MIISH
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Miish is considered useful among the Tongva in
treating many ailments. Many parts of the plant can be used to treat wounds,
cuts, and other injuries. Hemorrhaging wounds may be healed by
applying rhizomes from the plant. Burns are calmed by applying miish
leaves that have been chewed. Swellings as well as
rheumatism are treated by bathing the area in a wash made from the leaves.
Another way to treat burns, cuts, or sores is to apply a poultice made
from the stems. Alternatively, cuts and sores can be covered by “fluff”
taken from miish.
The Tongva people also use miish to help
gastrointestinal ailments. To treat diarrhea, stems are cooked and
eaten. The flowers may also be eaten to treat diarrhea. To get
rid of intestinal worms, the stems are cooked and eaten.
Many important non-medicinal uses for miish exist as well. Seeds from the plant, as well as the rhizomes, may
be eaten as food, raw or cooked. The pollen from miish can be made into small cakes.
Ceremonial paint may be created by using pollen. Also, diapers
may be made using the leaves as a basic material.
Miish provide important material for
construction. The leaves are used as a caulking material for the
red-wood plank canoes (Ti’ats), as well as for the reed and willow homes
(Kich).