Traditional Healers of South Africa - Medicines and Muti

Medicines and Muti

The spiritually curative medicines prescribed by a traditional healer are called muti. They may be employed in healing as warranted in the opinion of the herbal specialist or inyanga. Muti is a term derived from a Zulu word for tree. African Traditional medicine makes extensive use of botanical products but the medicine prescribed by an inyanga may also include other formulations which are zoological or mineral in composition. Traditional medicine uses approximately 3,000 out of 30,000 species of higher plants of Southern Africa. In South African English and Afrikaans, the word muti is sometimes used as a slang term for medicine in general.

Mutis are prepared, and depending on the affliction, a number of purification practices can be administered. These practices include bathing, vomiting, steaming, nasal ingestion, enemas, and cuttings:

1. Bathing - Herbal mixtures are added to bath water to purify the patient
2. Vomiting (phalaza)- A large volume (up to 2 litres) of a weak, lukewarm herbal infusion is drunk and a process of self-induced vomiting occurs to cleanse and tone the system.
3. Steaming (futha) - Medicinal herbs are commonly inhaled by steaming them in a bucket of boiling water. A blanket is used to cover the patient and container. Hot rocks or a portable stove may be included to keep the bucket boiling. The patient sits under the blanket, breathes in the herbal steam and sweats.
4. Nasally - A variety of plants can be taken dried and powdered as snuff. Some are taken to induce sneezing which may traditionally be believed to aid the expulsion of disease. Others are taken for the common conditions such as headaches.
5. Enemas - Infusions and some decoctions are commonly administered as enemas. The enema is a preferred route of administration of certain plant extracts, as it is believed they are more effective when administered this way.
6. Cuttings (umgaba) - Extracts or powders are directly applied to small cuts made with a razor blade in the patients skin.

An experienced inyanga will generally seek the guidance of an ancestral spirit before embarking to find and collect muti. The healer, through dreams, or during prayers, will be advised of an auspicious time for collecting the plants, and in some cases will be told which particular plants to collect for a specific patient and where these plants are located. The healer supplements the advice from an ancestral spirit with their own knowledge, training and experience.