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Catalogue Number: 26/237
This painting shows the story of bush medicine found in Central Australia, it grows in hilly areas and rocky outcrops. The coloured dots represent the changing seasons and the seeds that blow in the wind to grow again somewhere else.
After a big rain, Aboriginal women go out into the bush. They know exactly where to look—places taught to them by their mothers and grandmothers. They gather the green leaves from the plants used for bush medicine. These leaves are crushed and sometimes boiled in water. This is the healing medicine used to help treat sore muscles, coughs, colds, and flu. Sometimes the leaves are rubbed directly onto the skin to ease pain.
Aboriginal people have been gathering bush medicine for thousands of years. The elders teach the younger ones where the bush medicine grows and how to prepare it.