Observations on plant usage in Xhosa and Zulu medicine

The holistic concept of Xhosa and Zulu traditional medicine and some differences from Western orthodox practice are briefly outlined. The transmission of herbal knowledge within various social groups is outlined. The background, training and some procedures followed by five of the informants are discussed. Plant characteristics that may be seen, felt, smelled or tasted are considered as possible determinants of usage. The form of plant parts accounts for some usage in the more magically orientated medicines whereas colour, texture or the production of froth may signal the presence of medicinally active components such as tannin, mucilage and saponin. The role of plants producing a milky latex is discussed. Vesicant or irritant properties are utilized in septic or inflammatory conditions. Aromatic plants are used for respiratory or digestive disorders and pungent-smelling plants are used in the treatment of catarrh and some stress-related disorders. Bitter or sourtasting plants may be used as an aid to digestion or serve a deterrent function. Parallel usage of some related plants in African and European herbal practice indicates that appropriate usage may be widely determined by easily discerned plant characteristics. Two herbal medicinal recipes recorded by the author and a list of medicinal plants collected in Transkei are presented.


INTRODUCTION
This study is an attempt to answer the question 'How do people know which plants to use?' in traditional Xhosa and Zulu medicine. Both the transmission o f herbal knowledge and the apparent role of easily discernible plant characteristics as determinants of usage are considered. Botanical fieldwork, focussed mainly on the establishment of a herbarium at the University of Transkei, presented the author with an opportunity to collect and observe many of the plants known to be used in traditional medicine. Plant species listed in this paper were collected or observed in the company of an informant and further usage was recorded from interviews. Informants from Transkei included villagers, herbalists, traditional healers and homeopath/herbalists. The author attended two meetings with a group of ten Xhosa traditional healers at St Elizabeth's hospital in Lusikisiki, Transkei, in 1986 and was also present at a meeting held in Umtata. attended by a very large group of healers from many parts of Transkei. They met to discuss the possibility of joining the SA Traditional Healers Council. One meeting with a group of ± 30 traditional Zulu healers was attended at Valley Trust in Natal in 1987. Communal cultivation of medicinal plants in short supply, potential problems in the use of toxic plants, possible means o f co-operation with the relevant institutions and some plant usage were among the topics discussed at these meetings.

A background to Xhosa and Zulu traditional medicine
The first written records o f Xhosa and Zulu medicinal plant usage were published as early as 1885 (Smith 1895) and 1909 (Bryant 1966). Smith (1895:6) refers to the ageold oral transmission o f herbal knowledge as the 'heritage of experience'. In order to understand something of this heritage a few points on the underlying concepts of disease and its treatment need to be made, as these differ from the m odem Western orthodox approach to medicine. A holism , involving both the relationship between body and mind in the individual and the relationship between the individual and his social and physical environment, is to be found in traditional Xhosa and Zulu attitudes to health and disease. Bryant (1966:16) refers to the recuperative powers o f the Zulu as being possibly attributable to: 'his possession of a mind working in more perfect harmony with the requirements o f the body'. Ngubane (1977) distinguishes between diseases believed by the Zulu to be caused by natural, biological factors and those believed to be caused by environmental factors. Traditional belief in the presence o f the ancestors, sorcery, evil spirits and mystical forces that produce pollution are presented by her as being part o f the perceived social and physical environ ment. These are the means by which a sense of moral order and o f community is fostered. Although the ancestors are believed to cause some disease themselves when offended by a failure to carry out proper rites, their function is primarily a protective one. Through the medium of dreams they call the diviners to their profession and, through them, reveal the cause and nature o f an illness and also direct its cure. Bryant (1966), Ngubane (1977) and Broster (1982) all refer to the high moral standing of the diviners within their society. The sense of responsibility healers feel towards the community and the realisation of the potential effects o f one person's illness on the community was demonstrated by one of the healers interviewed (Mr V .M .-see informant 3). He said that if any member of a patient's family became ill during treatment, that person was treated by him without further charge. He also paid the medical costs of any one of his patients he felt needed the help of a Western-trained doctor while undergoing treatment. Traditional healers referred, on more than one occasion, to their custom of taking patients to stay in their own homes while undergoing treatment.

