SOME IDEAS HELD BY LOCAL BLACKS
ABOUT MEDICINES AND REMEDIES
E. du Pisani
Ideas about m edicines and remedies form p art of peoples' m edical beliefs and are im p o rta n t to th e ir health behaviour. For Black people the term 'm ed icin e ' has a m u ch w id e r m eaning th a n it has fo r W h ite people. M edicines and rem edies are used fo r non -m ed ica l purposes, such as fo r p rotection, to secure 'lu c k ' or to fa c ilita te e m ploym ent, as w e ll as fo r m edical purposes. Black people also believe th a t m odern m edicines ca nn o t be used fo r tre a tin g certain types of a fflic tio n , such as m is fo rtu n e and m alevolent p oisoning. This belief is reflected in disease ca usa tio n, in actual health b ehaviour and in perceptions of w h a t com prises 'm edicine'. The notio n of p o w e r' (m a a t/a ) in m edicine is widespread. It is believed th a t the 'p o w e r' in m edicine can be changed by h um an a ction and th a t it can e ithe r be increased or decreased. This happens w h e n d iffe re n t m edicines or rem edies are mixed, or w h e n the in s tru c tio n s of the th e ra p ist or m a n u fa c tu re r are not fo llo w e d w h e n the m edicine is used. Its 'p o w e r' decreases w h e n a specific m edicine or remedy is too old or if the user is p ro m iscu o u s w hen using the m edicine. Some m edicines such as herbal m edicines are believed to possess 'p o w e r' by th e ir very nature, w hereas patent m edicines obta in th e ir 'p o w e r' in
the m a n u fa c tu rin g process. Some a n im a l-
derived m edicines have 'p o w e r' because the a n im als them selves are perceived as 'p o w e rfu l', s tro n g ', brave', 'c u n n in g ' or 'fa s t'. Some of these properties ascribed to a n im a ls are based on people's observations and in te rp re ta tio n s of a n im a l behaviour. The o rig in of the 'p o w e r' in m edicines and rem edies is va rio u sly a ttrib u te d to nature, God (M o d im o ), the Holy S p irit (M o ya o
H a/ale/ang) or the ancestral s p irits (badim o).
Those w h o a ttrib u te the 'p o w e r' to the M o ya o
H alalelang, perceive the essence of th is 'p o w e r'
as 'fa ith ' (tu m e lo ). One e xplan a tion fo r using a lte rn a tive m edicines is th a t people believe th a t the m edicine w h ic h they have been using lacks 'p o w er'.
S ym bolism plays an im p o rta n t role in Black peoole's ideas about m edicines and rem edies
For tre a tin g cases o f prolonged pregnancy the fa t o f the Python (Python sebae) is m ixed w ith other h e rb a l remedies as the p h y s ic a l appearance o f a w om an s u ffe rin g from this co ndition is sa id to resemble th a t o f a coiled up Python.
(Photo. W .R Branch)
and fu n c tio n s at d iffe re n t levels. Due to personal beliefs, d iffe re n t levels of education, va rio us ch u rch a ffilia tio n s and d iffe re n t o ccupations, not everybody recognizes the sym bolic m eaning of m edicines at all these levels.
The reason fo r using a specific m edicine or remedy may be sym bolic. It can relate to the m eaning of the name of the p a rtic u la r m edicine, or w h e n the physical appearance of the sick person is seen as resem bling th a t of the a nim al or p la nt w h ic h is used m e d icin ally. For some people the co lo u r of m edicines and remedies has sym b o lic m eaning and m ay even possess
'p o w e r'. These people relate the sym bolic
m eaning of the c o lo u r to the specific uses of the p a rtic u la r m edicine. Thus w h ite m edicines are often used to remove 'bad lu c k ' as w e ll as to induce vo m itin g , red ones are used to p u rify the blood, and d u ll-c o lo u re d ones to strengthen a person's s e riti('d ig n ity '). Black patent m edicines are considered 'safe', but black cream s, fats or pow ders can be 'd a ng e ro us' because they are often m ixed w ith o ther m edicines and remedies and used m a liciou sly.
