Native West African Traditional and Cleansing Ways.

The West African traditional healing religion is probably the least known to all American belief
systems, but is used to define both healing and supernatural cleansing medicines or objects.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, people of both African and Indigenous heritage
openly embraced different aspects of their culture, including their music religion, folklore,
medicines, language and art. This thesis will explore and discuss the practiced healing and
cleansing in West African. If any, have transmitted from the African people to other North
American societies.

But this has not stopped the practice of some ancient healing and cleansing rites through herbs,
roots and water in some West African regions.

African spirituality, traditional healings through herbs, religious beliefs and practices, as well as
the spread of Christianity and other faiths have become topics of hot debates within the past
centuries. A variety of religions still found among some Africans. Many of the peoples, of Africa
"who were torn from their homes and brought to the New World to serve as slaves left most of
their cultural heritage behind. However in some parts of the New World, especially in Latin
America and the Caribbean, those Africans managed to salvage their religious beliefs from the
wreckage.

Over the years, and especially in the late twentieth century, deep west African herbalist cares
have taken on a new face, not to them been the indigenous people, but to we people of the
western world because we’ve just discovered this, including a newly one learnt from many,
especially the Iluemie ( Spiritual Healing/Mystic Herbs Healing and cleansing ), which is said to
be the greatest supernatural gift from Mother Earth and nature, once been empowered with
native earth of the ritual practices by a real divinely ordained West African herbs doctor or
spiritualist.

Today only few and real ones of all several herbalist and natural herbs doctors of West African
has the ancient knowledge and knows the way of openly practicing their rituals and healing
ceremonies to the extent of it naturally releasing the gift of mother earth to patients.

The West African traditional herbal cleansing religion is probably the least known of all African
ancient healing and spiritual beliefs. Magical plants are essential ingredients in healing and
cleansing, but little research has been done on the plants associated with the various spiritual
cleansing. Why certain plants are not only thought to have magical power here but have been
proved?

How did Herbal cleansing plants, which must have been unknown to the rest of the world at
first, attain magical status during the course of history? During our ethno botanical surveys in
2001 and 2002, our research group traveled far from London to the inner parts of Ubini village
in southern part of Nigeria in West Africa and also to Togo and Ghana and collected some herbs
species mentioned to us and interviewed 22 local traditional healers, vendors and collectors of
magical healing plants. We recorded at least 411 species and 1,100 different recipes for magical
baths, potions and spiritual cleansing herbs rituals. These so called cleansing herbs were the
most important families. Most plants were used to expel evil, as luck herbs, and for spirits that
weakens the man body or woman body be it for reproductive purpose or other.

Several things could make a plant magical: a connection with ancestors; a remarkable growth
form, shape, scent or color; its habitat; relation with animals; associated medicinal use; or a
sacred status among other ethnic groups. Plants that once helped escaped slaves to survive in
the forest (e.g. water-containing herbs, inflammable resins or seeds for ammunition) are now
considered sacred by their descendents. Searching for the reason behind a plant’s magical
power revealed a wealth of botanical, ecological, historical, linguistic and cultural knowledge. It
is this specific ethno botanical wisdom that makes a plant magical in the end.

The West African herbs ways of healings recognize a wide range of supernatural divining to
nature that, by means of plants, can assist the human beings and bring them into a state of total
healing or extraordinary successes. One's body living in harmony with some traditional magical
herbs is thought to bring health and prosperity, but the same spirits can cause disease and ill
fortune if they are disregarded or not done as supposed or without the guidance of the real
African traditional herbalist/herbal doctor.

Several authors regard the African healing techniques and religion as the most traditional
magical and miraculous healing religious system in the world, as it pre-serves more West African
positive herbs elements than Vodo(Hekovis 1941; Wyoiing 1972, 1979; Green 1970; St.-Hilare
2000; Glozrer 2001).

However, argue that due to their ethnic, cultural and linguistic heterogeneity, the West African
slaves could not transfer their way of life and accompanying beliefs and values intact from one
region to another. Contact between the enslaved and their masters ignited the creation of an
entirely new, creolized language, culture and religion. Nonetheless, the African traditional
healing and the deeper part of herbs cleansing as it is practiced by descendants of Africans who
escaped the coastal plantations and sought refuge in the country’s dense forests, has been
little influenced by Christianity.

Despite two centuries of missionary activity in tribal territory, relatively many people in the
western parts of Africa have converted to Christianity (ergen 1980).