Some differences between traditional Xhosa, Zulu and Western orthodox medicine
The differences in the understanding of the cause of disease may account for the following differences from Western medicinal practice in forms of administration in traditional Xhosa and Zulu practice: 1, the wider use of emetics and enemas; 2, the use of snuff in stress-related disorders; 3, the rubbing o f powdered medicines into scarifications on the joints; 4, the use of charms. Ngubane (1977) refers to the extensive use of emetics and enemas to cleanse the body from harmful substances. Snuff-taking would have the same effect o f cleansing the nasal passages and one group o f healers, who passed snuff around before a meeting, said they were taking it 'to clear their minds'.
The rubbing of powdered medicines into freshly cut scarifications on the joints is attributed by Ngubane (1977) to the vulnerability of these areas to evil elements. Powdered medicines are also used for the relief of pain or as anti-inflammants. One healer (Mr V.M .) used this form o f treatment for an ailment he referred to as rheumatism. He said that this ailment was caused by evil spirits.
Charms are used to ward off evil and also to procure the goodwill or affection of others. In Xhosa and Zulu practise, plant material may be taken, inhaled, bathed with, sprinkled, worn or simply grown. The use of charms may appear magical in the sense of being founded on belief in the supernatural rather than on observed effects that can be scientifically accounted for, but their function is a psychological, reassuring one. The status of this sort of categorization is liable to change, being dependent on the state o f knowledge at any particular time. For example, the widespread use of love-charm emetics and various fertility cures or medicines taken to procure a given gender in the baby certainly appears to be more magically than medicinally based. It is possible, however, that constituents such as steroidal saponins, which are known to be present in many of the plants used, do affect the sex hormones.

TRANSMISSION OF HERBAL KNOWLEDGE 1 Categories o f practitioners
Transmission of herbal knowledge takes place within social groups. Most of the fieldwork for this study was undertaken in the rural areas o f Transkei and the practitioners observed could be roughly categorized into the following groups, which are also applicable to Zulu culture:

1.1
Villagers gather the plants used for various common minor ailments and some charm remedies for themselves. These plants are called by locally known common names and are often recognized by their leaves and used before flowers or fruit are present. In one village visited a very young child was sent out to collect a well known purge. He returned very quickly with a freshly dug up Ledebouria sp. which he had identified correctly from the Xhosa name. Some common ailment remedies such as the influenza and cold cure Artemisia afra Jacq. ex Willd. (Hutchings & Johnson 1986-see also the Appendix) appear to be used in all parts o f Transkei and also in Zululand. It is known by the same name, umhlonyane, in both Xhosa and Zulu. Within the village, more specialised knowledge is common to smaller groups, such as the grandmothers who, from information apparently passed on through the family, collect the necessary plants and prepare and administer medicines for their grandchildren. These medicines include the purges deemed necessary for the cleansing o f the newly-born or weaning child from impurities believed to be passed on by the mother. They are known as isicakathi and iyeza-lamasi in Xhosa. Small boys know the plant charms which may be placed in the mouth or hair against the wrath of a teacher or father. Older men often know which plants to use to cure or prevent disease in stock animals.

1.2
H erbalists gather and sell or prescribe herbal medicines and may be either men or women. As herbalists's children frequently gather herbs with or for their parents, they grow up well informed in local plant lore and often becom e herbalists or healers themselves. Some herbalists support themselves by their trade, dealing with healers or selling directly to the public, often from street stalls. Some practise the craft for the benefit of their family or neighbours and earn their living by other means.

1.3a D iviners (known as amgqirha in Xhosa and
izm gom a in Zulu), keep contact with the ancestors, divine the causes o f misfortune and illness and may treat patients themselves. They may also refer patients to specialist traditional doctors. Diviners are usually, but not always, women. They invariably receive a strong vocational calling which they themselves refer to as a sickness, known in Xhosa as ukuthwasa. They receive their training from practising diviners but never from a member o f their own family, although the calling frequently com es through the medium o f a departed relative, often the diviner's grand mother, who was herself a diviner. The period of training o f the ten diviners interviewed varied from eight months to five years.

1.3b
Traditional doctors (known as amaxwhele in Xhosa and izinyanga in Zulu) sell and prescribe herbal remedies for various ailments but do not usually divine the causes of an illness. According to Ngubane (1977) an inyanga is a male practitioner and a man who wants to becom e an inyanga is normally apprenticed to a practising inyanga for a period of not less than a year and the skill may be passed on to one of his sons. The men who attended the meeting in Umtaja introduced themselves in English, using the title 'd<5ctor\ Most of the women present wore the traditional head gear of a diviner. Although som e o f these forms were discussed openly, the author was also requested to discuss others privately.

