The Practitioner’s Encyclopedia of

Flower Remedies: Definitive Guide to

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This comprehensive encyclopedia brings together flower essences gathered from

REMEDIES
FLOWER
The Practitioner’s Encyclopedia of
all corners of the globe, from Hawaii and the Himalayas to America and the
Australian Bush.
It explains what flower remedies are, how they work and how to choose the right
remedies for your clients’ needs. The properties of 33 families of flower essences and
the benefits of over 2,000 remedies, combinations, mists and creams are described.
The Practitioner’s Encyclopedia of

FLOWER
An easy-to-use ailment chart pinpoints remedies for a wide range of physical and
psychological conditions, from stress to hormonal imbalance and from allergies to
depression. Clare Harvey expertly guides readers with instructions for prescribing,
preparing and using flower remedies alongside illustrative patient case studies.

‘Clare Harvey has put a lifetime of study and personal experience into this wonderful

REMEDIES
book, which has arrived at a time when it is so needed. It’s a rare combination of
perfect research tool and a thing of beauty which will inspire any who wish to explore
subtle healing.’ CLARE G. HARVEY
– MARTIN SHAW, ACTOR AND LIFETIME PRESIDENT OF THE BRITISH
FLOWER AND VIBRATIONAL ESSENCES ASSOCIATION

‘Clare Harvey has written the definitive text for practitioners and students of flower
essences. A beautifully illustrated journey through the theory and application of THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE
flower remedies. Quite simply the most comprehensive and well-written book on TO ALL FLOWER ESSENCES,
the subject.’
– STEVE FLOOD, ALL ABOUT NATURAL MEDICINE THEIR MAKING AND USES

Clare G. Harvey is an internationally recognised authority on flower

essences. She has been a flower essence consultant since the 1990s, first
at The Hale Clinic, London, and now in her own clinic at 103–105 Harley
Street. A teacher and lecturer, Clare started the first international flower
essence school for practitioners, The International Federation
for Vibrational Medicine, in 1988 which runs introductory and
professional training courses. She is the founder of Floweressence
CGH, which is one of the major UK distributors of flower essences.
Clare is also on the London Nutricentre’s advisory board as their
flower essence expert.

73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
singing CLARE G. HARVEY
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
dragon with Andreas Korte
www.singingdragon.com
COVER DESIGN BY ROSAMUND WALKER
To my grandmother, who taught me the wonders of the remedies when I was young and
continues to whisper in my ear to encourage me to explore further!

To the late J. Krishnamurti and Dr David Bohm for their friendship and influence in
my life.

To all the flower girls and boys that have shared the journey with me when being taught
by the flowers and all those who have been captured by the passion that working with
flower essences brings.
DISCLAIMER

While the Author and the Publisher have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of informa-
tion included in this book, it is offered with no guarantees. If there are any errors or omissions
we will, if informed, make corrections to any future editions. Neither the Publisher nor Author
accept any responsibility for any ill effects resulting from the use or misuse of the information
contained in this book.
CONTENTS

Foreword by Richard Gerber, MD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Preface by Dr George Lewith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Introduction ����������. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Part I The Power of Flowers

Chapter One The History of Healing Flowers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter Two Energy Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter Three The Effects of Shock, Stress and Pollution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Part II Essences in Action

Chapter Four Learning to Choose and Prescribe Flower Essences. . . . . . . . 57
Chapter Five Useful Remedies to Start Your Repertoire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Chapter Six Treating Common and Complex Conditions:
Case Histories by Biological System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter Seven Using Flower Essences Effectively in Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Chapter Eight Research in Flower Essence Treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Chapter Nine The Evolution of Therapy with Essences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Andreas Korte

Part III Encyclopedia of Flower Essences

Introduction ����������. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
A. Africa and the Amazon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
B. Australia, Japan and Thailand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
C. New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
D. Europe ������������. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
E. India ����������������. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
F. USA, South America and Canada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
G. Shamanic Essences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
H. Essences for Babies and Children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
I. Essences for Pets and Animals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
J. Environmental and Sound Essences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
K. Crystal and Gem Essences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Conclusion: Medicine of the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

Appendix 1: Ailment Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480

Appendix 2: Useful Addresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Appendix 3: References and Further Reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
LIST OF PLATES

Dancing Orchid Queen: Crystal method, process of connection

with the aura of the flower to make Mother tincture in Thailand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Method of making mother tincture in the Netherlands
(courtesy of Bram and Miep Zaalbergis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Roses: Mother Essence in the process of creation
(courtesy of Jane Thrift; IFVM – Flower Essence School). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chamomile (FES, AK, Dv) (source: Dreamstime) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Artist’s impression of Orchid Deva (by Corrine Cyster) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Water crystals of chamomile essence (courtesy of Dr Masaru Emoto,
Messages from Water ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Pink Orchid (FO) (courtesy of Savio Joanes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Dutchman’s Pipe (SME) (courtesy of Sheila Hicks Balgobin). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chuchuhuasi (AmT) (by Mimi Buttacavoli). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Devil’s Trumpet (SME) (courtesy of Sheila Hicks Balgobin) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Una De Gato (AmT) (by Mimi Buttacavoli). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Bird of Paradise (Haii, AK) (source: Dreamstime). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Frangipani/Plumeria (FO, Haii) (courtesy of Cathie Welchman). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Blue Lotus (courtesy of Savio Joanes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Antiseptic Bush (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Banana (AK, FO). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Fringed Mantis Orchid (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Pincushion Hakea (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Scottish Primrose (F) (courtesy of Marion Leigh). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Menzies Banksia (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Princess Gum (FE Aus). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Geraldton Wax (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Kangaroo Paw (FE Aus) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Wild Garlic (AK) (courtesy of Regina Hornberger). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Sturt Desert Pea (FE Aus). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Waratah (FE Aus) (courtesy of Erik Pelham). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Bleeding Heart (AK) (courtesy of Regina Hornberger). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Red Torch Ginger (FO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Pink Water-Lily (FO) (courtesy of Cathie Welchman) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Dew on Roses (courtesy of Amida Harvey). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Dew on Tulip (courtesy of Amida Harvey). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Star of Bethlehem (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Illyarie (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Spider Orchid (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Pink Lotus (FO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Rainbow Parakette (source: Dreamstime). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
White Spider Lily (courtesy of Savio Joanes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Candle of Life (Aus L) (courtesy of Vasudeva Barnao) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Bridal Tree (NZ) (courtesy of Franchelle Ofsoské-Wybe). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Red Kali Mushroom (Tasmanian Wilderness Mushrooms) (courtesy of Tanmaya). . . . . . .13
White Archangel (WF) (courtesy of Paul Strode). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Tiger Swallowtail (Butterfly Essences) (courtesy of Erik Pelham). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Douglas Fir (GM) (courtesy of Simon and Sue Lilly). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Echinacea (PF, FES) (courtesy of Richard Katz and Patricia Kaminski ©
Flower Essence Society, used by permission, permission is required for re-use). . . . . . . .14
Purple Foxglove (BL) (courtesy of Christine and Arthur Bailey) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Purple Spotted Orchid (WF) (courtesy of Paul Strode). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Sturt Woundwort (WF) (courtesy of Paul Strode). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Red Poppy (BL) (courtesy of Bram and Miep Zaalbergis). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Faith and Courage (Peru) (courtesy of Star Riparetti). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Self-heal (AK) (courtesy of Regina Hornberger) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Nature Communion (Peru) (courtesy of Star Riparetti). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Lotus (FO, AK) (courtesy of Helmut Maier). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Snowdrop (BL) (courtesy of Christine and Arthur Bailey) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Lavender (FES, AK, PF, Hb) (courtesy of Deborah Vear) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Red Chestnut (GM) (courtesy of Julian Barnard) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Camellia (PaC) (courtesy of Amida Harvey) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Claret Cup, Hedgehog Cactus (DAl, GH) (courtesy of Cynthia Athina Kemp Scherer) . . . .19
Bird Cherry (GM) (courtesy of Simon and Sue Lilly). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Star Tulip (FES) (courtesy of Richard Katz and Patricia Kaminski ©
Flower Essence Society, used by permission, permission is required for re-use). . . . . . . .19
Heart Wings (DL) (courtesy of Shabd-Sangeet Khalsa). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Ash Male (GM) (courtesy of Simon and Sue Lilly) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Cairn’s Birdwing (Butterfly Essences) (courtesy of Erik Pelham) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
My Song Calls Me Home (DL) (courtesy of Shabd-Sangeet Khalsa) . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Yellow Archangel (WF) (courtesy of Erik Pelham). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Ancient Wisdom (Peru) (courtesy of Star Riparetti). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Bird of Paradise with Frog (source: Dreamstime). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Harmony of the Heart (DL) (courtesy of Shabd-Sangeet Khalsa). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Queen of the Night (AK, Dal) (courtesy of Cynthia Athina Kemp Scherer). . . . . . . . . .23
Mariposa Lily (FES, DAl) (courtesy of Richard Katz and Patricia Kaminski ©
Flower Essence Society, used by permission, permission is required for re-use). . . . . . . .23
Lily of the Valley (PaC) (courtesy of Sabina Pettitt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Star Jasmine (Haii) (courtesy of Cathie Welchman). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Blue Iris (courtesy of Savio Joanes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Cerato (B) (courtesy of Julian Barnard). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
California Poppy (FES) (courtesy of Richard Katz and Patricia Kaminski ©
Flower Essence Society, used by permission, permission is required for re-use). . . . . . . .24
Ohia Lehua (Haii) (courtesy of Cathie Welchman) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Apple Blossom (courtesy of Deborah Vear). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Easter Lily (PaC) (courtesy of Sabina Pettitt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Inocencia Coca (Peru) (courtesy of Star Riparetti) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Passion Flower (Haii) (courtesy of Savio Joanes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Tiger Lily (FES) (courtesy of Richard Katz and Patricia Kaminski ©
Flower Essence Society, used by permission, permission is required for re-use). . . . . . . .26
Geranium (Ask, PF) (courtesy of Deborah Vear). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Aurora Borealis in Alaska (courtesy of Lawrence Henry) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Energetic effects of Cherry Plum essences dropped onto a crystal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Effect of essences on the subtle anatomy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
EEG of the effect of dolphin essences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
A representation of the process of connecting with the energy of essences. . . . . . . . . .30
The Subtle Anatomy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
The result of the Water Crystal Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
FOREWORD