In contrast, most urban Creoles identify themselves as Christians in belief and also support their
Africa traditional healing ways because of it fast powers of healing.
Two major characteristics of African healing are its connection with direct life and its
relationship with the nature environment (Stephen 1998). Detailed anthropological research
has been carried out on African Trado-Medical history, their origin and activeness (Woding
1972, 1990, 2000; van Vezen and van Weteing 1988). While few scholars agree that nature plays
a major role in this belief, most scientific attention has been paid to the plants associated with
the different healings. Several African traditional healers have published books on medicinal
herbs and magic rituals, but they list only local plant names or unreliable scientific names and
provide little information on why certain herbs are considered as essential healing ritual
ingredients, but our visit to West Africa has really opened up our hearts, minds and eyes to
supernatural ways of healing and getting favored by nature.

In Ghana, the ceremonial function of magic plants is (among others) to cleanse, refresh and
prepare individuals and objects for contact with natural fast healing. Each of disease has specific
herbs associated with them, which are appropriate for making their respective herbs medicine
(Brandon 1991; Voeks 1997). This seems also the case in West Africa in general, where every
human being is said to have its own favorite herbs. The question remains, however: Do these
magical plants represent historic symbols? Or do they possess specific characteristics? Plants
with strong odours, striking colures or odd shapes have long attracted the attention of humans,
leading to the widespread belief that the gods provided signs within plants that indicated their
uses. Does the Doctrine of the Signatures, a theory by which the physical characteristics of
plants reveal their therapeutic value?

Methods.
Fieldwork.

Fieldwork was conducted by our team which are comprised of other notable scientists between
January and August 2002 and took place in the Benin City, Agbada, Ile Ife, Kumasi and several
West African communities. After explaining the nature of our research to our informants and
obtaining their prior informed consent, we collected botanical vouchers of all plants mentioned
to us as being used in the real African trodo-medicinal rituals.

For all plants collected, we recorded vernacular names, growth form, vegetation type,
preparation methods, doses, perceived effects and associated beliefs, and the final part which
was almost not allowed to shown to us (The African Trado-Herbal Prayers and Divinations) by
herbalists. We spoke with several collectors and vendors of magic plants and conducted semi-
structured interviews with Native doctors and herbs specialists in West Africa (Twelve persons).
In Niamtougou village ( a little village in the Kara Region of Togo in West Africa ), we worked for
2 months with the Ndyuka Niamtougou traditional healer Ruben Mawdo to document his
recipes for African healing, and mostly African traditional herbs cleansing. We witnessed several
healing sessions performed by Mawdo and other healers and attended a number of healing
ritual in honor of the earth, sky and forest nature. Additional data were drawn from a 4ha
study plot combined with in situ and ex situ interviews with African 25 local plant specialists, 4
traditional healing experts and 108 women (generalists) from randomly selected parts of 3 main
neighboring countries of West Africa (Ghana, Togo and Nigeria ) (using pictures of plants and
free-listing) in Brownsweg (Brokopo), carried out by the research team in 2000 and 2001. They
obtained more specific information from Sarccan Cleansing ritual specialists Michel Alubutu and
Oloko Dede and attended several healing sessions as well as a Omuighore herbal cleansing
process which opened my eyes as well as that of our other team mates to an astonishing result.

Data Analysis.

When asked why a specific healing plant had magical power, informants often referred to its
appearance, a strong smell, typical color or it famed spiritual miracle results. When a plant grew
deep in the forest or attracted specific animals, this was also stated as a reason to be associated
with certain abilities. To see whether these variables (growth form, habitat, ecology, scent, color
or the presence of spines or stinging hairs) were consistently associated with certain magical
uses or particular results, we confronted Mr Ogunebo a renowned person in the local city of
Benin (Ubinu), whom have been widely said to have been financially favored by magical
cleansing herbs and mother earth. Statistical analyses were also conducted using the statistical
program SPSS version 17.0. To see whether today’s magical plants were used differently in the
past, we compared our results with the scanty eighteenth-century ethno botanical records.

Healing and Cleansing with Herbs Rites.

This is the eye opening part of our research; it took us days to find the right person whom was
said specialized in the famous West African Cleansing rites. On this field so many herbalist do
not get themselves involved because of it supernatural powers as confirmed by other locals. The
West African traditional cleansing herbs preparation rite is said to be only performed by special
person whom has been spiritually and naturally ordained to be a herbal native doctor, This led
us to interview Pa Owinlen, a 77 years old Esan man whom is said to be known for powerful
medicines and knowledge of West African healing and cleansing.

West African natural cleansing to heal spirits related diseases is said to take a drastic miraculous
phase if prepared by a real West African natural herbalist because it does not go out without
attaining the healing of the patient body.
Only a spiritually and naturally ordained priest/herbal doctor could prepare combination of
cleansing herbs and their divine prayers to mother earth where all wild plants are thought to
come from in order for it to release a physical blessings. A person of this nature and
supernatural knowledge of herbs and healing rituals can perform rituals or prepare medicines
which can supernaturally take a drastic and miraculous change to another form or object if the
patients spirit is said to be found pure by the mother earth.