There is an overlap between traditional doctors and diviners-many o f the practitioners at the Valley Trust meeting described themselves as being both an inyanga
Illnesses are treated with herbal remedies which may consist of only one part o f a plant or a mixture of various parts of one or more plants. Medicinal plants may be used fresh or may be dried in the sun and then stored in glass containers or hung from the rafters of huts. Roots and bark may be ground after drying. Sometimes insects or parts of animals are used and patent medicines may also be used.
1.4 Homeopath/herbalists undergo various correspond ence courses in both herbalism and homeopathy. They frequently com e from families o f herbalists or traditional healers. They do not consult the ancestors and are the only group who appear to make use of published information. They may use either herbal or homeopathic remedies and study subjects such as human anatomy as well as diag nostic techniques such as reflexology or iridology. In Transkei they are referred to as 'Ooquira', the same term that is used for conventionally Western-trained doctors. One Transkeian homeopath running a correspondence course from Butterworth claimed to have over 400 students.

Informants-background and practise
The five informatns described below were all inter viewed on more than one occasion and provided much of the information on plant usage referred to in this paper. It is difficult to assess how representative this small group is o f the ancient traditional practise. However, many of the plants they use and customs they referred to have been recorded in the early literature. The vocational calling of diviners through the medium of dreams is well established (Krige 1950;Broster 1982).
1, Mrs S.M ., a 75 year-old retired teacher whose parents had both been herbalists. She had acquired an expertise from them which she practised for the benefit of her large extended family and neighbours. When asked how she knew that a plant she described had been used by the Bush men, she said simply 'through the ancestors'. She was in troduced to the author by her son, a colleague in the Botany Department at the University of Transkei. At the time of the interviews she had charge of six grandchildren in a remote rural village. She was interviewed at her home where she provided recipes for herbal medicine, including the recipe for swollen glands recorded in this paper (see Recipe 1). She also accompanied the author on a plant collecting expedition to Camana Forest near Cofimvaba.
2, Mr C.M ., a middle-aged traditional healer and owner of herbalist shops in Lusikisiki and Flagstaff. The son of a herbalist, he had received a calling in a dream while working as a builder in Durban. He walked to Zululand and found his trainer waiting for him, although there had been no written or verbal communication. His training took five years, during which time he had no communi cation with his family. He then returned to his home in Lusikisiki, where he set up his business. He attended the first meeting at St Elizabeth's Hospital and was later interviewed in one of his shops. He had started his business by collecting all his own plants but he now purchases plants from other collectors. He cultivates some in pots, including Aloe aristaia Haw., which he uses for a variety of illnesses. He trains his own assistants to dispense medicines. He said that many of the illnesses his patients suffered from were believed by them to be caused by umfufunyane (an evil spirit) and thus needed to be seen to be treated by stronger spirits, which he claimed to keep in beaded calabashes. This appeared to be a psychological ploy for coping with hysterical complaints. He had a special interest in the treatment of venereal diseases and also claimed an expertise in the treatment of difficult and delayed con finements.
3, Mr V .M ., a middle-aged traditional healer who had been practising for two years after a training o f eight months. He gave up his job as a transport manager on a mine in order to becom e a healer. He was called in a dream, in which he saw the face of his trainer, a woman living in Ladysmith in the Orange Free State. He attended both meetings at St Elizabeth's Hospital and was also interviewed twice, once at his own home. He described how he had been trained to feel in his own body, by concentration, the symptoms experienced by his patient. His special interest was that of his trainer-what he termed 'mental' illnesses. He said that he received a lot of help and advice from his neighbour, a more experienced healer who also attended both meetings. He cultivated a few medicinal plants in his garden among which were two Chenopodium spp. and Artemisia afra Jacq. ex Willd. He collected others in the field and had to buy som e such as iqw ili (Alepidia am atym bica Eckl. & Zeyh.) because, he said, it grows only in the mountains, and umavumbuka (probably Sarcophyte sanguinea Sparrm.) because that, he said, could only be found in Port St Johns. Umavumbuka he used not only for diarrhoea but also because he found it an important plant for what he described as 'bringing out the illness in a patient' (see Appendix and Recipe 1). He indicated that many o f his patients were suffering from diseases caused by sorcery or evil spirits because of a disturbed and changing life style and he felt that some of the children's ailments he saw were caused by lack of adequate parental care.

