The Skolt Sámi used tinder fungus as a cure for pain. The medicine was made from the grey tinder fungus of the birch which is soft inside. The fungus was boiled and, wrapped in a cloth, heated above fire to kill the bacteria from it. When curing with the tinder fungus, a tiny piece of the soft part of the mushroom is burnt – inside a ring or some other metal – on the spot that aches. Gradually, the tinder fungus will char, and, the moment it dies, it flies into the air, taking the pain away. This treatment was used for ear- and toothache and shoulder, neck and back troubles. Tinder fungus has been used for curing in many parts of the Sámi area.