We are living during a unique period in hu- spirituality and intuition. We are literally be-
man history. Over the past 50 years, science ings of light and energy assembled in a way
has discovered many ways of looking at the that is fundamentally hidden from our limited
world and, in the process, has redefined the physical senses. The vibrational medicine per-
very nature of what it means to be human. spective ascribes to this light/energy link by
Revolutionary discoveries in medical science viewing humans as multidimensional beings
have given us an understanding of the way consisting of far more than a physical brain
in which the body works and how intricately and body. The new field of vibrational medi-
linked the body and mind truly are. But a cine is actually a fusion of science and spiritu-
new breed of spiritual scientists has begun to ality which has defined the energy networks
explore the links between the body, the mind linking the physical body and its energetic
and the spiritual nature of human beings. substrates to the more rarefied world of spirit.
Vibrational medicine is the evolving field of Vibrational medicine views the world from
healing research that focuses on these links. the perspective of vibration and energy with
Although the principles behind vibrational an eye towards how this understanding of our
medicine are quite ancient, the development energetic natures can lead to many new and
of modern technologies which can visualize wonderful forms of diagnosis and healing.
and quantify the energetic nature of the links Our physical bodies are controlled by
between body, mind and our spiritual anato- many biochemical cellular systems which are,
my are very new. in turn, finely tuned by subtle energy systems
The concept that human beings are mul- including the acupuncture meridian system
tidimensional energy systems is an idea that and the chakra system. While our physical
stems, in part, from the Einsteinian realization body is nurtured by physical nutrients and
that matter and energy are dual expressions oxygen, it is also fed by subtle environmen-
of the same universal substrate that makes up tal energies such as Qi and prana which we
all things. Quantum physicists have begun absorb through the meridian and chakra net-
to awaken to the concept that the subatomic works. These subtle energetic forms of nutri-
particles that make up the entire universe, in- tion, understood by the ancients of China
cluding people, are actually patterns of frozen and India, are just as important as food and
energy and light. Many other scientists have water to sustaining life. The subtle energy
begun to see the world in a similar light, hav- networks also connect the physical body to
ing been led there by science instead of pure another type of energy system – the etheric

15
 THE PRACTITIONER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FLOWER REMEDIES

body – which is a holographic energy tem- of emotional energies, that flower essences
plate that invisibly guides human growth and have a wide spectrum of applications.
development. Scientific evidence for the ex- Since Dr Bach’s pioneering work in the
istence of subtle energy systems is growing. first half of the 20th century, flower essence
Modern technology has begun to validate usage has undergone a veritable explosion of
ancient wisdom in a marriage of science and interest. Working groups that study the ef-
spirituality, the like of which has not been fects of local flower essences have sprung up
seen on this planet for thousands of years. all over the world, from England and North
It is only through a fuller appreciation of a America to the outback of Australia. The
multidimensional model of human function- merging of healing traditions has also begun
ing that subtle energy therapies, such as flow- to occur as practitioners have learned to ap-
er essences, can be truly understood. Modern ply principles of acupuncture to healing with
medicine has become rigid and locked into a flower essences by applying them to specific
mechanistic model of the body, and the mod- acupoints on the body. The wide variety of
el does not explain how subtle life energies flower essence applications in healing has
can affect cellular machinery. It is only when become an entire subspecialty within vibra-
one takes into account the larger picture of tional medicine.
human beings from a newly evolving multi- It is because of this renaissance of inter-
dimensional perspective that flower essences est in flower essences that The Practitioner’s
as a healing modality begin to make sense. Encyclopedia of Flower Remedies is of great im-
Flower essences do not work like drugs in portance. Clare G. Harvey has performed an
which molecular patterns often bind to spe- invaluable service by compiling the knowl-
cialized receptors throughout the cells of the edge and wisdom of healing with flowers
body. Instead they work by influencing the from around the world. It has been said that
subtle energy structures that feed life energy the answers to curing all of humanity’s ills
into the body/mind. Flower essences modify lie within nature. This book is an important
energy flow through the acupuncture merid- step towards revealing the incredible healing
ians, the chakras and the subtle bodies with wisdom within nature that we have only be-
the end result of affecting the very energetic gun to discover. After all, modern medicine
patterns that influence consciousness. does not have all the answers to healing the
The essences of flowers have been used afflictions of our techno-industrialized socie-
in healing for hundreds (and possibly thou- ty. Perhaps the real answers to curing modern
sands) of years. Dr Edward Bach was one of ailments exist within an exploration of our
the first modern pioneers of healing with ancient past in order to synthesize a healing
flower essences. Bach was a medical practi- science of the 21st century.
tioner as well as a psychic who experienced I encourage you to read this book and ex-
disturbing emotional patterns within himself periment with the healing and transforming
when he was near a particular flower. Bach life energy of flower essences. The study and
came to learn that taking an essence of the usage of flower essences and flower remedies
nearby flower would neutralize his psychical- will allow us to rediscover new ways of heal-
ly induced emotional disturbance. He discov- ing and remember our true inner spiritual na-
ered that the same flower essence would heal ture as evolving beings of light. Those who
similar emotional patterns in others. Bach was take this journey will be richly rewarded for
among the first vibrational healers of the 20th their efforts.
century to realize how healing the emotions
Richard Gerber, MD
would contribute to the healing of any physi-
Author of Vibrational Medicine:
cal illness, regardless of the cause. It is in this
New Choices for Healing Ourselves
regard, the energetic healing and repatterning

16
PREFACE

I am delighted to be asked to provide an up- The Encyclopedia represents a compilation

dated preface to the third edition of Clare of various flower remedies available through-
G. Harvey’s Encyclopedia of Flower Remedies. out the world, their indications and the clini-
She has diligently updated this comprehen- cal experiences that have been used to define
sive text and it provides an up-to-date, thor- their use and support their prescription.
ough, exceptionally well-researched resource It is my hope that over the coming years
for those practitioners who are interested in more people will use these powerful treat-
flower essences. ments and more detailed evaluation will be-
In spite of their long history, flower es- come available. At present our knowledge is
sences began to be used by homeopaths in largely empirical, based exclusively on the
the West in the 1920s. This was largely due clinical observation of individual patients.
to the excellent effective range of flower rem- I believe that it is possible to translate this
edies initially developed by Edward Bach in body of knowledge into approaches that will
the early part of this century. His painstaking allow its evaluation in more exacting scien-
research, based on a combination of intuition tific terms. From my own clinical experience
and detailed case observation, has resulted in I believe the flower essences offer a powerful
a now-rapidly expanding body of knowledge approach to the treatment of illness, particu-
which will allow the practitioner to treat both larly mental symptoms. If this could be fur-
physical and mental problems through the ther established in a more scientific context
unique approaches offered by flower essences. then we may begin to see a real revolution in
These remedies provide a whole new dimen- medical care.
sion for medicine – in particular homeopathic
Dr George Lewith, MA,
medicine. They allow for the treatment of
DM, FRCP, MRCGP
both mental and physical problems in a safe
The Centre for Complementary
and well-judged manner.
& Integrated Medicine, 2014