4, Mr A .B ., a middle-aged labourer of mixed Black and
White parentage was the only healer interviewed who had not been formally trained. He claimed to have been instructed by his grandmother in dreams as to which plants to use. He attended the first meeting at St Elizabeth's Hospital and was obviously well known by the group of healers present. He was interviewed the following day at the hospital. He brought the author a bottle of medicine, the recipe and the plant D rim iopsis maculata Lindl. (Hutchings 2225 KEI) used for the infant disease known as ipleyiti, discussed later in this paper. 5, Mr F.N. a 40 year-old hom eopath-herbalist whose lather had been a herbalist and taught him much traditional usage. He later studied herbalism and home-nursing by correspondence. He then completed a four year course in homeopathy with a correspondence college in England. The author met him in the University of Transkei herbarium where he came with a query about Hypoxis spp. He was subsequently interviewed at his surgery a number of times and accompanied the author on a brief collecting expedition in the vicinity o f his surgery at Nqeleni in Transkei. He uses either herbal or homeopathic remedies but does not mix them. He employs iridology and reflexology in diagnosis. He has a trained hospital nurse working for him and he dispenses his own medicines. Many o f the plants he uses grow in his garden. He sends his gardener out to collect others when needed and he buys some from herbal vendors. He has a special interest in cancer. He sometimes uses Hypoxis spp. conns to treat cancer and also, for uterine tumours, the young root of a Phytolacca sp. He attributed most o f the illness he sees in babies and adults to malnutrition and also said that he frequently has patients suffering from hysteria caused by the belief that they have been bewitched. In the treatment o f hysteria he often uses a tea made from Viscum anceps E. Mey. ex Sprague (see Appendix). He said an overdose could cause drowsiness, which passed in time, and he was careful to avoid using the plant when in fruit.

PLANT CHARACTERISTICS AS DETERMINANTS OF USAGE
Usage of related groups of plants for similar ailments is recorded in the literature and has been observed by the author. While transmitted knowledge obviously determines usage it seems that easily discernible plant characteristics were probably the original determinants. Some of these characteristics are outlined below with a few added examples from cultures other than Xhosa and Zulu.
1 Characteristics that m ay be seen

a. Suggestive form s
Some evidence o f the role of suggestive forms in plant parts in Zulu folk medicine has been documented, mainly in connection with procreation-related conditions. A traditional healer's claim to be able to cure barrenness by the use of a corm resembling the female genitalia was recorded and published in 1927 (Bayer & Lebzelter). The same plant, G loriosa superba L., has been recorded by Bryant (1966) and Gerstner (1939) as being given to parents wishing to have a baby of a particular gender and also as being used as an aphrodisiac, while Hulme (1954) records its use as a love charm emetic. The closely related Sandersonia aurantiaca Hook, and Littonia modesta H ook., with conns o f a similar shape, are also recorded as aphrodisiacs (Gerstner 1939). Crocosmia and Gladiolus spp. are aptly described by Gerstner (1941: 375) as having a 'string o f corms grown together' and recorded by him as being used to treat banen women. He compares the Zulu nam e o f the m ed icin e, u N d w en d w en i to uD w endwe-the wedding procession. He also records that various other Iridaceae species are can ied during planting as charms to bring fertility to the crops. Hulme (1954: 10) records that a man, suspecting that his girl's love is waning, gives her an infusion of Cyrtorchis arcuata (Lindl.) Schltr. so that 'she will cling to him as the orchid clings to the tree'. The epiphytic orchids frequently sold in herbalists shops as love charm emetics or aphrodisiacs for men are likely also to be used on account of the form.
A parallel European example is that of the 'Mandrake' which was known as male or female according to the form of its roots. Desmond (1986) records that Mandragora officinarum L. (Solanaceae) was frequently illustrated in herbals, one of the earliest records known being in the Anglo Saxon Herbal (± 1 200). The roots of the plant were thought to resemble a human being and if pulled out were said to emit such a scream as to cause instant insanity or death in the collector. This could be avoided by ritual incantations or by having the roots pulled out by a dog, who would then go mad. The fearsome plant was highly valued as a powerful aphrodisiac. Early parallel usage of Orchidaceae is also known. Richter (1965) points out that the origin o f the name orchis is from the original Greek word for testicle. He claims that in medieval times, when the medical Doctrine of Signatures was adhered to, preparations from the tubers of certain orchids were regarded as sexual stimulants and also that a child of the required gender could be produced by using a tuber of the right age, the younger ones being thought to procure a male child.

