The Perceptions, Attitudes and Knowledge of Traditional Healers and Traders About Using Cultivated Plants in South Africa
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of traditional healers and traders about using cultivated plants in South Africa. Nolwazi Sinqobile Mbongwa A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Johannesburg, South Africa. Supervisors: Professor Wayne Twine & Dr Vivienne L. Williams DECLARATION Johannesburg, August 2018 I, Nolwazi Sinqobile Mbongwa, hereby declare that this dissertation is my own, unaided work. It is being submitted for a Master of Science degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. This dissertation has not been submitted before for any degree or examination in any other university. Date: 24 August 2018 Name: Nolwazi Sinqobile Mbongwa Page i ABSTRACT Afrocentric worldviews believe in the existence of ancestors, and traditional healers are consulted for communication with them. Traditional healers dispense various animal and plant parts to rid their clients of the problems that they might be facing. Animal and plant parts that are considered medicinal in the broad sense are therefore vital in African belief systems. Medicinal plants are rapidly declining in the wild due to over-harvesting, development and urbanisation, and various initiatives such as law enforcement have been used to combat the decline, but they have not been successful. Cultivation is one of the methods that has been used to mitigate the decline of medicinal plants. Cultivation is viable because healers and traders can easily practice it, if they have the necessary requirements for it such as land, water, propagation material and time. Importantly, however, there is limited scientific knowledge about the acceptability of cultivated medicinal plants by healers and traders. The aim of the study is to determine the perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of traditional healers and traders about medicinal plant cultivation, and identify plants that are a priority to healers and traders, to contribute to a greater understanding of the cultural opportunities and challenges for cultivating medicinal plants as a conservation strategy. Five markets were surveyed: Marabastad, Mona, Faraday, Ezimbuzini and Warwick. Healers from Soweto, Nhlungwane and Umlazi were surveyed. Two residential areas and three markets are located in KwaZulu-Natal province. Two markets and one residential area were surveyed in Gauteng province. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to survey the places and overall 114 respondents (42 healers and 72 healers) were interviewed. The results of the study show that healers and traders accept using and selling cultivated medicinal plants. Nevertheless, certain aspects of the spiritual and cultural entities of medicinal plants need to be sustained and ensured even when cultivating. Plants that are used for rituals and those that are chosen by ancestors via dreams are specifically required to be collected in the wild. Healers and traders have different knowledge about spiritual limitation concerning medicinal plants. However, the perceptions are not significantly different to a point in which they would be approached separately in conservation plans. Furthermore, location and ethnicity also have a great influence in both healers and traders perception about cultivated medicinal plants. Keywords: ancestors; cultivation; cultural and spiritual norms; ethnospecies; medicinal plants; locality; rituals; worldviews. Page ii Ngicela ukuqala ngokubonga umvelinqangi ngokuba seduze kwami noma izivunguvungu bezingihlasela. Ngibonge nako babamkhulu ngokuhlale beyisibani phezu kwempilo yam. NgiyaThokoza eMakhosini ngithi azikhule njalo indlondlo. This Masters dissertation is dedicated to my parents Tholani and Dumisani Mbongwa for never giving up on me no matter the circumstances. Ngiyanithanda kakhulu Tshosho no Mbuyisa. Page iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to give my whole-hearted thanks to my supervisor and co-supervisor Professor Wayne Twine and Dr Vivienne Williams for their patience, guidance and love that they showed throughout my personal dilemmas. This study would not have been possible without the acceptance and support of traders from Mona, Marabastad, Faraday, Ezimbuzini and Warwick market. In addition, healers from Nhlungwane, Soweto and Umlazi. Thank you very for your trust and assistance, without all of you this study would have not been a success. Thank you to my siblings Mvelo, Khulekani, Zanele and Siphesihle Mbongwa for running around with me and ensuring that I heal and carry on with my studies. Ngiyanithanda kakhulu futhi Ngiyabonga kakhulu Bo Mbuyisa nina eningaphekelwa amavila eniphekelwa ikhuthalikazi. To the rest of my family: Mamkhulu Monica, Babomdala Bonokwakhe Mbongwa and Zama, Mihli, Anele, Njinga, Siphamandla and Thokozani Mbongwa. Niyabonga kakhulu Bo Hlubi. A special thank you to my sister from another mother, Nolwandle Nolen Khumalo. You have been with me through it all. If it was not for your support, I do not think I would have carried on with my Masters after the long medical break that I had. Thank you to all my friends, Dikeledi Maluleke, Buyisiwe Hlongwane, Tshifhiwa Rasila and Khulisile MaNyembe Ndlela. Even though you are away from me, I have never felt the distance because of the enormous love that you have shown and motivating me to never give up. A ‘significant’ thank you to Thando Caroline Thwala for being my stats guru and friend, none of the stats would be part of this study if it were not for you. A big thank you to Thibedi Jacob Moshoeu for his help with maps for study sites, harvest and market location. Friend you have been with me from the start of my Masters journey…your technology guidance did not go to waste. I finally made it! Gratitude also goes to Siphosenkosi Mbonani and Nokukhanya Nozipho Mhlongo, I might have not known you for a long time but your support has been heartfelt. I love you. Heartfelt thank you to all my APES colleagues and friends for visiting me when I was sick and motivating me, you are deeply loved. This study would not be possible without the funding assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the University of the Witwatersrand, Thank you. Page iv Table of Contents ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.2 Rationale ................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1.3 Aims, objectives and research questions ................................................................................................... 4 1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 6 1.2.1 Traditional healing .................................................................................................................................... 6 1.2.2 Traditional medicine: use, harvesting and vulnerability ........................................................................... 8 1.2.3 Medicinal plant trade in South Africa ..................................................................................................... 10 1.2.4 Cultivation of medicinal plants in South Africa ..................................................................................... 11 1.3 DISSERTATION STRUCTURE AND OVERVIEW ............................................................................... 14 1.4 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 19 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................... 19 2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY APPROACH ........................................................................................... 19 2.2 PRE-SURVEY INTERVIEWS.................................................................................................................. 20 2.3 PROTOCOL AND ETHICS ...................................................................................................................... 20 2.4 STUDY AREA .......................................................................................................................................... 20 2.4.1 Residential areas ....................................................................................................................................