17
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A big thank-you to all those in the world of Essences); Star Riparetti and Roger Valencia
flower essences for their generosity of spirit (Peruvian Essences); Eric Pelham (Butterfly
and support throughout this venture. Essences); Colette Prideaux-Brune (Sound-
To dear Andreas who was happy to col- wave Essences); Eliana Harvey (our joint ven-
laborate with me and add his invaluable in- ture with Jaguar Is Calling Essences); Cathie
sight and unique contribution to create an Welchman (Hawaiian Essences); Angie Jackson
even more in-depth and inspirational book and Adam Rubinstein (Mediterranean Essenc-
for all who love and are passionate about the es), Sheila Hicks Balgobin (Spirit of Makasuti
healing power of flowers! Essences); Molly Sheehan for the Green Hope
I would particularly like to thank the fol- Farm section; and Ingrid Porter for her Ger-
lowing for their continued support: Andreas man/English translation.
Korte (Amazon, African, Cactus, Mushrooms, Thanks also to Dr Masaru Emoto (Mes-
Gems, etc.); Julian Barnard (Healing Herbs, sages from Water); Harry Oldfield and Erik
Bach); Shabd-Sangeet Khalsa (Dancing Pelham for their invaluable input; to Gregory
Light); Fred Rubenfeld (Pegasus); Tanmaya Valmis and Marion Bielby for their insight
(Himalayan Enhancers); Philippe Deroide and input on Bach; to Zhixing Wang (Qi-
(Deva); Steve Johnson (Alaskan); Patricia gong Master); Burgs (Meditation Teacher);
Kaminski and Richard Katz (Flower Essence Peter Tadd (Clairvoyant Adviser); Vladimir
Society); Franchelle Ofsoské-Wyber (First Raipolov (Russian Herbalist) for their words
Light Flower Essences of New Zealand); Su- of wisdom; Maura McClean for her invalu-
sie Morvan (Channel Island Flower Essences); able insights (Spiritual Advisor); Corrine
New Hope Farm (Bermuda, Desert Flower Cyster for her wonderful illustration of the
Essences); Vasudeva and Kadambii Barnao Orchid Flower Deva (Psychic Artist), Lisa
(Living Essences of Australia); Judy Griffin Clark and all at JKP Singing Dragon and Su-
(Petite Fleur); Sabina Pettitt (Pacific); Drs san Mears, my friend and agent, for their faith
Rupa and Atul Shah (Himalayan Aditi); Si- and encouragement.
mon Lilly and Sue Griffin (Green Man); Cyn- Special thanks to Dr Richard Gerber and
thia Athina Kemp Scherer (Desert Alchemy); Dr George Lewith for giving their valuable
Arthur Bailey (Bailey); Lila Devi (Spirit in time to write the Foreword and the Preface.
Nature/Masters); Mimi Buttacavoli (Amazo- I would also like to honour the Aboriginal
nian Shamanic Sacred Tree Essences); Marion Elders for keeping their flower essence tradi-
Leigh (Findhorn); Ellie Webb (Harebell); Paul tion alive and for being the grandfathers and
Strode (Wild Flower Essences); Vivien Wil- custodians of the art!
liamson and Jane Stevenson (Sun, Animal Finally, to Dr Edward Bach, for being the
Essences); the late Laurence Harry (Aurora father of the flower remedies, our inspiration,
Borealis photo); Peter Aziz (Habundia Es- and for rekindling awareness of the healing
sences); Bram and Miep Zaalbergís (Bloesem powers of flowers.

18
INTRODUCTION

I am delighted to present the third revised including essences for women (see Flowers of
and greatly expanded edition of my encyclo- the Orient page 190, Sound Wave Essences
pedia, this time titled The Practitioner’s Encyclo- page 454, and Jaguar Calling Essences page
pedia of Flower Remedies. It is not only targeted 439).
for the first time towards the budding prac- I cannot imagine a life without flowers and
titioner but also reflects the exciting growth, the magic and joy that they bring. Have you
development and usage of flower remedies ever felt happier and uplifted by surrounding
over the last 20 years and the rapid growth yourself with fresh flowers, and have been es-
spurt that the field has experienced within the pecially attracted to certain kinds of blooms,
last five years, clearly indicating their need or found solace strolling among fields or gar-
and relevance in our lives today. This is some- dens filled with flowering plants? If so, you
thing that Dr Bach predicted, when he said to have already experienced the therapeutic
my grandmother that although his essences power of flowers.
were complete within themselves, with all the Since the dawn of time we have instinc-
stresses to come, in the future there will be tively known that flowers can lift our spirits
the need for more essences sourced from all and make us feel well again. Flowers and their
over the world to cope with today’s needs. remedies feature in the traditional healing
I have chosen a broad range of essence practices of many cultures around the world.
lines, almost all of which I have used in my They play an important role in restoring or
practice, as well as some exciting new lines evoking a sense of harmony in mind, body
and I am sure as the journey with essences is and spirit. This concept of wholeness is a re-
ever evolving there will be more to be birthed curring theme in many ancient philosophies,
in the future. In this third edition there are and we are now rediscovering its relevance to
some lines that are now not included simply us. We are at last emerging from a time when
because either they are no longer being made good health is interpreted as the absence of
or the quality and integrity has no longer disease. True wellbeing is something that lies
been maintained. beyond this limited concept, encompassing
I have also collaborated with and include a contentment and security, peace of mind and
whole section of the invaluable and insightful an abundance of vitality that is essential if our
research and work of my dear friend Andreas lives are to be enjoyable and fulfilling.
Korte and his wonderful essences; see Chap- Many ancient and native cultures believe
ter 9 and Section A of the Encyclopedia. that everything in nature is infused with a
In this edition I have revealed more of my vital energy, the spark of life. Wise men liv-
journey with the flowers and the lines of vi- ing several thousands of years ago proposed
brational essences that I have been inspired that when mind, body and spirit are perfectly
(or rather instructed) to bring into being, integrated, this life force abounds, bringing

19
 THE PRACTITIONER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FLOWER REMEDIES

with it a real sense of health and happiness. Horrific events such as wars, famines, tragic
The way to attain such inner harmony, they accidents, violent incidents and natural disas-
claimed, is to respect nature and her ways. ters may not be new, but thanks to television,
Symbolizing love and friendship, flowers radio and newspapers we are now bombard-
have always been a source of pleasure and ed with their details on a regular basis. We
happiness – of healing in its quintessential may try not to think about them, but still they
form. From the sensuous rose to the humble often shake us to the core.
daisy, the delicate blooms adorning gardens, Overpopulation in many areas creates
fields, hedgerows, mountainsides, woodlands competition for vital resources and work,
and jungles throughout the world possess leading to widespread greed and insecurity.
special qualities that can ease emotional dis- Meanwhile the breakdown of close-knit com-
tress, boost self-confidence, lift energy levels, munities leaves many people feeling lonely
increase resilience to all kinds of illness and and isolated.
even enrich our relationships. Most impor- Stress tends to be infectious: if you work
tantly, they offer the perfect antidote to stress in an office full of anxious, frazzled people,
in its many different guises. it will be difficult to keep calm. Add the
Our existence is becoming increasingly pressures of feeling hemmed in due to over-
artificial. Cocooned in towns and cities, it is crowding, the constant noise of traffic and the
easy to feel isolated from the natural environ- almost stifling levels of pollution in some cit-
ment. We no longer rely on the flowering of ies and it is hardly surprising that stress has
different plants to tell us what time of year it become the 20th-century ailment. It not only
is as our distant ancestors once did. In sev- plays havoc with our nervous systems, but
ering the bond with nature, we risk losing also weakens our immunity, leaving us easy
our sense of wholeness. When this happens prey to the new so-called ‘super bugs’ that
we become increasingly vulnerable to stress. keep appearing on the scene. Flower remedies
Stress is recognized as a major source of un- are needed now more than ever.
happiness and ill health. Too many people Responding to this cry for help, certain
feel completely at its mercy, powerless either people have set out to research and rediscover
to avoid or conquer its disruptive effects. Or- the therapeutic properties of indigenous flow-
thodox medicine offers little in the way to ers growing in countries all over the world.
relieve stress-induced turbulence. Drugs such The new flower essences are made from an
as tranquillizers may ease the discomfort by extraordinarily diverse variety of flora, rang-
dulling our perceptions and reactions, but ing from the modest hedgerow and alpine
they do not really help us to stay afloat in this flowers to romantic Roses, exotic Orchids and
sea of turmoil. This is where flower remedies the blossoms of fruits such as the Banana and
come to our rescue. Avocado. Some flowers, especially those from
Flower essences are not like other medi- the Australian Bush and Himalayan moun-
cines. They do not contain active chemicals tains, have a long tradition of being used in
or possess pharmaceutical properties. They natural healing. The beneficial properties of
are best described as a sort of liquid energy, others are only just being discovered. While
a vibrational medicine that brings about ben- some flower essences free us from negative
efits by influencing each person’s own life moods and emotions, others go further, help-
force. Taking these remedies can be likened ing us to recognize and let go of behaviour
to surrounding yourself with exquisite flow- patterns that generate negative feelings.
ers which never fade or die. When we feel confused about a situation
The state of the world has altered dra- or relationship in our lives, flower essences
matically in the last 50 years and many new help us to see things from an entirely differ-
sources of stress have arrived on the scene. ent perspective – just as escaping to a place

20
 Introduction

of stunning natural beauty leaves you feel- You will become aware of your strengths and
ing that your problems and worries are less weaknesses as well as any stress patterns you
daunting than you had imagined. Some es- have acquired over the years. These are reac-
sences act at the physical level, strengthen- tions and responses to situations and people
ing and rebalancing various areas of the body that, if left unchecked, consistently under-
such as the immune system. Others offer pro- mine your health and happiness.
tection against new sources of environmental The remedies will give you the strength
stress. Many aspire to more spiritual realms, and support you need to cope with change in
helping us to find our true direction and pur- your life, as well as with the more far-reach-
pose in life. ing upheavals occurring on this Earth. There
Although I have been a professional flower is no doubt that anything that calls for a shift
remedy consultant for more than 20 years, I in our lives and thinking will generate stress
actually grew up with this form of healing. and the more we resist the challenges and
As a child I would watch my grandmother transitions we have to face, the more painful
working with the Bach Flower Remedies and the experience of change tends to be. Flower
I have always been amazed by the profound essences can help us to go with the flow, to
ways in which people respond to this gen- be more flexible and enable us to respond ap-
tle form of treatment. I have witnessed the propriately to the increasing demands made
emergence of the newer flower essences and upon us.
steadily added them to my own repertoire In these testing times, let flower essences
of remedies. Using specially chosen combi- help you regain control of your life and des-
nations of essences from around the world, I tiny, to find the vitality you need to pursue
have helped people who were suffering from your dreams and goals, and, above all, to re-
all kinds of illnesses back to health. Typical discover the true joy of living.
conditions I have treated include infertil-
ity, premenstrual tension, hay fever, arthritis
and nervous exhaustion. I firmly believe that HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
what sets flower essences apart from other This book is for anyone who wishes to explore
forms of remedies and therapies is their abil- the benefits of using flower remedies, but espe-
ity to address physical, mental, emotional and cially for practitioners from all healing modali-
spiritual aspects of ourselves simultaneously, ties, both complementary and orthodox.
bringing about complete healing. Part I tells you what flower remedies are
The beauty of flower remedies is that they and how they work. You will discover how to
are relatively inexpensive, easy to use and choose remedies that can help you and oth-
totally free from any unpleasant side-effects. ers, as well as help practitioners choose rem-
Furthermore, you can prescribe them for edies for their clients in Part II, along with a
yourself and now that there are ready-made chapter of case histories in which I have used
combinations addressing common problems remedies successfully to combat a variety of
they are very accessible. We all have different conditions, and further advice for flower es-
needs, and the flowers that may benefit one sence practitioners.
person will differ from those that can help an- Part III is made up of an encyclopedia of
other. You may notice that you are instinctive- 11 families of flower essences from around
ly attracted or drawn to certain flowers such the world, giving a brief description of the
as roses, just as you may choose to use certain properties and benefits of more than 2000
herbs when cooking. These are very often the remedies, combinations, mists and creams.
flowers that you probably need. It also includes recipes you can make up for
As you begin to use the flower essences you your own use (such as my Stress Buster and
will embark on a journey of self-discovery. Infection Fighter combinations).