b. Colour
While colour as a determinant has not been documented in the literature surveyed for this study, the author accompanied Mr F.N. in a search for the plant he knew as umavumbuka which differed from the author's description of Sarcophyte sanguinea Sparrm. He was looking specifically for a red material and eventually found, just below the surface o f the ground, a very large reddish swelling on the root o f an Acacia karroo Hayne tree that was neither o f the two red parasites called 'Umavumbuka' by both the Zulu and Xhosa. These are Sarcophyte sanguinea Sparrm. and Hydnora africana Thunb. and both are used for diarrhoea and dysentery. The plant material was sent away for identification but no con clusion has yet been reached. A. karroo itself has a red root bark and inner bark and is used as an astringent medi cine (Bryant 1966

Saponins are widely present in plants and may be detected by their property of frothing in water, a property which is made use o f in the preparation of emetics.
Mention has already been made of the large number of emetics used in traditional medicine and they are used for a wide range o f conditions, including nausea, fever, snake-bite and coughs. They are also taken to induce the trances needed for divining, as love charms and as antidotes against bewitchment. Saponins have an irritant effect on the mucosa, which is why they make effective emetics. They are well known in the closely related Caryophyllaceae and Illecebraceae. Silene spp. and

A mucilaginous exudate has been observed by the author in the bulbs o f some Amaryllidaceae species used for wound healing and rashes and also in the purging medicine made from the bulbs o f D rim iopsis maculata
Lindl. This may be a guide to usage. Mucilage applied externally would promote healing by forming a barrier to further irritation. Taken internally, it has a laxative effect which is attributed by Fliick (1976) to its property of swelling in water. The closely related Malvaceae and Tiliaceae families are known to be rich in mucilage (Trease & Evans 1983). This seems likely to be the constituent utilized in the Hibiscus and Grewia spp. used in the treatment of urinary disorders. Bryant (1966) records that the m edicine is directly introduced through the urethral channels. Grewia caffra Meisn. and Sida dregei Burtt Davy are also recorded as being used in the treatment of sores and wounds (Gerstner 1938(Gerstner , 1939 Bryant (1966 Plants that have been recorded as irritant to the eyes, nose or mouth and are used for headaches or catarrh include Andrachne ovalis (Sond.) Muell. Arg. (Gerstner 1941) and Synadenium cupulare (Boiss.) L.C. W heeler (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962).

Characteristics that may be sm elled
Scented flowers do not appear to play a role in Zulu or Xhosa medicine, but sweetly scented or aromatic leaves or roots are sometimes used as cosmetic or purification washes.

Cymbopogon marginatus (Steud.) Stapf ex Burtt Davy has an aromatic rootstock and, according to the Valley Trust group of healers, is used by the sangoma as a purification wash after funerals and by all women as a purification wash after menstruation. Hulme (1954) redords that the lemon-scented Heteropyxis natalensis Harv. is used as a perfume. The aromatic Achyrocline stenoptera (DC.) Hilliard & Burtt (= Helichrysum stenopterum D C .), is used by women to wash away body odours while Helichrysum cooperi Harv. is used as a wash by young men wishing to attract women (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962). Helichrysum odoratissimum (L.) Sweet is used by the Sotho to fumigate huts and to make a pleasantly perfumed ointment (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962). This plant is burnt by the Xhosa as an incense to invoke the ancestors and as a purification and protective charm (Hutchings & Johnson 1986).
The principal causes o f aromatic odour in plants are volatile oils (Fliick 1976), a number of which are known to have therapeutic or antispasmodic activity (Trease & Evans 1983). Species from the notably aromatic families, Rutaceae, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae and Verbenaceae, and various aromatic Asteraceae spp. are used by the Xhosa and Zulu for coughs, colds and influenza (see Artemisia afra Jacq. ex Willd. in Appendix) as well as carminative purposes. Back (1987) records that the strongly scented Achillea millefolium L. is used in England for feverish colds and indigestion or flatulence.