The related w o rd s p u la (rain) and le ts id id i (c o o ln e s s ) e p ito m iz e th e S o th o p e o p le s ' perceptions about m a n 's p hysical and s p iritu a l w e ll-b e in g . The S otho peoples connect the
coolness of rain and the coolness of health. To them , to be 'cool' is to be healthy. Living in h a rm o n y w ith the norm s of society creates a
s ta te of 'c o o ln e s s '. A n in frin g e m e n t of
beh a vio ura l norm s m ay cause the ancestral s p irits to react, w h ic h may result in a state of 'heat'. The S otho peoples regard it as in s u ffic ie n t m erely to supplicate the ancestral sp irits. They also believe th a t 'c o o lin g ' m edicines have to be applied to w hoever or w h a te ve r is responsible fo r the 'heat'. It is therefore not s u rp ris in g th a t p la nts w h ic h g ro w in or near w ater, a n im a ls w h ic h are associated w ith 'coolness', such as w a te r snakes, w a te r itse lf and ash are w id e ly regarded as good m edicines fo r rem oving 'heat'.
B IB L IO G R A P H Y
VERRYN, T 1981 "C oo ln ess' a nd H e a l” a m o n g the S o th o P eoples R e lig io n
in s o u th e r n A fr ic a 2: 1 1 - 38
The Nile M o n ito r, also called W ater Leguaan, (V aranus n ilo ticu s) is associated w ith "c o o ln e s s " an d its skin a n d fat are used m edicinally.
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MUURPAPIER IN FRESHFORD-HUISMUSEUM
Freshford is 'n E duardiaanse w o o n h u is te K e llne rstra a t 31. Die w o o n h u is , w a t in 189 7 opgerig is, w o rd op die o o m b lik deur die N asionale M u se um gerestoureer en sal teen die einde van die ja a r aan die publiek v ir besigtig in g oopgestel w o rd .
M u u rp a p ie r het 'n baie belangrike rol gespeel in die in te rie u ro n tw e rp van w o n in g s u it die la a t- negentiende eeu. In Freshford is daar voorbeelde van die o orspronklike m u u rp a p ie r en frie s op die o o rspron klike g ro nd p leiste r in die portaal gevind. Daar is u it m ondelinge in lig tin g van vroeere in w o n e rs van Freshford vasgestel dat daar ook in die s it-, eet- en studeerkam er m u u rp ap ie r w as, m aar aangesien die oorspron klike g ro nd p leiste r verw yder is, kon daar nie vasgestel w o rd hoe die papier gelyk het nie. V ir die vertrekke is
v o o r b e e ld e v a n la a t- n e g e n t ie n d e - e e u s e
m u u rp a p ie r gebruik, m aar aangesien d it bekend is hoe die papier in die p ortaal gelyk het, is daar b e slu it om d it te reproduseer.
Om d it m o o n tlik te maak, is die o orspronklike o n tw e rp nageteken om die h e rh a a lp a tro o n vas te stel.
Die nuw e papier w a a ro p die o n tw e rp gedruk w o rd , is effens sm a lle r as die oorspron klike papier
en die o n tw e rp is dus met 5% verklein. Die m u u rp ap ie r is reeds van 'n basiskleu r voorsien
w a a r o p die o n tw e r p d e u r s y s k e rm d ru k
aangebring w ord. Elke kleur w o rd a fso n de rlik gedruk. S om m ige ontw e rp e bestaan u it to t '^ g e kleure w a t die drukproses baie ingew ikkeld maak.
Die kleu rre prod u ksie s het h ee lw a t problem e veroorsaak, aangesien die oorspron klike kleure van die m u u rp a p ie r baie verbleik het. Die kleure is vasgestel deur die m u u rp a p ie rkle u re w a a r die lae oorvleuel het en w a a r d it m in d er verbleik was, asook die o o rspron klike verfkleure, in ag te neem.