21
 THE PRACTITIONER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FLOWER REMEDIES

The Appendices at the end of the book con- Note: Abbreviations for all essence ranges
tain an Ailment Chart for easy reference, cov- used in brackets throughout this book can be
ering a range of typical physical, emotional/ found on pages 123–4.
psychological and spiritual problems with sug-
gested remedies that can help to relieve them,
as well as useful contacts and further reading.

22
Part I

THE POWER OF
FLOWERS
 Chapter ONE

THE HISTORY OF
HEALING FLOWERS

The idea that flowers possess healing powers It is said that the inhabitants of this civili-
may seem new and revolutionary. It is, how- zation were gentle, sensitive souls who truly
ever, a very ancient concept, the origins of appreciated the beauty of their environment
which can be traced back into the mists of and were content to live close to the Earth.
time. For at least 40,000 years the Aborigines They were also aware of the natural empa-
of Australia have been using flowers as part thy that exists between human and plant life.
of their natural healing system. In other parts To them, every plant was special and had
of the world where folk medicine is still alive, its own personality, and some believe these
the tradition of utilizing flowering plants and people were ethereal beings who could sense
their essences to restore wellbeing to body, the energy or vibration of all living things. It
mind and spirit has continued down the cen- has been suggested that, to them, all living
turies to the present day. things including plants appeared as luminous
Many of us instinctively turn to flowers or shimmering objects.
to lift our spirits and make us feel better. It These people realized that the highest
is second nature to bring bouquets to those concentration of life force in a plant is found
who are sick or ailing. Without floral decora- in its flowers. Just by being close to a delicate
tions, festive occasions or religious ceremo- bloom they became aware of its particular
nies would seem soulless and incomplete. healing qualities. The Lemurians were not,
The task before us is to uncover and redis- however, troubled by physical disease – in-
cover knowledge about the natural world that deed it is said they lived for around 2000
has existed for aeons. years. Instead they used flower essences to
evolve spiritually, to attain enlightenment.
According to the myth, Lemuria gave way
TALES OF A GOLDEN AGE to Atlantis. Those who believe or suspect
Lemuria and Atlantis there was a civilization known as Atlantis
think it probably existed between 12,000
Legend has it that flower essences were first
and 150,000 years ago. Unlike the Lemuri-
used for healing some 500,000 years ago in a
ans, the Atlanteans were reputedly not con-
mythical place called Lemuria or Mu. Located
tent to live in harmony with nature. They
in an area now covered by the Pacific Ocean,
wanted to dominate and manage it to their
Lemuria was reputedly a veritable ‘garden
advantage. As their society became increas-
of Eden’. The land was lush and, thanks to
ingly technologically advanced, stress seeped
a near-perfect climate, all kinds of exquisite
into their lives bringing with it all kinds of
flowering plants flourished.
new physical, emotional and mental diseases.

25
 THE PRACTITIONER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FLOWER REMEDIES

At this time, so the legend goes, flower es- it because the Ayurvedic principles have been
sences were first used as a complete system handed down from generation to generation
of medicine. and are still alive today. Flowers with spiritual
significance such as the Lotus continue to be
used in Ayurvedic healing ceremonies. The
Ancient Egypt, Crete and India petals were traditionally sprinkled into bowls
The ancient Egyptians certainly harnessed the of water, which were then drunk and used to
healing powers of flowers; they did, after all, anoint various parts of the body.
perfect the art of aromatherapy. Within mag-
nificent temples high priests built laboratories
where they distilled flowers to obtain aromat- FLOWERS AND FOLK MEDICINE
ic essential oils. These were then blended to If we look at the folk medicines practised by
create medicinal formulations for treating a native peoples around the world, most make
wide variety of illnesses. It should be stressed use of the flowers and plants growing in each
that essential oils are not the same as flower region.
essences, although the Egyptians recognized
the therapeutic benefits of both, for they also
collected the dew from flowers and exposed The Australian Aborigines
it to sunlight to increase its potency. The Aborigines have always turned to their
The Lotus flower, which grew in abun- exotic flora for help in healing mind, body
dance along the banks of the Nile, was sa- and spirit. They collect the dew that settles
cred to the Egyptians. In their mythology it on petals at dawn, believing it to enhance
was the first living thing to appear on Earth. emotional wellbeing and help them enter into
When its petals unfurled, the supreme god the ‘dreamtime’. In some instances they may
representing intellectual rulership was re- also eat the flowers themselves.
vealed to them. Its flower essence was used The Aboriginal story of how flowers were
in rituals, as were those of other indigenous born and came by their healing powers was
plants such as bamboo and papyrus. It has handed down from generation to genera-
been suggested that the Egyptians imparted tion and is told here by Ken Colbung of the
thoughts to certain plants, knowing they Bibulmun people:
would reach and help us today.
The Aborigines living in the southwest of
The Minoans of Crete were another
Western Australia are known as the Bibul-
highly cultured people who recognized the
mun people. Their legends were given to
healing potential of flowers. They are said
them by the Demmagoomba – the spirits of
to have held rituals devoted to the quest for
the old people who lived here previously.
spiritual understanding during which they
According to the Demmagoomba, the creator
would place a splendid flowering plant such
(also known as the Gujub, God, Supreme Be-
as a wild rose in the centre of the ceremonial
ing or senior spirit) sent the Rainbow Snake,
chamber, and place flowers or sprigs of plants
Waugal, down to Earth as a life-giving ele-
floating in bowls of water around the room.
ment. It landed at a place in the southwest
Participants would sip the water or eat the
of Bibulmun country known as Broiungarup.
petals to cleanse themselves of any disturbing
Rainbow colours of the Rainbow Snake
thoughts or feelings during the ceremony.
gave the flowers their colour at the time of
At about this time, many miles away in the
creation. At Broiungarup you will always see
remote Himalayan mountains, flowers were
beautiful rainbows. Some of the smallest and
playing their part in Ayurveda (‘science of
rarest flowers are only found in this one area.
life’), an ancient system of natural medicine
The Broiunga is a clan. It is where you get
dating back at least 5000 years. We know of
your spirituality and your mortal being. You

26
 The History of Healing Flowers

can be clan to birds, to a tree or to flowers. Native Americans

Your Broiunga is a special being for which
In ancient times, the native peoples of North
you are responsible. If your Broiunga is a
America were blessed with the ability to draw
flower, then you must maintain this flower. It
energy from flowers and plants. When they
also has a responsibility to you. It gives you
lost this gift they turned to imbibing the
a beautiful feeling of colour, of its essence,
therapeutic properties of flowers in the form
which is the link to the Rainbow Snake.
of teas and extractions. Some spiritual medi-
The flowers of the Earth have different
cine people can still utilize this energy, but
link-ups for different people’s needs. There
always request the flower’s permission first.
are a lot of occasions when the body needs
The Native Americans match the energy of
to be associated with the different types of
the flower to the particular part of the body
flowers. The essences are important for our
that is out of balance and needs healing. In-
own spirit, or Djugubra. So we have what is
deed, in their version of the creation story,
known as Kaba nij nyoong (Kaba is the flower
when humans came into being much of their
essences, nij is the ‘I’, and nyoong is the under-
physical body was derived from the plants,
standing of the person). We must be aware
rocks and waters of Mother Earth, while their
that when we first see a flower it will bring
spirit or soul came from the heavens or sky.
us happiness; when we have the essence from
To them this explains why certain plants have
that flower it will bring us health and with
a special affinity for certain areas of the body.
health and happiness we have wealth – the
This idea is echoed in the legends relating to
wealth of the spirit Djugubra.
Lemurian times and in the creation myths of
The flower sauna is a unique feature of tra- other indigenous peoples.
ditional Aboriginal healing and is arguably
one of the earliest forms of flower essence
therapy, dating back around 10,000 years. Russian medicine men
The ceremony, still performed the same way Across the Atlantic in Russia, medicine men
today, is conducted by the Maban, a man or or shamans also practise a natural form of
woman who is healer and Keeper of the Law. healing handed down to them by their fore-
The sauna is prepared by lining a shallow pit fathers. All knowledge is passed on by word
with hot coals which are then covered with a of mouth; nothing is committed to print. The
layer of earth. Steam is created by sprinkling medicine people living in the richest floral
water over the hot earth. Clay blended with area of the Caucasus Mountains are called
crushed flowers (specially chosen for the oc- the Koldum. Nearly half the flowers growing
casion) is then smeared onto the body of the here are unique to this area. These indigenous
person being healed – this helps the flower flowers are taken in the form of essences and
essence penetrate the skin. tinctures. So famous are these remedies that
The Maban takes charge of the patient, people have been known to travel for miles to
who enters the pit and is then covered with this region, even the infamous Genghis Khan,
an animal skin to seal in the warmth. The pa- who made his pilgrimage from Mongolia. He
tient remains there until sunrise the next day reputedly prescribed them to his men to give
when he or she emerges, renewed with the them strength for battle.
spirit of the flowers.
Another ritual sees people sent to sit
among a clump of flowers so that their souls The mystical Paracelsus
may be purified and they become ‘spiritually Healing with flowers was introduced into
reborn’. Europe during the 15th century by the re-
nowned physician and mystic Philippus