Recipe 1: m edicine fo r swollen glands
The following recipe for swollen glands was given to the author by Mrs S.M . (informant 1 above) in the presence of her son, who is a botanist. Mrs S.M. said that the medicine was also effective against cancerous growths. Unfortunately the four ingredients were recorded during a drought and not collected. It was possible to make hypothetical determinations from the Xhosa names and the plant descriptions. The recipe is included for its information on method. Although the plants used are different, the way in which the medicine is prepared and used is similiar to that described by Bryant (1966) for the treatment of tumours ascribed by him to scrofula.
Method: mash and boil the roots of isinama and amaselwa and the rootstock of umavumbuka to make one litre of pulp. Place the cooking pot while it is still hot on a folded shawl on the patient's head for neck glands, chest for armpit glands and stomach for groin glands. When cool enough use the mixture directly as a poultice on the affected glands. When further cooled, add two teaspoons of imithombo as a ferment and give the patient two spoonfuls as necessary.This medicine has a bad taste and may be diluted.
The four ingredients are interesting. Isinama was described as sticking to clothing and is likely to be the com m on weed Achyranthes aspera L. (Am aranthaceae), which is also called isinama by the Zulu. Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk (1962) record that the leaf and seed are applied in India to inflamed and enlarged glands. Oliver-Bever (1986), quoting N eogi et al. (1970), refers to the diuretic and slightly anti-pyretic properties of achyranthine, the betaine derived from the plant. She also tables the anti-leprosy action o f the seeds produced by the oleanolic glycoside, referring to the work o f Gopalachari & Dhar (1958) and Ojha et al. (1966). Imithombi is a solidified fermented paste made from the fruit o f a cultivated Sorghum sp. The stem pith has been recorded as being used by the Xhosa to treat tubercular swellings (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962). Sorghum is one o f the genera cited as containing cyanogenic compounds and free HCN by Nartey (1981: 73). He writes: 'cyanogenic glycosides are reputed to possess some therapeutic properties against cancer. Their action against cancer cells produces large amounts of B-glucosidases, so that HCN produced by the enzymic cleavage of, for example amygdalin and prunasin, exerts its full inhibitory influence on the growth of neoplastic cancer cells'. Umavumbuka, described by the informant as having a red rough-textured rootstock with red sap and small white flowers and growing on the roots of old trees, is likely to be the parasite Sarcophyte sanguinea Sparrm., referred to in the Appendix as a diarrhoea remedy. W hile no chemical research on this plant is known to the author, another parasite, Hydnora joh ann is, from the Sudan, has been found to have a high concentration o f phenolic compounds in the roots, imparting an astringent quality which would account for its antidiarrhoeal use (Visser & Musselman 1986). Hydnora africana Thunb. is also known to the Zulu as umavumbuka and is similar in colour and habit to S. sanguinea, both being found on the roots of trees. A species from another parasitic genus, Viscum has been used in Africa for the removal o f warts (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962) and it has been recorded that V. album L. may inhibit the growth of certain tumours if applied directly on or into the tumour (Fliick 1976).

Recipe 2: medicine f o r ipleyiti
Ipleyiti is an alleged disease o f newly bom and very young infants described variously by several informants as 'producing an old look in the newly born', 'producing green veins stretching from the arms to the stomach', 'the result o f a placenta formed like an enamel plate', 'producing much crying and green stools'. It is a condition frequently treated by traditional healers. It was ascribed by one healer, Mr V.M. to unsuitable behaviour on the part o f the mother, such as going to too many drinking RS* ■ § 2 * before giving birth, or to sorcery. The homeopath/ herbalist, Mr F.N. said that the cases he sees are either cases o f colic or are babies born to mothers suffering from malnutrition. One informant from a village said that the disease had com e from Zululand. This belief is also mentioned by Broster (1982), who confirms the high incidence, the deformed placenta and the attribution to sorcery. She states that a baby suffering from the disease is usually bom prematurely and remains sickly. The disease is also known among the Zulu, and Ngubane (1977) suggests that the Zulu term ipleti is used in a manner that suggests deprivation and starvation.
The recipe for medicine for ipleyiti was provided by Mr A .B. The plant used is D rim iopsis maculata Lindl. and the author was able to see the medicine as well as to collect the plant {Hutchings 2225 KEI). The medicine is known as nstwilisa or nomatyuntyuma. M ethod: crush the bulbs and add cooled, boiled water ( ± 4 bulbs to 2 5 0 -3 0 0 ml water, depending on size of bulbs). Add a pinch o f salt to preserve the medicine, which will last for abojit ten days. The dose varies from one teaspoon to a tablespoon as required. For older children, a spoon ful o f Epsom salts may be added.
The medicine was very slimy, indicating the presence o f m ucilage. Mr V.M. confirmed that he used the same plant for treating ipleyiti. The bulbs of Drimiopsis macula ta are recorded by Hulme (1954) as being used by the Zulu. They are steeped in water to make an enema for young children with stomach trouble.