Sarah Sealy
South African Traditional Medicine - What Can We as Western Medical Herbalists Learn?
Abstract
The aim of this study was to establish what western herbalists can learn from South African traditional medicine (SATM), as practised by the Xhosa people in the Western Cape, South Africa. The main hypothesis was that ritual and intuition have an important role to play in western herbalism and that SATM can demonstrate how these tools can be effectively applied in practise.
Written information was gathered by conducting a search for relevant literature at African Studies Library, at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Oral information was obtained by conducting interviews with two practising Xhosa traditional healers (sangomas), in the Western Cape.
As became evident during the study, SATM is a complex, sophisticated treatment modality and there is much scope for further studies. Its holistic nature recognises the link between mind and body and sees the patient as influenced by and dependent on his surroundings, including his community.
This study concluded that ritual has a role to play in the healing process by allowing the patient to state their intention to heal and open subconscious pathways to healing. Furthermore, divination methods can provide both the patient and herbalist with additional information on the patient’s situation, in order to better understand the cause of disease. The African concept of ancestors, whilst perhaps unfamiliar to those in the west, reminds us to honour our past and the value of belonging to a community.
This study further reminds us that as herbalists we should honour the source of our medicines by only selecting those from sustainable sources, or selecting those grown organically. Finally, although SATM and western herbalism appear different, they are both holistic approaches to health and there is much overlap in the method of application of herbal medicine between SATM and western medical herbalists.
