolik.
Sy ma beknor hom. Hy maak geen ekskuus nie en sê laggend:
—Ons het so lank versuim in die dorp. Die motorkar het uit orde geraak—’n mooi grap!
Meneer Ambelard is kwaad, hy sê by homself: ’n Mooi grap! Ons so laat wag vir die ete! Die jonkman praat gemaklik!
Die here gee elk ’n arm aan ’n dame, en almal gaan na die eetsaal. Clement gaan ander klere aantrek. Hy kom terug as die soepborde al weggeneem is. Maar met gebiedende stem vra hy sy soep, en maak glad nie gou om klaar te kom en die ander gaste nie te laat wag nie.
Die verskillende geregte volg mekaar op. Almal is weer opgewek en gesels deurmekaar. Clement het sy aptyt bevredig en brand nou van verlange om ook deel te neem aan die gesprekke en die aandag op hom te trek. Hy wag tot daar ’n oomblik stilte is, en basuin dan uit oor die tafel:
—Ek het groot nuus te vertel.
—Wat, wat? word van al kante gevra.
Maar hy het daar plesier in om hulle te laat wag, en strooi allerhande praatjies tussenin.
—Maar praat dan, sê verskillende ongeduldige stemme tegelyk.
Alle oë is op hom gerig. Maar hy wil nog ’n oomblik geniet van die opmerksaamheid wat sy nuus hom skenk. Terwyl daar nog ’n lekkerbek-gereg voorgedien word, sê mevrou Delourens nou uit naam van almal:
—Vertel nou!
Clement kan hul nou nie meer om die tuin lei nie. Hy het hul ten minste lank genoeg laat wag om sy lompheid te kan insien, maar op sy gewone growwe manier sê hy meteens:
—Nou wel! kommandant Kibert is dood.
Dit lyk byna ongepas om sulke nuus somaarso in die middel van ’n fees te gooi wat amper volmaak weelderig is—met die gloed, die ligte, die pragtige blomme en skitterende juwele, die ryke damesrokke en die opgewektheid van die geselskap. Dit moet wel ’n ongemanierde, sportbedorwe vent soos Clement wees om soiets te waag.
As die dood genoem word, dan beteken dit dat die plesier van die aand nie sal stand hou nie. En om plesier te hê op die oomblik moet
’n mens hom kan voorstel dat die plesier sal aanhou. Was dit nou nog maar iemand onbekend, wat somaar verbygegaan kon word! Maar dit is onmoontlik in die geval van kommandant Kibert: die bekendheid met sy famielie, sy persoon, en sy skitterende loopbaan hou die geselskap onvermydelik besig. Almal voel half verslae.
Isabella Orlandi is die eerste wat praat, en dis om twyfel uit te druk:
—Watter praatjies! Verlede jaar kon ’n mens soiets nog geglo het. Hy was toe met sy kommando in Afrika; deur onbekende en gevaarvolle landstreke. Maar hy is fris en gesond, en daarby beroemd teruggekom. Hy is nog maar twee-en-dertig jaar, en nou al kommandant, en met hoë eretekens. Hy is ons groot man. Julle is almal jaloers op hom—daarom wil jul op hom sit.
Sy praat op ’n opgewonde manier, skuif heen en weer op haar stoel, en kyk van links na regs, asof sy wil hê dat almal moet sien hoe kwaad sy is. Toe Clement sy nuus vertel het, het haar oog vanself op Alida geval, en sy het gesien hoe die bloed weggegaan het uit Alida haar gelaat, asof haar lewe haar verlaat; en die dodelike bleekheid gaat ook oor op haar hande, wat senueeagtig begin te bewe, en so wit is as die tafellaken.
Clement maak ’n beweging met sy hand:
—Wat jul nou ook al sê, hy is dood. Ek bewonder hom, net soos julle, maar dood is hy.
—O, vaderland! Hou jou mond! sê mevrou Orlandi—sy het meteens met skrik gesien dat hul dertien aan tafel is, en tel nog ’n keer, hopende dat sy fout gemaak het.
Plegtig klink die woord van mejuffrou Sonjon:
—Dat die Heer sy siel bewaar!
—Het hy in ons land gesterwe? vra meneer Delourens. Want die kommando is al sedert ’n paar maande terug.
Meneer Ambelard is onverskillig en eet ’n happie op wat hy vir die laaste op sy bord bewaar het. En meneer Laverney se oë rus op die mooi hals van Isabella.
Meneer Marthenay sit sy glas neer, wat hy elke keer leeg drink, en sê:
—Skaars drie weke gelede het ek kommandant Kibert nog gesien. Hy het toe by die stasie uit die trein gestap. Ek het na hom toe gegaan, maar dit het gelyk of hy my nie meer ken nie.
—Waarskynlik het hy daar niks omgegee om jou te ontmoet nie, sê Isabella. Sy kan dit nie laat nie: sy het ’n afkeer van Alida haar man; hy hou aan om hom aan te stel as haar vryer, sodra hy nie meer sy tyd verknoei met kaartspeel nie. Om die afjak nog duideliker te maak, sê sy daarby:
—Ongetwyfeld voel hy minagting vir offisiere wat hul betrekking bedank het.