27
 THE PRACTITIONER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FLOWER REMEDIES

Aureolus Theophrastus Bombast von Hohen- channelled into the popular notion that cer-
heim, better known as Paracelsus. tain qualities or virtues are associated with
While still in his early twenties Paracelsus flowers. From the earliest times the Rose has
left his home in Austria to embark on a ten- been a symbol of love. Cleopatra placed such
year adventure which took him to Russia, faith in its romantic charm that she reputedly
England and North Africa, where he encoun- carpeted her bedroom with millions of fresh
tered different kinds of folk medicines. rose petals to help her seduction of Marc An-
It is said that Paracelsus, aware of plan- thony. Today, the Rose is still a symbol of
etary energies and the healing power of flow- love and romance, which is why lovers give
ers, gathered dew on glass plates exposed each other red roses on St Valentine’s Day.
under various astrological configurations, Centuries before the slogan ‘Say it with
believing that water when captured, concen- flowers’, people intuitively knew the spe-
trates and holds within it the plant as well cial meanings of different blooms. In ancient
as planetary energies. There is some question Egypt the Iris was seen as an emblem of pow-
as to him prescribing the early morning dew er. It adorned the brow of the Sphinx of Giza
from flowers to treat emotional disturbance and the sceptres of kings. To the Egyptians
in others but he would certainly have been flowers also represented certain thoughts and
exposed to the practice on his travels and feelings; just as we might send telegrams or
exploration of indigenous peoples’ use of cards to wish someone good health during an
plants and healing methods. Paracelsus was illness or to show our affection or love, they
also responsible for reviving the old ‘Doc- would send an appropriate flower.
trine of Signatures’, a system of equating cer- Flowers had their own language and
tain features of a flower or plant – its shape, meaning to the ancient Greeks and Romans
colour, scent, taste or natural habitat – to its too, and it should come as no surprise that
healing properties. For example, Eyebright, a the Rose is associated with Aphrodite/Venus,
blue flower with a yellow centre, looks like the goddess of love. But the Rose is by no
an eye and is said to help treat eye problems. means the only flower linked to love. Others
Similarly the Skullcap flower, resembling the include the Iris, which is named after the god-
shape of a human skull, may be used to treat dess of the rainbow who guided the souls of
headaches and insomnia, while the bark of women to their final resting place. Carnations
Willow, a tree that grows in wet places, eases also express pure love and constancy, while
rheumatism and other conditions that worsen the Tulip denotes a declaration of love.
in damp weather. We now know that Willow Many of the classical gods, goddesses
bark contains an anti-inflammatory substance and nymphs such as Hyacinthus, Narcissus
called salicin which eases the pain of rheuma- and Iris are remembered today because they
tism as well as headaches. Its synthetic form is gave their name to flowers. Narcissus owes its
taken by millions each day as aspirin. name to the young man who, it was prophe-
Paracelsus also believed that plants tend sied, would have a long and happy life unless
to grow where they are needed most; dock he caught sight of his reflection and fell in
leaves, which can be used to treat nettle rash, love with his own beauty. To his cost he did
always grow near nettles, while plants for eas- indeed become enraptured by himself. Thus
ing fevers can often be found close to swamps. in most books about the language of flowers
the Narcissus represents egotism. In the Mid-
dle East, however, it is traditionally linked
THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS with love, the beginning of new relationships
With the birth of modern medicine, belief and the enhancement of existing ones.
in the healing power of flowers appeared to Flower symbolism occurs throughout the
die out. But this was not so; it simply became world. In India flowers are associated with

28
 The History of Healing Flowers

various deities and ceremonies, pujas, prayers shy Victorians found ways to express what
and certain festive occasions. A sprig of the they would not say in words. They sent each
magical Mimosa is often suspended above the other bouquets in which every blossom, leaf
bed to ward off ill fortune. Its yellow flowers and stem was fraught with significance. The
give a sweet aroma which is also said to evoke language of flowers flourished, and was even
psychic dreams. To the Chinese, Jasmine rep- given the special name ‘florigraphy’.
resents feminine sweetness, while in India it At the beginning of that century, ‘flower
is considered sacred. The flower of sensuous- fairies’ epitomizing the personality or char-
ness and physical attraction, the Jasmine is acter of various blossoms and buds also be-
believed to enhance self-esteem and is always came fashionable. These tiny ethereal beings
used in traditional bridal wreaths. with gossamer wings reputedly lived among
Flowers often have religious significance. the flowers at the bottom of the garden. They
The Lotus flower is recognized as a symbol captured the imagination of writers such as
of spirituality all over the world. It is not only J.M. Barrie, who conjured up Peter Pan’s
sacred to the Ancient Egyptians, but through- rather wayward guardian angel, Tinkerbell.
out Asia, and the Far East especially, it is Sherlock Holmes’ creator, Arthur Conan
associated with Buddhism and the state of Doyle, was also fascinated by these nature
enlightenment. The figure of Buddha is often spirits – as his book The Coming of the Fairies
depicted sitting on a Lotus flower. reveals. Legend has it that these nature spirits,
Good fortune, protection and strength or devas, first made their appearance in Le-
have also traditionally been associated with murian times. Each fairy was entrusted with a
flowers. For this reason they have often been different flower, and together they were said
adopted by kings and leaders. The Sunflower to be responsible for teaching us how to live
became the symbol of Atahualpa, King God in harmony with nature.
of the Incas, for it was believed to hold great Folklore tells us that if we wish to see the
magical properties. Like the sun itself it has fairy kingdom we should make a concoc-
a strong life force, encouraging action and tion of Rose water, Marigold water and wild
strengthening willpower. Thyme. Leave this lotion in the sunlight for
The English Plantagenets derived their three days, apply it to the eyes and the win-
name from Planta genista (Latin for Broom) af- dows of the fairy world will magically open!
ter Geoffrey Count of Anjou wore it as an em-
blem on his helmet when he went into battle
in 1140. The sweet scent of its fresh flowers is FLOWERS AND SIGNS
said to purify thoughts and feelings. Inhaling OF THE ZODIAC
the aroma also instils a sense of peace and tran- When astrology became fashionable, flowers,
quillity. And the people of Shakespeare’s day like gem stones, were also attributed to the
were well acquainted with the ancient mean- signs of the zodiac, as follows:
ings associated with plants and flowers, as
demonstrated by Ophelia in Hamlet as she cries, Aries: Geranium, Honeysuckle
‘There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance’. Taurus: Rose, Violet
However, it was not until more than 200
years later that the language of flowers re- Gemini: Forsythia, Morning Glory
ally took shape. In 1817 the first real flower Cancer: Acanthus, Jasmine
dictionary, Le Langage des Fleurs by Madame
Charlotte de la Tour, was published in Par- Leo: Marigold, Sunflower
is. It proved so popular and sparked such Virgo: Anemone, Melissa
great interest that other versions followed.
With the help of these flower dictionaries, Libra: Columbine, Orchid

