The healing powers of nature and the magical plants of the Amazon rainforest | DW Documentary
For thousands of years, the inhabitants of the Brazilian rainforest have been using medicinal plants. But this knowledge is in danger of disappearing. Leticia Yawanawa has an ambitious plan: she wants to preserve herbal medicine for posterity.
The deforestation of the Brazilian rainforest is having a devastating impact on the global climate. But it is also displacing indigenous tribes and eradicating their unique knowledge of the healing powers of nature.
Scientists agree that only a third of the total biodiversity of the rainforest has been researched. Much of the knowledge is in the heads of indigenous scholars. This understanding is passed on orally, from generation to generation. Many tribes are being driven out of their habitats. The knowledge of the shamans – who in addition to their spiritual duties treat their people medicinally using plants and herbs from the jungle – is in danger of being lost forever.
In the documentary, Leticia brings together shamans from different tribes and asks them to share their knowledge. They set off on journeys through the rainforest, often lasting days. Here, they share their knowledge of medicinal plants, along with traditional rites and ceremonies. We learn about the healing powers of plants and herbs. Some may be familiar to us, while others are known only to local indigenous populations.
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Video “The healing powers of nature and the magical plants of the Amazon rainforest | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 01/15/2025 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.
Beautiful, thank you for showing us why these people and where they live our so important to protect.
The herbs 🌿 are for the (healing ) of the nation.
Jus Like My Own Maori Customs We All Have Our Healing Plants Also In N.Z!..Interesting 2 See !& Learn About Healing Herbs zThat They Use!..Awesome Documentry!!!
quran 55:65 Both (heaven ) will be dark green
Forests provide medicine like a supermarket. Long live nature & log live forests
Long live truth and righteousness. Good over evil.
We have some of those plants used as medicines in some areas in Kenya
I hate saying I'm Indian but as an Indian this documentary is us. Ayurveda or ayurvedic or handmade or whatever it is, this is in existence since my great great great grandfathers time(I'm not good with math)
Long leave mother nature 🙏🙏🙏😇❤️❤️❤️
The climate, the soil, the flora and fauna almost the same what South East Asia have… but they develop the difference culture, tradition and beliefs. The the beautiful, uniquely world.
Salute and Respect to these Amazon people. DW thanks for the time w/ them. 👊🇵🇭🙏
I think romanticizing those plants as "magical" and saying they cure is misleading.
Great documentary 🫶. Love and wisdom. Nature provides everything we need.
Inhalation and insuflation are not the same thing.
Ah yes, tobacco to treat a cold and headache 🙄
I would have liked to see some scientific data included to see of there are components in these plants that really do treat the things they say they do or of the effect is more placebo in nature.
What are the common names for these plants? It might be helpful to know so chemists could work on isolating compounds to test for efficacy.
We're going to lose these medicines to soy plantations and illegal gold mines.
An excellent documentary. They are nature friendly and live a very simple life.
Whereas we are
pursuing modernization and left a simple way of living.
They should work on Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) and preserve their knowledge and make agreements with the international copyright offices to protect misappropriation of their asset/knowledge.
actually it is true that nature heals, when i have my respiratory tract infection the doctor which is a MD said that i must go regularly to forest or which had a green areas because it heals most aside from taking up the medicines
Great work, put together East & West / Old & New to extend our living ages beyond imagination. We could live longer than ever before(?) if not forever. Thanks, DW.
This documentary is a big joke. Indigenous people in Brazil, even today, in some villages, kill twins and any child or baby born with physical or mental disabilities burying them alive. All these medicines mentioned have no scientific evidence.
These beautiful people respect all forms of life…they even asked the tree for its leaf….powerful
Avatar! so this is where the writers of the movie Avatar stole the sacred Tree of Souls scene
Amazon is not the world oldest forest.
Belum forest in Malaysia is 150 million years old.
This documentary comes across as quite patronizing. It repeatedly shows indigenous people only in ornate ceremonial clothing. The narration focuses heavily on ritual practices and ceremonial elements, such as the preparation of ‘the Shingan ritual house’ and the importance of ‘good energies and spirits,’ without offering much context on how these communities live day to day. By framing them almost exclusively through their rituals and traditional attire, the documentary implies that they only believe in plant medicine and aren’t scientifically minded, suggesting a lack of intellect. It also doesn’t highlight how they integrate modern medical knowledge, or what their ongoing struggles and practical efforts look like. This approach risks reinforcing harmful stereotypes and reduces them to folkloric figures, rather than respecting and accurately portraying their resilience, knowledge, and the full breadth of their modern lives.
This was wonderful where can we purchase these herbs and plant medicines i wonder?
Long live Amazon love from Bangladesh.
These herbs will be Columbused!
I'm shocked at the lack of disclaimer regarding the medical claims being presented here. The claims made were greatly exaggerated. It is wildly irresponsible for the documentary team to present them as is
Amazing, wonderful, peaceful❤
Nature is the key 100%%%# gos blessed you all ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
We have such plants as medicines here in Ghana
😍🖤🤍🖤🤍
Thank you for sharing with us!
The indigenous tribes lead lives that are often more peaceful, joyful, and connected to nature the qualities that modern society struggles to achieve