27 Jan 2022

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Elephant dung is precious, not to the poacher, but to the traditional healer. 

This is because the huge mass of digested and semi-digested leaves and twigs that comes out smoking at rear end of the elephant is considered medicine by healers. 

An elephants spends a great deal of time feeding on diverse vegetation including tree bark, roots, small plants, fruits and wild vegetables. 

Tree bark is a favourite food source for the world’s largest land mammal, as it contains calcium and fiber, which aids digestion. 

It is its hugely varied plant diet that makes its poop such a precious botanical gem for the traditional healer. 

Many of the plants and roots that it swallows are believed to have medicinal value. 

Once inside the gut of the jumbo, they undergo chemical changes that enhance their efficacy, says Mr Shororo Thokaleina of Maposa. 

The 101-year-old Thokaleina used to collect the dung to sell. 

Many people, he says, use it to cure headache, toothache and as a general painkiller. 

By burning the dung and inhaling the smoke, those with sinus infections and epistaxis (nose-bleed) can also get healed, says the centenarian. 

The old man has been using elephant dung for 40 years. 

“I started using it when I took up my calling as a healer and have used it since,” he explains. 

Mr Thokaleina is old now, but entire generations that know the value of elephant dung have come after him. 

These are making a roaring business selling elephant dung in areas with an abundance of elephants, such as Nata Okavango. 

The old man chuckles, “That’s some fair compensation, considering the amount of damage these animals cause!” 

Mr Thokaleina says the dung can even treat barrenness and sexually transmitted diseases. 

It even has magical powers, and can keep witches at bay, he says.

“You just burn it and smear around the house and no witchcraft will enter,” he offers, straight-faced. 

One of the most important ingredients in an elephant’s diet is a shrub called Shubu, says old Thokaina. 

Shubu is a great panacea, he states, matter of fact. 

He is emphatic: “It’s a very powerful medicine. All you do is mix it with porridge and eat. It doesn’t matter what illness bothers you, you will be cured.” 

He argues that since elephant dung is rich in the herb you can confidently use it to influence providential direction where you want to increase the number of livestock. 

You can also use it as a good luck charm for the protection of your house or livestock. 

His wife, Nanai Daneko, also a traditional healer adds, “It can also be used to treat aching bones or joints and is a good-luck charm for increasing crop yield,” she added. It can even cure leprosy and other skin diseases, she claims. 

A Nata resident, Ms Keleemetse Makabula says given it reported medicinal benefits, scientific researchers should study elephant dung, as it may just turn out to indeed be the panacea that it is purported to be. ENDS