Cossack folk medicine
Ancient knowledge possessed by and possess the Cossacks, had knowledge on traditional medicine. Despite the fact that, like all ancient arts, the healing was surrounded by all sorts of mysteries and superstitions, much was widely known about and lived up to our days.
Being constantly in the saddle, constantly on military service and war, the Cossacks had a unique knowledge in manual therapy, that is, the ability to straighten the joints and vertebrae.
Not only ordinary dislocations, but also all sorts of “disruptions”, “olizy”, “octupi”, “failures” and dozens of other injuries, which invariably accompanies military life of a cavalryman, most often it was treated right in the hundred. There were always older Cossack, who owned many popular “kostopravstva”. Techniques massage owned almost everything.
So, the Cossacks of the guards regiments, going into the Palace guard, the regimental tailors were literally sewn into the uniforms (maybe hence the word “swamped”, i.e. in a hurry), and after a few hours standing still in the halls of the Palace; they were “down in the sleigh and drove to Cossack baths trample numb body on a hot shelf”.
The Cossacks were able to heal and open fractures, shattered bones to remove. They owned and the basics of antiseptics, that is able to operate so as not to hit the wound the germs and bacteria; and cope with purulent wounds, “rolled out” by bullets and splinters, carried out the amputation.
Preserved describe khirurgicheskaia made Cossack healers. Witness one of these operations once was a famous Russian doctor N. Pies.
Ilya Repin Painting “Cossack”
Everything was done just after sunset. First, at this time there are almost no flies are the main carriers of infection, and secondly, the human body, particularly the brain, is entering the phase of braking. The wounded were laid on straw sheaves or just smoothed boards. Helped him drink himself drunk (it was one of the few occasions when the Cossacks drank vodka, not wine). Injured place, in this case, the leg was coated with ice or poured cold water. Over tightened a tourniquet around the foot has lost sensitivity.
Then proceeded to the case physician. He washed his hands and dried them with vodka. All the tools he had used, carefully and long was boiled in the salt solution. In addition, the assistant was catching them from the boiling water only special tongs and gave the healer, necessarily carrying them through the fire. The knife, which expanded the wound, it was red-hot and had cauterized the bleeding edges of the incision.
Opening special hooks wound, healer metal hooks snatched from the wound the bullet and took out the shattered bones, sewed up the wound, previously investing in it some kind of potion and a long horse hair. Pirogov explained that if the wound will fester, then all the dirt will come out on this hair, and if all is well heal, the hair will fall out, or to remove it will not be difficult.
The operated leg was placed in a specially smoothed boxwood splints and bandaged.
The great surgeon was surprised how smoothly and skillfully worked the Cossacks. And those who operated, and those who held the wounded, and those who constantly read prayers. Even more he was amazed that the Cossacks until the morning did not give the wounded man to bed and as soon as he started to drift again, and beat the tambourine and danced. The operation was successful, after a few days the Cossack, limped walked.
Amputation done even faster, and definitely McCauley stump into boiling pitch to save man from gangrene. You should marvel at the power of the spirit and patience of not only Cossacks, but also healers, because everything was done without anesthesia. However, there is evidence that some stupefying consciousness and painkillers herbal infusions healers used. In particular, the decoction of the poppy.
Some nymphs, a good command of therapeutic hypnosis, “chastised the disease in a dream”.
But this could be done by only a few physicians, usually passed their knowledge from generation to generation and which was famous throughout the army. When during the reign of Nicholas I in the shelves was forbidden to turn to traditional healers, Cossacks found a way to save them: healers are willingly finished the course of military doctors and continued, enriched by the knowledge of scientific medicine, to help people.
Along with the chiropractors in Cossack villages and hamlets always had a lot of transnew. And today, almost every Cossack family used for the treatment of various colds and other diseases of grass, but there were now dozens of amazing live experts.
It is interesting that in our day there are doctors (usually from the kind of famous healers), who have higher medical education, but retain ancient knowledge about herbal medicine and successfully apply them.
But there are a few herbs that are known to every Cossack. Main the grass — “emshan”, steppe sagebrush, bitter, like the Cossack fate. Every Cossack is known for its healing properties, but above all it honors the wormwood because it is a symbol of the Cossacks, a symbol of ancient and noble. Bitter, with nothing comparable to smell of wormwood symbolizes the longing for the homeland.