Marthenay het naamlik die jaar vantevore uit die militêre diens getree.
—Ja, so is dit, sê Clement, wreed. En nou die aandag weer op hom gevestig is, gee hy ’n paar besonderhede:
—Swaer Marthenay is reg: Kommandant Kibert het verlede maand teruggekom. Hy was twee dae by sy moeder en suster op Maupas en het toe weer vertrek na die troepemag in die binnelande van Algiers.
—Ja, sê Marthenay, maar vandag het generaal Servières by die plek verbygetrek, en hy rapporteer dat die vyand die troepemag daar aangeval het.
Clement sit sy oogglasie op en kyk die gewese luitenant brutaal aan:
—Ou swaer, is dit jy? Stel jy waarlik eenkeer belang in militêre sake?
Ná nog ’n kyk na die doodsbleek gelaat van Alida, sê Isabella:
—Maar ek verstaan daar niks van nie. Hy was skaars terug van die tog oor die Saharawoestyn, wat ag-en-twintig maande of twee jare geduur het. Ná sulke togte kry hul gewoonlik baie lank verlof. Hy
het dus glad geen rus geneem nie en het dadelik weer na die front gegaan? Want as hy dood is, dan het hy in ’n geveg geval.
Alida neem ’n bos blomme in haar hand en ruik daaraan, om haar bleek gesig vir die gaste te verberg.
Isabella laat eindelik die vry teuel aan die onrus wat haar nou kwel:
—En kaptein Berlier? Hy is ook terug van die Sahara. Hy het by dieselfde kommando behoor as kommandant Kibert. Is hy ook weer met hom meegegaan na die binnelande?
Het Clement Delourens aan die geluid van haar stem gehoor dat sy ongerus is? Alte dikwels al het hy moet krimp onder die spot van die jong vrou, wat niemand spaar nie; nou het hy daar ook plesier in om haar ’n bietjie te martel:
—Maar seker, Jan Berlier moet ook daar gewees het.
—Vertel nou eindelik, wat weet jy seker? sê Isabella, kwaadaardig.
Mevrou Delourens dring ook daarop aan. En Clement vertel:
—By die stadsraad van die dorp is berig gekom van die Minister dat kommandant Kibert deur die vyand doodgeskiet is by die verdediging van ’n stelling in die Sahara. Hulle het die veldwagter gestuur om die berig aan sy moeder te bring.
Daar staan ’n groot kandelaber voor mevrou Delourens, sodat sy haar dogter nie kan sien nie. Die blomme wat Alida in haar hand hou is swaar van die trane wat sy daarin ween. By die algemene opwinding merk niemand dat sy ween nie.
—Hoe het hy gesterwe? vra een van die dames.
—Aan die hoof van sy manskappe, nadat die oorwinning al behaal was—’n koeël in sy voorhoof.
Seer korrek merk meneer Delourens op:
—Dis ’n groot verlies vir die land.
—Ja, sê sy vrou—meteens welsprekend geword—ons eer sy roemryke nagedagtenis. Ons sal ’n lykdiens laat hou, so pragtig, dat
die hele dorp verbaas sal staan. Dit kom ons stand toe om aan ons vaderland te laat sien hoe ware verdienste erken en vergoed moet word in ’n tyd dat middelmatigheid so algemeen is in ons nasie, wat deur afguns tot die laagste trap gesink het.
Dieselfde dag het sy die laasuitgesproke sinsnede net so gelees in die koerant.
Alida is verbaas om sulke woorde te hoor uit die mond van haar moeder en dink in haar droefheid:
—Waarom het sy dan geweier om my aan hom te gee?
En Isabella is stil, want sy dink aan Jan Berlier, omtrent wie nog niks seker is nie.
Mevrou Orlandi vergeet Pistache ’n oomblik en vra:
—Weet sy moeder al?
Almal kyk Clement aan. Met ’n losse onverskilligheid, meer eie aan sy leeftyd as aan sy ongevoeligheid, sê hy:
—Sy moet nou alles weet. Op pad na huis het ek haar verbygekom; in haar ou rytuig was sy op weg na Maupas.
Iedereen voel iets eienaardigs by dié woorde.
Dit lyk of die koue buitelug meteens binnegekom het in die gerieflike warm eetsaal. Instinkmatig staan meneer Ambelard op om te kyk of die rame wel goed sluit. ’n Rilling loop deur die geselskap— hul sien in hul verbeelding almal dieselfde. En wat hulle sien, is ’n ou vrou wat al baie harde slae in haar lewe ontvang het, en nou oor die sneeu huis-toe gaan, kalm en vreedsaam, om in haar huis die doodstyding te ontmoet.
Die onvermydelike ramp, wat nou op die oomblik miskien in hul nabyheid plaasvind, is nog meer treffend as die verre en roemryke dood van kommandant Kibert in Afrika.