Results.
Great Numbers and Recipes.

Plants play a leading role in healing or cleansing rites, in particular among the West Africans. We
recorded at least 411 species (belonging to 114 families) that were employed in West African
Trado-Medical healing rituals. Of these species, we could identify 405 to species level, 14 to
genus level and 1 only to family level. The most important genus was Owodo with 13 species.
Seven species could not be identified at all, because of incomplete voucher material or the fact
that some of these vegetable products rep-resented several species. Itanemuen (noisy wood),
for example, consisted of the bark of two tree trunks that leaned against each other and made a
scary sound when the wind moved their branches. Orieteoru was a piece of one or two lianas
that were tightly twisted around a small tree trunk, used for the Okpia healing or cleansing rite,
during which a person was separated from an evil spirit or the influence of a bad person which
affects the man's reproductive organ (Penis) and causes severe erectile dysfunction.

Only few and the real Africa traditional herbal doctor know and only recognized a large number
of magical species and also had a multitude of ways to prepare them. We documented over 110
different recipes to prepare cleansing and healing with a magical portion or methods to deal
with trees inhabited by natural beings. Most species (77 %), however, ended up as ingredients
in herbal medicines. These were prepared by crushing or pounding specific leaves, bark or wood
and blending them with hot or cold water in a tub or a prapi, a richly decorated earthenware
pot manufactured by locals. Single plants were rarely used; some medicines required no less
than 15 different species of fragrant leaves.

Plants That Helped People Survive.

Some plants that lack obvious features, ecological associations or Amerindian magic simply
‘earned’ their magical power in the past centuries by being extremely useful. Several species
used in healing and cleansing rituals today have played a crucial role in the most decisive
periods in Maroon history: their escape from slavery, their survival in the unknown forests and
their bitter fight for freedom. When anthropologist Richard Price (1983) asked Saramaccan
historians how their ancestors managed to escape from the plantations and stay alive, they
replied that their forefathers had extraordinary magical power. It was their obia that showed
them their way through the forest. Lieutenant J. G. Stedman, hired in the 1770s by the Dutch
authorities to capture escaped slaves, admired the ability of the runaways to cross the brackish
coastal swamps and the hot, white sand savannahs without food, ammunition or drinking water.
While his own soldiers were dying from fever and thirst, he pondered about the secret water
source of the Maroons. Had he read the unpublished diary of Linnaeus’ student Daniel
Rolander, written some 15 years earlier, he might have gotten the clue. On 15 September 1755,
Rolander (2008) observed that the inflorescences of various Costus species contained ‘a great
supply of water … that the American Indians and black slaves usually drink when they lack other
good, sweet water’. People also frequently chewed the juicy stems of these herbs when
wandering in the forest. Rolander did not notice any magical connotation with Costus. Today,
the plant is a key ingredient in many different herbal baths.

Discussion.
Suppressed and Secret Knowledge.

The vast numbers of plants that play a role in magical rituals prove that the West African healing
and cleansing rites is very much alive and is strongly connected to their deep ancient flora. Our
results confirmed that West African specialists have a great knowledge of their natural
environment. They use their careful observations on the morphology and ecology of plants and
animals to describe and understand their spiritual world. We did not find any magical plant
without a local name, but we found many with multiple names. However, knowledge of ritual
plants was not evenly distributed and recipes varied greatly among respondents. We also are
aware that our list of magical plants is far from complete. Many species, recipes and
associated beliefs on magical plants would be added to our list if research would be
continued in Maroon villages deeper in the interior and more West African herbs specialists
were interviewed. As local names often provided us with clues on present or historical magical
uses, further linguistic studies on vernacular names would yield additional information on the
origin of useful plants. For centuries, European scholars tended to ignore, deride and ridicule
the cleansing ritual aspects prominent in slave medicine (Schebinger 2004). As a result, very
few records exist on the use of magical plants from the last three centuries, making it difficult
to trace how and when plants ‘earned’ their magical power among the Afro-Caribbean
population, but the West African populations still practice this real healing to all diseases and
still has the knowledge of these real magical herbs. In Suriname, there is still a reserved attitude
towards the dissemination of magical expertise to outsiders. The knowledge of medicinal plants
and the claim to possession by certain spirits is restricted to certain lineages or families.

Herbs.
In the eyes of many African and Afro-Caribbean healers, it is not cultivated or domesticated but
wild plants that possess real powers for healing. Even plants found growing in vacant lots or
growing on the pavement are preferable to those bought in a store (Brandon 1991; Cunningham
1993; McMillen 2008). This belief has led to the scarcity of wild resources for medicinal and
magical plants in many countries (Cunningham 1993). West Africa native villages are an
exception to this rule.