29
 THE PRACTITIONER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FLOWER REMEDIES

Scorpio: Gentian, Hyacinth different people experienced were a key cause

of ill health. In Heal Thyself, a small booklet
Sagittarius: Pinks, Dandelion
he wrote which sums up his philosophy of
Capricorn: Pansy, Tulip healing and the problems of orthodox medi-
cine, Bach proposed that:
Aquarius: Orchid, Primrose
The real primary diseases of man are such
Pisces: Clematis, Hydrangea
defects as pride, cruelty, hate, self-love, ig-
norance, instability and greed. Each of these
REDISCOVERING THE HEALING defects will produce a conflict which must of
necessity be reflected in the physical body,
POWER OF FLOWERS producing its own specific type of malady.
In the 1930s, healing with flowers was redis- (Bach 1996, p.12)
covered by a remarkable man called Dr Ed-
ward Bach. Thanks to his pioneering work, Correcting emotional factors, he reasoned,
flower essences have come to the rescue of would go a long way towards increasing
millions of people throughout the world. physical and mental vitality, which in turn
Bach was born near Birmingham, England would help to resolve any physical disease.
in 1886. Even at an early age he was fascinat- At the same time, Bach became interested
ed by nature and loved going for walks in the in the idea of replacing vaccines based on
countryside. He pursued a career in medicine bacteria, themselves the instigators of disease,
specializing in pathology and bacteriology. In with more wholesome remedies. He discov-
1920 he established a successful practice in ered these in the flowers growing in the fields
Harley Street, London. and hedgerows. Bach was a sensitive soul who
During the next few years he became in- relied on his intuition for guidance. During a
creasingly disenchanted with the orthodox visit to Wales, he was drawn to two particular
medical approach, which he felt focused on wild flowers, Impatiens and Mimulus. These
relieving the symptoms of disease rather than flowers, he felt, emitted a special kind of en-
its true cause. At the same time he felt increas- ergy or vibration which could exert a positive
ingly drawn towards the homeopathic princi- influence on certain negative states of mind.
ple of treating the whole person. In 1930 Bach decided to give up his lu-
He began to carry out his own research. crative London practice, and he spent the
He isolated certain bacteria from the intes- next six years living in several parts of rural
tinal tract with which he prepared vaccines England in the quest for a new floral heal-
according to homeopathic principles. These ing system. Aware that personality affects the
vaccines proved remarkably helpful to peo- way we react to stress, the first remedies Bach
ple suffering from chronic diseases, and looked for related to what he perceived to be
could be taken orally instead of injected (a the 12 key personality types (see Chapter 4).
method Bach particularly disliked). Remedies To him flowers had their own little person-
prepared from toxins such as viruses became alities reminiscent of certain characteristics
known as the Bach nosodes, and are still used in us. The wistful Clematis reminded him of
by many homeopaths today. quiet, dreamy people who are wrapped up in
During his work Bach noticed that his their thoughts and fantasies, who as a result
patients tended to fall into distinct person- are prone to drowsiness, indifference, sensi-
ality types, and those in a particular group tivity to noise, poor concentration and diffi-
frequently responded to the same treatment. culty recuperating from illness. As a remedy
Ahead of his time, he also recognized the link Clematis would lend support to people with
between stress, emotions and illness. Bach be- these characteristics, reducing their suscepti-
lieved that the disturbing moods or feelings bility to such tendencies.

30
 The History of Healing Flowers

The colour, texture, flowering patterns and his Harley Street osteopathic practice before
growth patterns of flowers told Bach some- the war (he helped set up the first school in
thing of their healing qualities. The stur- London) and, which was rare in those days,
dy Oak, for instance, suggested to him the for being a trained acupuncturist. My grand-
type of strong, reliable, patient, dependable mother knew Dr Edward Bach very well and
people who shoulder their burdens without was in fact taught by him, and practised Bach
complaining. Remedies and Radionics in Harley Street
The next 26 flower remedies he looked for with my grandfather. She was also great
were intended to bring relief from different friends with Nora Weeks, Bach’s close friend
kinds of emotional discomfort and distress. and companion, whom I remember meeting
Bach felt that they could deal with negative with my grandmother when I was little. Ap-
mind-states such as fear, apathy, loneliness parently Nora pressed my grandmother that
and despair, which he believed were not truly I should be taught all about the flower rem-
a part of our nature but which we only suc- edies, as she felt I would have a part to play
cumbed to in difficult and trying times. in times to come.
The flowers, Bach has said, have a par- In 1936 Bach passed away, satisfied that
ticular quality which is an exact equivalent his work was complete. Nora was entrusted
to the human emotion. For example, Wild with and largely responsible for safeguarding
Rose, a remedy for apathy and resignation, is and keeping his work alive. Until recently the
a positive representation of this state. In other flowers continued to be gathered from the
words, it replaces these negative feelings with Oxfordshire countryside, and prepared and
dynamism and optimism. bottled at Mount Vernon, as Bach himself
For Bach the colours of flowers were also had done, and each year hundreds of peo-
indicative of their remedial qualities. Blue ple from all corners of the world make their
flowers such as Cerato express receptive pilgrimage to Mount Vernon, to witness the
feelings, the red or yellow flowers are more place where Bach performed much of his pio-
dynamic, while green flowers such as Scler- neering work.
anthus are associated with balance. Remedies For many years Bach’s Flower Remedies
for fear have a dynamic colour reflecting their stood alone. Then in the mid-1970s, interest
vibrant strength. Bach confirmed the effects in the healing power of flowers was rekin-
of the various flowers by observing how each dled. Richard Katz was one of a few people
one affected his own emotional state. It is in the forefront of this revitalization, estab-
said that he would think himself into feeling lishing the Flower Essence Society in Cali-
a particular way, then search for remedies to fornia. His aims were to research new flower
help restore a sense of calm and contentment. essences and gather together those working
With a few exceptions such as Vine, Ol- with the essences so they could exchange
ive, Honeysuckle and Cerato, Bach’s healing ideas and information.
flowers can still be found growing wild in the Others, too, have been inspired to research
fields and hedgerows of Oxfordshire. Almost the healing qualities of locally growing
half of them come from trees, while others flowers. From Alaska to Australia, the Medi-
(such as Gorse and Cerato) are from shrubs. terranean to Thailand, and Hawaii to the
It was my good fortune to have grandpar- Himalayas, distinct remedies have been re-
ents who were at the leading edge of many discovered in the flowers that are indigenous
pioneering healing modalities and were to each particular country or region. The Or-
trained by the likes of Bach, Dr de la Warr, chids of the Amazon, for instance, come from
Montessori and others. My grandfather was the exotic flowers that grow 100 feet up on
well known for his form of X-ray vision, the branches and treetops of the rainforests
which was very useful as a diagnostic tool in of Colombia.

31
 THE PRACTITIONER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FLOWER REMEDIES

These new essences come at a time when emotional problems but also aspire to more
they are most needed, for the world has spiritual healing, as well as acting at the fun-
changed considerably in the last 70 years damental physical level, treating the whole
and is continuing to do so at an alarming person – mind, body and spirit.
rate. Many of the flowers address not only

32
 Chapter TWO

ENERGY FIELDS

To understand how flower essences work, we very different to what one might expect. In
have to become familiar with the idea that all 1905 Albert Einstein shattered the principles
living things are infused with energy, or life of the old Newtonian worldview when he
force. We cannot see or touch this energy but, published his theory of relativity. With this
like the air we breathe, it is essential to life. hypothesis came the idea that matter and
Most people living in the West find it hard energy are interchangeable. All particles can
to believe that there may be more to us than be created from energy, and matter is simply
meets the eye. In other regions of the world, slowed-down or ‘crystallized’ energy.
especially the Far East and Asia, this view is A few years later another important dis-
commonplace. covery was made by Max Planck. He found
More than 5000 years ago, Indian holy that light and other forms of electromagnetic
men spoke of a universal energy. Known as radiation are emitted in the form of energy
prana, this energy is still seen as the basic packets which he called quanta. These light
constituent and source of all life. Prana, the quanta, or energy packets, have been accept-
breath of life, moves through all things and ed as bona fide particles. Oddly, though, they
brings vitality to them. The same idea forms also behave as if they were waves rather than
the basis of Taoism, the ancient Chinese phi- individual particles.
losophy which also emerged during the third The latest ‘super-string’ theories, which
millennium BC. It holds that the universe is a first came to light during the 1960s, now
living organism infused and permeated with propose that these fundamental particles are
a rhythmic, vibrational energy called Qi. The not really particles at all. They are more like
concept of an energy pervading all things is snippets of infinitely thin string. In ‘string
not as mystical as it may seem. Modern phys- theories’, what were previously thought of as
ics is beginning to lend credence to what the pinpoints of light are now pictured as waves
ancient wise men supposed all those years travelling down the string, like waves on a
ago. In the last century it has become out- vibrating kite-string. This means that at the
moded to think of things as solid objects, as most basic level everything would appear to
Newton and his colleagues in the late 17th be shimmering, or moving in light waves all
and early 18th centuries suspected. the time. What all this suggests is that our
With the discovery of the atom, physicists world of seemingly solid objects is composed
felt they had found the fundamental build- of wave-like patterns and energy fields that
ing blocks of the universe. Yet as they delved constantly interact with one another. Indeed,
deeper, they found that atoms are composed some scientists view the universe as rather
of even tinier particles which seem to be con- like a vast web of inseparable energy patterns.
stantly on the move. Furthermore, the be- In 1964 the physicist John S. Bell came
haviour of things on this very tiny scale is up with the now well-known mathematical

33
 THE PRACTITIONER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FLOWER REMEDIES

formula called Bell’s Theorem. This supports seed, he suggested that the organization of a
the idea that subatomic particles are con- living thing, its pattern, is established by its
nected in some way, so that everything that electrodynamic field. Like a fingerprint, this
happens to one particle affects all the others. electrical field is characteristic of a particular
The late David Bohm, Professor of Theoreti- living thing and has a shaping influence on
cal Physics at Birkbeck College, London, also it, maintaining its established energetic ‘status
came to the conclusion that the universe is quo’, or blueprint. Today, certain techniques
an interconnected whole, after devoting 40 can be used to reveal these fields. The most
years of research into physics and philosophy. well-known is Kirlian photography, a form of
He would have received a Nobel Prize for his high-frequency, high-voltage electro-photog-
work had he not died unexpectedly in 1993. raphy which was developed by the Russian
In his book Wholeness and the Implicate Or- researcher Semyon Kirlian (see page 28 of
der, Bohm discusses the idea that, in reality, colour plate). In very simple terms, Kirlian’s
things are not separate and independent of photography captures the interference pattern
each other; they only exist this way in our which is set up when a high-frequency elec-
minds. We split things up and file them away trical charge interacts with the energy field of
in neat compartments to make the world a living object. The pattern usually appears as
around us more manageable. Seeing every- streaks of light surrounding the outline of the
thing as being separate is purely an illusion object, be it a leaf or a hand.
which leads to endless conflict and confusion Erik Pelham is pioneering the use of
within ourselves and society as a whole. Not Kirlian photography to show that flower es-
realizing this fragmentation is of our own sences do indeed possess energy fields. Fur-
making, humanity has always been driven thermore, he has discovered that the energetic
by a quest for wholeness. Indeed the word patterns produced by different flower essences
‘health’ derives from the word ‘hale’, origi- vary, often quite dramatically – lending sup-
nally an Anglo-Saxon word meaning whole. port to the idea that each flower has its own
This lends credibility to ancient philoso- personality or character. The first photograph
phies which tell us that we cannot enjoy a Erik takes is of a cleansed quartz crystal. Hav-
sense of total wellbeing unless all facets of us ing obtained his ‘control’, Erik then places a
– mind, body and spirit – are in balance. This few drops of flower essence onto the crystal
in turn will come from living in harmony and makes a series of exposures. The indi-
with nature. Should we slip out of this bal- vidual energy pattern of the essence emerges,
anced state, nature possesses the remedies to reflecting the unique qualities of that particu-
make us whole again. lar flower.