’n Snik van Alida breek die doodse stilte. Met ’n met skrik bevange stem fluister Isabella:
—Nou weet sy dit.
Die moeders in die geselskap steek hul trane nie weg nie. En mevrou Delourens—gou om handelend op te tree—maak planne van roubeklag en trooswoorde aan die arme vrou, wat sy gou wil besoek.
Clement siet al die lykstasiegesigte; en hy—wat hou van vrolikheid aan tafel—siet nou dat hy ’n fout gemaak het.
Sy vader—aan ou vorme geheg—hef onwillekeurig die swaarmoedige stemming ’n bietjie op deur ’n bysaak te bespreek waaroor hy nog nie uitgepraat is nie:
—In plaas van ’n veldwagter te stuur om die nuus oor te stuur, behoort die burgemeester self na Maupas te gaan.
Meneer Ambelard trek party van die opening in die gesprek om die protes te laat hoor wat hy al lank met moeite terughou:
—Al ons hartseer sal niks aan die saak verander nie, en ons mag gerus oor iets minder treurigs gesels. Voor ek na die komedie gaan, vra ek ook altyd eers of alles gelukkig afloop. In geselskap, soos in die komedie, moet die treurigheid uitgegooi word.
Graaf Lavernay dink ook so, en so word die dooie begrawe. Die sjampanje fonkel weer in die glase soos lewende goud. Die blomme geur oor die tafel, bedek met mandjies gesuikerde vrugte. Die juwele van die vrouens skitter in die lamplig. Nie sonder genoeë voel hulle hulle weer terug in hul ou element van deftigheid en welgedaanheid wat versteur was deur ontydige slegte nuus.
Maar Alida en Isabella voel apart in hul droefheid.
Die geselskap drink op die gesondheid van die jong egpaar Marthenay—want daarvoor is hierdie fees. En dan gaan almal na die voorkamer.
Alida kon nie meer hou nie en sy vlug na die kamer van haar ma. In die donker gee sy haarself oor aan haar smart. Sy het nog die moed gehad om te glimlag toe ’n feesdronk op haar ingestel was en toe gepraat was van haar „benydenswaardige geluk.” Haar geluk! Tevergeefs soek sy dit, nou of in haar verlede; en hoe sou sy dit in die toekoms ooit vind? Met die helderheid van gedagte, wat altyd
kom by die sware skokke van die noodlot, wat ons dreig te verpletter, deurleef sy weer, in haar wanhoop, haar laaste lewensjare. Snel en helder kom die beelde verby, die een na die ander—al haar droewige dae . . . .
Sy wou nie die vrou word van Marthenay nie, maar sy was magteloos teenoor haarself. In haar trourok het sy die kerk ingestap aan die arm van die man wat sy nie self gekies het nie. En daarna?
Kan sy terugsien op één uurtjie van geluk, die innige, suiwere geluk wat haar kinderlike verbeelding haar voorgetower het? Die eerste tyd van haar huwelikslewe het in ’n soort van weldadige verdowing op haar neergekom, soos ’n mistigheid wat oor ’n verwoeste veld kom en die narigheid daarvan bedek. Sy het vergeet om haar hart te ondervra. Haar man het die opgeruimdheid gehad van iemand wat besig is: hy was nou en dan te perd uit, hy het sy militêre pligte trou vervul, hy het vriende ontvang, hy het partytjies gegee. Sy het haar laat aflei deur die nuwe huishoudelike sorge en deur die menigvuldige pligte van wêreldse vertoning. By gebrek aan die man van haar drome het sy ’n man wat groots is op sy fortuin, en sy gesig, ja, om die waarheid te sê, sonder fyn maniere, sonder veel verstand of geestigheid, maar met ’n gesonde maag en ’n verwaandheid waardeur hy in onophoudelike selfbewondering verkeer. Toe haar dogtertjie gebore geword het, het sy gedink eindelik haar geluk te vind en die werklikheid te vergeet.
Van dié tyd, wat nog draaglik vir haar was, gaan haar gedagtes nou oor op haar teenswoordige toestand, wat altyd duur. Deur onverwagte gebeurtenisse moes die troepemag van Chamberie verplaas word na die Verre Oos. Tevergeefs het Marthenay probeer om ’n plaasvervanger te kry: hy moes saamgaan, of sy betrekking opgee. Die vooruitsig van sy vertrek het mevrou Delourens so rasend ongelukkig gemaak, dat sy jong vrou—onversigtig genoeg— hom herinner het aan sy belofte voor hul huwelik. En as ereman het die luitenant hom opgeoffer: binne vier-en-twintig uur het hy sy bedanking ingestuur. Met welbehae het hy hom oorgegee aan sy begeerte na ’n lui-lekker lewe, wat nie moontlik was tydens sy militêre loopbaan nie. En van dié oomblik af het hy laer en laer geval. Hy het begin met al die drinkplekke te besoek. Hy het ’n