Only real nature ordained traditional healers interviewed by Behari-Ramdas (2008) preferred
wild plants, believing that they were ‘purer’ than cultivated ones. Less than half of the 249
commercial species marketed at the Paramaribo market were harvested exclusively from the
wild, and were actively cultivating wild species for medicinal and healing purposes.

Medicinal Use.

The majority (298 spp., 73 %) of the magical plants also had one or more medicinal uses,
although the distinction between supernatural illnesses (wintisiki) and physical diseases
(datrasiki) and their succeeding therapy was not a rigid one. Male impotency or erectile
dysfunctions and Female infertility caused as a result of negative spirits, for example, was
treated both with herbs that cleaned the spiritual body and uterus which could only be
alleviated by spiritual mixtures.

Strengthening herbal baths used to increase one’s magical power were seen as a general health
promotion and disease prevention (Ruysschaert in press).

Most informants agreed that annoyed spirits or annoyed spirit possessed human being could
cause a very bad disease, and in some cases, plants that were used to call or chase away certain
spirits were also used to combat diseases caused by these spirits. A decoction of Mansoa
alliacea, for example, was taken internally to ‘expel bad spirits from the body when suffering
from stomach ache’, while the garlic-scented wood was also used in herbal baths to drive away
evil. Omumu and several numerous herbs was said to be used to cure ED, or male impotency in
weeks. Plants that were said to protect against gunshots, machetes and knives (ikhumuOpia)
were significantly more often used to disinfect wounds and cuts (c2 = 7.071, p = 0.008) than
others. In the majority of cases, however, medicinal applications seemed unrelated to the
magical uses of the plants. A total of 127 species (31 %) did not have additional medicinal uses

Plant Use from the Motherland.

Pantropical weeds of American origin like Peperomia pellucida, Mimosa pudica L. and Petiveria
alliacea L., were introduced during the early years of the slave trade in West Africa and are used
there today for some certain healing rituals as well (Voeks 2009). Did the enslaved recognize
these herbs from their motherland when they arrived outside the African region? Or were these
plants already used in Amerindian rituals?

Certain local names of plants refer to their African origin, like nengre-kondre pepre (lit. negroe
country pepper) for Aframomum melegueta K. Schum. Such names can also point towards the
occurrence of similar looking plants in Africa, as in the case of nen-gre-kondre adru (negroe
country adru) for the strictly Neotropical Cyperus pro-lixus Kunth.

More field work is needed on magical plant use in those West African countries where the
ancestors of the West African blacks were enslaved, in order to make a similar comparison
between African and Afro American plant use, as was done for Nigeria and Brazil (Voeks 1997).
The recent discovery of African black rice (Oryza glaberrima) in a Maroon garden (van Andel
2010) suggests that there might be more Old World crops cultivated in the Surinamese interior
than have been to date documented.

Conclusions.

A total of 411 plant species were used in West African herbs healing and cleansing rituals. Our
informants employed plants for 13 different natural spirits cleansing, ten charms, two magical
diseases and four other ritual categories. Some species were used for healing of minor diseases,
while some other species were used to expel evil or deal with spirits in general, followed by luck
charms, and spirits of the forest, the sky and the recently deceased. Although in some cases it
was a question of an exclusive god-leaf correspondence, there were also many ‘multi-use’
species. Most plants were used as ingredients in herbal baths. Some Old World species,
introduced during the slave trade, became magical because of their ancestral origin. There were
many things that could make a plant magical: a connection with the ancestors, either from
Africa; a remarkable growth form, shape, scent or colour, a typical habitat; an intriguing
ecological relationship with certain animals; an associated medicinal use; or simply a ritual
status among other ethnic groups. Finally, several forest products (e.g. water-containing herbs,
inflammable resins or seeds for ammunition) are magical because of it super powers to combat
disease faster than our western world medicines. Finding out what makes plants magical reveals
some unknown history of this interesting case of African ethno botany to the world.

Acknowledgements.

This research would not have been possible without the collaboration,
trust and patience of our informants and locals in the Ubini (Benin City),
Togo and Ghana, in particular our principal West African healing herbs
specialists Ruben Awdo, Norbert Osoi, Akinkumi Abe, Bibi Oniha, Kweku Kendo,
Michel Alubutu and so many others.
MSc students Karolien van Kerckhove, Reinout Havinga,
Joelaika Behari-Ramdas and Lucienne Niekoop assisted in the fieldwork.
We are grateful for the botanists of the National Herbarium of the Netherlands
for their help with identifying our specimens in West Africa.
This research was funded by the Netherlands Organization
for Scientific Research (NWO), CWO Faculty of Bio-Engineering
and BOF, Ghent University, Leopold III Fund and VLIR-IUS (Belgium),
University of London.