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Medical anthropologist Dr. Faith Mitchell will speak this Saturday at 1 p.m. in conjunction with the current exhibit at the Anacostia Community Museum, “Words, Screams, Songs: Lorenzo Down-Turner Connecting Communities Through Language.” It is expected to be. Grant makers from the medical aid organization Health spent time researching Gullah herbal remedies on Sea Island. On Saturday, Mitchell will discuss some of the medicinal plants she learned about, how they were used and how they were incorporated into the culture of the South Carolina Sea Islands. I spoke to Mitchell about her research.
Why is there such a strong herbal tradition among the Gullah people?
I think it’s because of the history of this island. Because first the slave population and then the black population maintained the use of traditional medicine even as the rest of the South stopped using it. Also, because they were so isolated from doctors and hospitals, the use of medicine there was kind of enhanced, so if you compare the Sea Islands to other parts of the South, you don’t necessarily see different flora, but a lot of tradition. was stronger.
What two treatments do you think are the most interesting?
Elderberry. It is used by the Gullah people of the sea islands, but it is also used by Native Americans and is also used in Europe. People use it for different purposes, but I always find it interesting from a botanical problem point of view. First of all, how do people realize that a plant is medicinal, and given the fact that they use it for different purposes, then what do they use it for? How did they determine this? Elderberries are used as a pain reliever in the Sea Islands. You can imagine this is very common for farming people, but Native Americans used elderberry as a pain reliever. In Europe, it was used not only to treat wounds, but also to treat colds and as a laxative. It is an excellent plant with many uses.
How do galas use these plants?
Boil it and make tea. Depending on the plant, different parts are used, such as flowers, leaves, bark or roots, which are usually made into tea.
Have you tested these Gala herbal remedies?
I’ve tried a few and many don’t taste all that great, but that’s thought to be part of the effect. The more bitter it is, the better it is for your health.
What does the word “Hoodoo” mean in your book?
In addition to these herbal medicines, Louisiana also has a tradition of magical medicine called voodoo, and in fact the term “hoodoo” used in the title of my book is used to refer to magic by the Gullah people and others. Commonly used. Part of the south. That was interesting to me too. But that was much harder to know. Because even though people are practicing it, they don’t want to talk about it. In some cases, the same person who is an expert in herbal medicine may also be an expert in magical medicine, but that has to be found out from others.
The substances people use really vary. For magic, people use black cat bones, graveyard dust, nail clippings, etc. That tradition comes precisely from West Africa. People will sell you things and say it’s a black cat bone, but you don’t really know if that’s the case, and in some ways you don’t really know if it works. yeah. This is a completely different standard than drinking tea for a sore throat, and you can decide for yourself whether it is effective or not. People use magic to change their fortunes or make someone fall in love with them. There is such a tradition.
I was having these indirect conversations with people. They said: “I don’t know anyone who does that, and I don’t know what they use, but I’ve heard that when it comes to hexagons, it feels like rats are running around on your skin. They bump all over the place. I can do that.” That’s why I ask it that way.
