Ethnobotanical and anthropological perspectives on the use of magic plants in traditional healing practices in South Africa

Indigenous knowledge about the magic plants of South Africa (i.e., those used for ritual, magical, mystical, charm and spiritual purposes) is not only incompletely and geographically unevenly recorded but also widely misunderstood [1]. Because magic plants are often associated with witchcraft and black magic, limited data is available. However, the uses range from perfectly rational and scientifically plausible to irrational and highly implausible in a modern context. An aspect of many cultural groups' indigenous knowledge and medicinal practices that needs to be acknowledged is its metaphysical or 'magical' component. An interesting example is the use of buchu mixtures by the/Xam in “rain-making”, as recorded by Bleek and Lloyd (1933) [2] and Low (2004) [3]. The/Xam medicine men, called! Khwa-ka! gi:ten, entered the spirit world (using buchu mixtures) to capture the rain-bull from the waterhole where it lived. In the Agter-Hantam we worked with a traditional healer, Jan Baadjies [4], who was very knowledgeable on how plants can be used to treat several medical conditions (and often referring to these conditions in terms of 'western medicine' descriptions or terminology). However, he also referred to many magical or paljas uses of plants, and interesting metaphysical manifestations, such as the miraculous transformation by Kaatjie Hoesaar (his mentor) into the shape of a lion. Our hypothesis is that there are often very good explanations for what seems to be “magic”. Where plants are used to expel 'evil spirits', these plants often have anti-microbial qualities, and disease-causing bacteria or fungi can be killed by using such plants. Others have powerful symbolic uses employed in psychological treatments that form parts of a holistic approach that is typical of African traditional medicine.

Acknowledgements: Financial support from the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the University of Johannesburg is gratefully acknowledged.

Keywords: African traditional medicine, ethnobotanical surveys, indigenous healing practices, Khoi-San medicine, magic plants.

References:

[1] Arnold TH, Prentice CA, Hawker LC, Snyman EE, Tomalin M, Crouch NR, Pottas-Bircher C. Medicinal and magical plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist, National Botanical Institute, Strelitzia 13, 2002.

[2] Bleek D, Lloyd L. Belief and customs of the/Xam Bushman. Bantu Studies 1933; 7: 382.

[3] Low, C. Khoisan healing: Understandings, ideas and practices. Unpublished D. Phil thesis, University of Oxford, 2004.

[4] De Beer JJJ, Van Wyk B-E. An ethnobotanical survey of the Agter-Hantam, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. S Afr J Bot 2011; 77: 741 – 754