THE ESSENCE OF A FLOWER CAPTURING A FLOWER’S ENERGY

Evidence to suggest that these energy fields Flower essences are best described as a kind
do indeed exist came to light back in the of ‘liquid energy’. They literally encapsulate
1940s. While investigating electrical phe- the energy pattern or vibration of the flower
nomena, Harold Saxton Burr (Professor of they come from. Since early times it has been
Anatomy at Yale University Medical School) believed that the early morning dew which
accidentally discovered energy fields around settles on petals becomes infused with a flow-
living plants and animals. He called these er’s energy. The art of capturing this energy
fields bioelectrical or electrodynamic L-fields pattern so that it could be used therapeuti-
– the fields of life. After discovering that the cally was perfected by Dr Bach (see Chap-
electrical fields around tiny seedlings resem- ter 1). In the beginning Bach would collect
ble those of the adult plant, not of the original morning dew from flowers, just as the peoples

34
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 DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI

Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least

the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely
valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace
of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several
missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its
former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A
thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn
crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the
agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe
fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier
imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller,
without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under
the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who,
as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of
course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.
 FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER”
(Sarcopsylla penetrans)

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,

some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing,
but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not
only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are
nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built
against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of
which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not
long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect
to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very
particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can
attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature,
from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a
man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable
of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the
state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on
the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of
pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for
the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his
Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen
all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise
raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of
Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous
consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of
this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,
or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg
ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of
Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there
develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is
stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by
an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so
far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the
toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature
penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it
may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.
Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which
we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much
easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a
European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely
shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I
constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were
taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I
thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive
sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill
the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of
the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all
the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of
prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?
The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are
really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to
smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from
the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most
distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other
narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both
“off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we
recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were
once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the
craving for tobacco in the tropics.
Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken
seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which
have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early
afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and
making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to
an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work
progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole
body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on
my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun
is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness
and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to
establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have
ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the
circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do
so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with
my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are
abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes
later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and
lemon-juice.
Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make
them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring
heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might
mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my
great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This
is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment,
that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an
hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the
wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.
Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state
of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever
should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a
kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and
more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly
follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at
least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my
work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.
My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which
makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in
the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy
from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari;
consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant
post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began
by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had
bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when
they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered
the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to
entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was
consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a
jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding,
consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening
meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned
vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission
entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his
own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us,
seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of
food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls
when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins
left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I
am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten
years to come.
Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the
genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch:
Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9
× 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.
How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a
ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for
taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated
mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but
he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light
contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the
above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his
ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion
to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough
cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an
extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most
conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog
did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by
finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few
days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he
mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his
mutilated finger-tips.
 Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all
directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old
habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal
elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had
promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only
from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.
The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off
at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is
about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the
Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area
is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface,
however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western
edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the
eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering
any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which
here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is
inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other
primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and
manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day
such a fire is a grand sight.
Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the
great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as
time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction,
sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to
let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.
Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush,
and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more
favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to
the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use
taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea
of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to
make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of
the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction
through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are
everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of
yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these
beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their
upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the
western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of
deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine
to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.
It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the
short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at
the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves
bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki
suits had not escaped scatheless.

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR

MAHUTA

I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
 The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.

MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

 This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe
Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original
one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is
only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from
one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just
large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a
large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing
with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into
which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The
door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat
curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs
corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust
through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular
opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]

MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY

With no small pride first one householder and then a second

showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the
Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of
“Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these
marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows
the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at
Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two
heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same
time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if
the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken
their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them
to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have
two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise,
come in for a blowing-up.
The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially
miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the
temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here
have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to
congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even
the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala,
shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country
are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident
danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only
attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief
Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with
partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular
grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks
the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.
Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something
of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted
solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde
bush:—
 “We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have
no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the
Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great
master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”
With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here
on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other
conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is
impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any
given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even
an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination,
might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples
collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central
African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian
Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are
only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech,
and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and
structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking
differences in outward appearance.
 Even did such exist, I should have no time
to concern myself with them, for day after day,
I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in
any case to grasp and record—an
extraordinary number of ethnographic
phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it
fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at
least, are barred by external circumstances.
Chief among these is the subject of iron-
working. We are apt to think of Africa as a
country where iron ore is everywhere, so to
speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and
where it would be quite surprising if the
inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the
material ready to their hand. In fact, the
knowledge of this art ranges all over the
continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the
Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma
and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so
favourable. According to the statements of the
Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other
form of iron ore is known to them. They have
not therefore advanced to the art of smelting
the metal, but have hitherto bought all their
THE ANCESTRESS OF
THE MAKONDE
iron implements from neighbouring tribes.
Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much
better off. Only one man now living is said to
understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to
Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of
the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose
jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While
still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that,
frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though
he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the
fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado”
(“Not yet”).
 BRAZIER

Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I

came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite
of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering
brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings
which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give
me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he
had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three
crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite
willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on
the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four
legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to
admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower
end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is
stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from
the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an
earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent
piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross
on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow
material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are
only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation
the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the
bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let
the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes
the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into
the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep
on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at
the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch
carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round
stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into
the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man
seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the
ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by
splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the
two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency,
and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks
split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a
tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth
clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the
holes in the ground.
The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far
advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an
adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in
this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds
of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular
in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the
bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite
a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair
customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the
pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to
the wearer.
SHAPING THE POT

SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB

CUTTING THE EDGE

 FINISHING THE BOTTOM

LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE

BURNING

FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE

 LIGHTING THE FARTHER SIDE OF
THE PILE

TURNING THE RED-HOT VESSEL

NYASA WOMAN MAKING POTS AT MASASI

Pottery is an art which must always and everywhere excite the
interest of the student, just because it is so intimately connected with
the development of human culture, and because its relics are one of
the principal factors in the reconstruction of our own condition in
prehistoric times. I shall always remember with pleasure the two or
three afternoons at Masasi when Salim Matola’s mother, a slightly-
built, graceful, pleasant-looking woman, explained to me with
touching patience, by means of concrete illustrations, the ceramic art
of her people. The only implements for this primitive process were a
lump of clay in her left hand, and in the right a calabash containing
the following valuables: the fragment of a maize-cob stripped of all
its grains, a smooth, oval pebble, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, a
few chips of gourd-shell, a bamboo splinter about the length of one’s
hand, a small shell, and a bunch of some herb resembling spinach.
 Nothing more. The woman scraped with the
shell a round, shallow hole in the soft, fine
sand of the soil, and, when an active young
girl had filled the calabash with water for her,
she began to knead the clay. As if by magic it
gradually assumed the shape of a rough but
already well-shaped vessel, which only wanted
a little touching up with the instruments
before mentioned. I looked out with the
MAKUA WOMAN closest attention for any indication of the use
MAKING A POT. of the potter’s wheel, in however rudimentary
SHOWS THE a form, but no—hapana (there is none). The
BEGINNINGS OF THE embryo pot stood firmly in its little
POTTER’S WHEEL
depression, and the woman walked round it in
a stooping posture, whether she was removing
small stones or similar foreign bodies with the maize-cob, smoothing
the inner or outer surface with the splinter of bamboo, or later, after
letting it dry for a day, pricking in the ornamentation with a pointed
bit of gourd-shell, or working out the bottom, or cutting the edge
with a sharp bamboo knife, or giving the last touches to the finished
vessel. This occupation of the women is infinitely toilsome, but it is
without doubt an accurate reproduction of the process in use among
our ancestors of the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
There is no doubt that the invention of pottery, an item in human
progress whose importance cannot be over-estimated, is due to
women. Rough, coarse and unfeeling, the men of the horde range
over the countryside. When the united cunning of the hunters has
succeeded in killing the game; not one of them thinks of carrying
home the spoil. A bright fire, kindled by a vigorous wielding of the
drill, is crackling beside them; the animal has been cleaned and cut
up secundum artem, and, after a slight singeing, will soon disappear
under their sharp teeth; no one all this time giving a single thought
to wife or child.
To what shifts, on the other hand, the primitive wife, and still more
the primitive mother, was put! Not even prehistoric stomachs could
endure an unvarying diet of raw food. Something or other suggested
the beneficial effect of hot water on the majority of approved but
indigestible dishes. Perhaps a neighbour had tried holding the hard
roots or tubers over the fire in a calabash filled with water—or maybe
an ostrich-egg-shell, or a hastily improvised vessel of bark. They
became much softer and more palatable than they had previously
been; but, unfortunately, the vessel could not stand the fire and got
charred on the outside. That can be remedied, thought our
ancestress, and plastered a layer of wet clay round a similar vessel.
This is an improvement; the cooking utensil remains uninjured, but
the heat of the fire has shrunk it, so that it is loose in its shell. The
next step is to detach it, so, with a firm grip and a jerk, shell and
kernel are separated, and pottery is invented. Perhaps, however, the
discovery which led to an intelligent use of the burnt-clay shell, was
made in a slightly different way. Ostrich-eggs and calabashes are not
to be found in every part of the world, but everywhere mankind has
arrived at the art of making baskets out of pliant materials, such as
bark, bast, strips of palm-leaf, supple twigs, etc. Our inventor has no
water-tight vessel provided by nature. “Never mind, let us line the
basket with clay.” This answers the purpose, but alas! the basket gets
burnt over the blazing fire, the woman watches the process of
cooking with increasing uneasiness, fearing a leak, but no leak
appears. The food, done to a turn, is eaten with peculiar relish; and
the cooking-vessel is examined, half in curiosity, half in satisfaction
at the result. The plastic clay is now hard as stone, and at the same
time looks exceedingly well, for the neat plaiting of the burnt basket
is traced all over it in a pretty pattern. Thus, simultaneously with
pottery, its ornamentation was invented.
Primitive woman has another claim to respect. It was the man,
roving abroad, who invented the art of producing fire at will, but the
woman, unable to imitate him in this, has been a Vestal from the
earliest times. Nothing gives so much trouble as the keeping alight of
the smouldering brand, and, above all, when all the men are absent
from the camp. Heavy rain-clouds gather, already the first large
drops are falling, the first gusts of the storm rage over the plain. The
little flame, a greater anxiety to the woman than her own children,
flickers unsteadily in the blast. What is to be done? A sudden thought
occurs to her, and in an instant she has constructed a primitive hut
out of strips of bark, to protect the flame against rain and wind.
This, or something very like it, was the way in which the principle
of the house was discovered; and even the most hardened misogynist
cannot fairly refuse a woman the credit of it. The protection of the
hearth-fire from the weather is the germ from which the human
dwelling was evolved. Men had little, if any share, in this forward
step, and that only at a late stage. Even at the present day, the
plastering of the housewall with clay and the manufacture of pottery
are exclusively the women’s business. These are two very significant
survivals. Our European kitchen-garden, too, is originally a woman’s
invention, and the hoe, the primitive instrument of agriculture, is,
characteristically enough, still used in this department. But the
noblest achievement which we owe to the other sex is unquestionably
the art of cookery. Roasting alone—the oldest process—is one for
which men took the hint (a very obvious one) from nature. It must
have been suggested by the scorched carcase of some animal
overtaken by the destructive forest-fires. But boiling—the process of
improving organic substances by the help of water heated to boiling-
point—is a much later discovery. It is so recent that it has not even
yet penetrated to all parts of the world. The Polynesians understand
how to steam food, that is, to cook it, neatly wrapped in leaves, in a
hole in the earth between hot stones, the air being excluded, and
(sometimes) a few drops of water sprinkled on the stones; but they
do not understand boiling.
To come back from this digression, we find that the slender Nyasa
woman has, after once more carefully examining the finished pot,
put it aside in the shade to dry. On the following day she sends me
word by her son, Salim Matola, who is always on hand, that she is
going to do the burning, and, on coming out of my house, I find her
already hard at work. She has spread on the ground a layer of very
dry sticks, about as thick as one’s thumb, has laid the pot (now of a
yellowish-grey colour) on them, and is piling brushwood round it.
My faithful Pesa mbili, the mnyampara, who has been standing by,
most obligingly, with a lighted stick, now hands it to her. Both of
them, blowing steadily, light the pile on the lee side, and, when the
flame begins to catch, on the weather side also. Soon the whole is in a
blaze, but the dry fuel is quickly consumed and the fire dies down, so
that we see the red-hot vessel rising from the ashes. The woman
turns it continually with a long stick, sometimes one way and
sometimes another, so that it may be evenly heated all over. In
twenty minutes she rolls it out of the ash-heap, takes up the bundle
of spinach, which has been lying for two days in a jar of water, and
sprinkles the red-hot clay with it. The places where the drops fall are
marked by black spots on the uniform reddish-brown surface. With a
sigh of relief, and with visible satisfaction, the woman rises to an
erect position; she is standing just in a line between me and the fire,
from which a cloud of smoke is just rising: I press the ball of my
camera, the shutter clicks—the apotheosis is achieved! Like a
priestess, representative of her inventive sex, the graceful woman
stands: at her feet the hearth-fire she has given us beside her the
invention she has devised for us, in the background the home she has
built for us.
At Newala, also, I have had the manufacture of pottery carried on
in my presence. Technically the process is better than that already
described, for here we find the beginnings of the potter’s wheel,
which does not seem to exist in the plains; at least I have seen
nothing of the sort. The artist, a frightfully stupid Makua woman, did
not make a depression in the ground to receive the pot she was about
to shape, but used instead a large potsherd. Otherwise, she went to
work in much the same way as Salim’s mother, except that she saved
herself the trouble of walking round and round her work by squatting
at her ease and letting the pot and potsherd rotate round her; this is
surely the first step towards a machine. But it does not follow that
the pot was improved by the process. It is true that it was beautifully
rounded and presented a very creditable appearance when finished,
but the numerous large and small vessels which I have seen, and, in
part, collected, in the “less advanced” districts, are no less so. We
moderns imagine that instruments of precision are necessary to
produce excellent results. Go to the prehistoric collections of our
museums and look at the pots, urns and bowls of our ancestors in the
dim ages of the past, and you will at once perceive your error.
MAKING LONGITUDINAL CUT IN
BARK

DRAWING THE BARK OFF THE LOG

REMOVING THE OUTER BARK

 BEATING THE BARK

WORKING THE BARK-CLOTH AFTER BEATING, TO MAKE IT

SOFT

MANUFACTURE OF BARK-CLOTH AT NEWALA

To-day, nearly the whole population of German East Africa is
clothed in imported calico. This was not always the case; even now in
some parts of the north dressed skins are still the prevailing wear,
and in the north-western districts—east and north of Lake
Tanganyika—lies a zone where bark-cloth has not yet been
superseded. Probably not many generations have passed since such
bark fabrics and kilts of skins were the only clothing even in the
south. Even to-day, large quantities of this bright-red or drab
material are still to be found; but if we wish to see it, we must look in
the granaries and on the drying stages inside the native huts, where
it serves less ambitious uses as wrappings for those seeds and fruits
which require to be packed with special care. The salt produced at
Masasi, too, is packed for transport to a distance in large sheets of
bark-cloth. Wherever I found it in any degree possible, I studied the
process of making this cloth. The native requisitioned for the
purpose arrived, carrying a log between two and three yards long and
as thick as his thigh, and nothing else except a curiously-shaped
mallet and the usual long, sharp and pointed knife which all men and
boys wear in a belt at their backs without a sheath—horribile dictu!
[51]
Silently he squats down before me, and with two rapid cuts has
drawn a couple of circles round the log some two yards apart, and
slits the bark lengthwise between them with the point of his knife.
With evident care, he then scrapes off the outer rind all round the
log, so that in a quarter of an hour the inner red layer of the bark
shows up brightly-coloured between the two untouched ends. With
some trouble and much caution, he now loosens the bark at one end,
and opens the cylinder. He then stands up, takes hold of the free
edge with both hands, and turning it inside out, slowly but steadily
pulls it off in one piece. Now comes the troublesome work of
scraping all superfluous particles of outer bark from the outside of
the long, narrow piece of material, while the inner side is carefully
scrutinised for defective spots. At last it is ready for beating. Having
signalled to a friend, who immediately places a bowl of water beside
him, the artificer damps his sheet of bark all over, seizes his mallet,
lays one end of the stuff on the smoothest spot of the log, and
hammers away slowly but continuously. “Very simple!” I think to
myself. “Why, I could do that, too!”—but I am forced to change my
opinions a little later on; for the beating is quite an art, if the fabric is
not to be beaten to pieces. To prevent the breaking of the fibres, the
stuff is several times folded across, so as to interpose several
thicknesses between the mallet and the block. At last the required
state is reached, and the fundi seizes the sheet, still folded, by both
ends, and wrings it out, or calls an assistant to take one end while he
holds the other. The cloth produced in this way is not nearly so fine
and uniform in texture as the famous Uganda bark-cloth, but it is
quite soft, and, above all, cheap.
Now, too, I examine the mallet. My craftsman has been using the
simpler but better form of this implement, a conical block of some
hard wood, its base—the striking surface—being scored across and
across with more or less deeply-cut grooves, and the handle stuck
into a hole in the middle. The other and earlier form of mallet is
shaped in the same way, but the head is fastened by an ingenious
network of bark strips into the split bamboo serving as a handle. The
observation so often made, that ancient customs persist longest in
connection with religious ceremonies and in the life of children, here
finds confirmation. As we shall soon see, bark-cloth is still worn
during the unyago,[52] having been prepared with special solemn
ceremonies; and many a mother, if she has no other garment handy,
will still put her little one into a kilt of bark-cloth, which, after all,
looks better, besides being more in keeping with its African
surroundings, than the ridiculous bit of print from Ulaya.
MAKUA WOMEN