and Bidens pilosa are added to treat congestions of the respiratory system, whereas 'hot' plants (e.g. It became quite a popular cure in the rural Southern states and its efficacy was even employed by the white slave owners and their families who needed a thorough worming. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Cerasse vine intertwined with other plants growing in Cacheta Francis' North Miami Beach backyard. Scientific name, botanical family, vernacular Cuban and Haitian name(s), voucher specimen number, part(s) used, preparation, use(s), and frequency of mention are reported for 123 plant species used for medicinal purposes. She learned from her mother, who learned from her mother, who learned from her mother and so on. 2007, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 64-85. 2002, Camagey, Cuba: Editorial cana. Edited by: Hammer K, Esquivel M, Knpffer H. 1992, Gatersleben, Germany: Institut fr Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung, 1: 83-109. Topical application as a pomade or plaster is used in 10% of the remedies, while frictioning, preferred with preparations for rheumatisms and arthritis, accounts for two per cent. They are persistent. Haitians were concentrated in the sugarcane and coffee areas of the former provinces of Oriente and Camagey (Figure 1). Chenopodium ambrosioides, Momordica charantia) are used to treat intestinal parasites. Down through the ages women have had to deal with menstrual cramps, excessive bleeding, water retention and unwanted pregnancy, just to name a few. 1960, Port-au-Prince: Imprimerie de L'etat, Leon R: Phytotherapie Haitienne; Nos simple. Parentesco, inmigracin y comunidad Una visin del caso haitiano. The research led to the identification of 123 different plant species used for medicinal purposes by Haitians and their descendants in the Province of Camagey. The Province of Camagey is located between 2031'01" and 2229'00" latitude North and 7657'00" longitude West from Greenwich. following Len [28], Len and Alain [2931] and Alain [32, 33]. Her go-to cure-all medicinal plant is asosi, also called cerasee or corailee in the English-speaking Caribbean. William Seabrook's work The Magic Island also cites the usage of verbena in women who are in labor (Seabrook 327). Eating and Healing: Traditional Food as Medicine. What I found was that even though Haiti has many native tropical plants that are used medicinally, quite a few of the same medicinal plants grow there that do in the Ozarks. Today's Cubans rely for food and medicine on a mixed culture that draws upon wisdom originating mainly from Indian, African, Spanish, and Antillean ethnic groups [1-5]. The plant parts used include: leaves and aerial parts (53.5% as a whole), young leaves and shoots (9.7%), seeds and fruits (8.4% each), roots and tubers (7.7% as a whole), bark (4%), stems (3%), flowers (2.3%), rhizomes (1.3%), and resins and bulbs (0.6% each). Just one of the high notes from Seraphic Fire's first 20 years, Judy Blume, on top of the world (and her Key West bookstore), Adrienne Kennedy akennedy@wlrn.org (305)-995-2256, FRIENDS OF WLRN, INC. AS MEDIA MANAGER OF WLRN PUBLIC MEDIA. This paper focuses on traditional medicinal plant uses of Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. In the latter province, they mainly settled in Haitian communities such as Caidije and Guanamaca, thus permitting the perpetuation of their own culture, including the voodoo religion and the creole language [9-12]. At the same time, posology is embedded in specific rituals that are performed during the preparation of the remedies, which on the one hand serve to memorize the proper dose, especially when dealing with toxic allelochemicals, and on the other hand contribute to the efficacy of the remedy by invoking supernatural forces and entities related to those rituals and numbers. Some Ozark women do not choose to either. Careers, Unable to load your collection due to an error. Some touristic infrastructures (notably in Camagey city and Santa Luca beach) have been developed in the last decade [26]. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. 1982, 6: 67-84. Afro-Caribbean pharmacopoeia is that body of knowledge and practices around medicinal plants which finds its origins in the cultures of African slaves brought to the Caribbean [50]. This paper focuses on traditional medicinal plant uses of Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. The most frequently used species are Chenopodium ambrosioides, Cissus verticillata, Cocos nucifera, Crescentia cujete, Cymbopogon citratus, Lippia alba, Momordica charantia, Pimenta dioica, Portulaca oleracea, Psidium guajava, and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis. This use of cricket's legs has been also reported by Hernndez and Volpato [19] in their article about the medicinal mixtures of Eastern Cuba, as well as by Seoane [16] in his treatise on Cuban medical folklore. Traditional and ritual plant posology should be investigated in more depth in ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies in order to understand their relation with medicinal plant efficacy and toxicity. Ethnopharmacological themes in sub-Saharan art objects and utensils. Most Haitians were illiterate, crowded into barracks (barracones), paid a miserable salary, and compelled to hand over their savings to reimburse the cost of their passage [7,9]. 10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0381:EOPATC]2.0.CO;2. 1985, 497-509. Canella winterana, Pimenta dioica) are added to preparations with stomachic purposes. Before the advent of modern medicine, women had to rely on herbal cures for a variety of ailments and symptoms associated with their reproductive symptoms. The research led to the identification of 123 different plant species used for medicinal purposes by Haitians and their descendants in the Province of Camagey. Consuming 2 or three Echinacea capsules twice a day can soothe extreme frustrations as well as other kinds . The most frequently used species are Chenopodium ambrosioides, Cissus verticillata, Cocos nucifera, Crescentia cujete, Cymbopogon citratus, Lippia alba, Momordica charantia, Pimenta dioica, Portulaca oleracea, Psidium guajava, and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis. I used Kloss's Back to Eden and Santillo's Natural Healing with Herbs for my American source books. 105 e/ngel y Pobre, Camagey, Cuba. Haitian empirical medicine sprang from both European (16th to 19th century) and African (especially voodoo) traditional therapies. statement and Although in the recent past there has been an increase in ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal investigations in Cuba [1519], these have generally not paid attention to the specific ethnic knowledge that immigrants have contributed to traditional Cuban medicine. I think the reason I was unable to find any mention of them in Haiti was because of the complete dissimilarity in climate. Volpato G, Ahmadi Emhamed A, Lamin Saleh SM, Broglia A, Di Lello S: Procurement of traditional remedies and transmission of medicinal knowledge among Sahrawi people displaced in Southwestern Algerian refugee camps. Most of those interviewed are elderly people living in remote rural areas; they often live alone since, because of their age, their husbands and wives have passed away and their children, if any, have migrated mainly to major Cuban cities (e.g. More emphasis is given, though to its calming and sedative effects than its purifying. J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine 5, 16 (2009). For example, a small spoonful of the hairs of the fruits of Mucuna pruriens is mixed with Psidium guayaba jam and ingested before breakfast for three days; the massive diarrhea that follows is supposed to eliminate all worms from the gut and the stomach, as reported also by Seoane [16]. A fresh pot of cerasee or asosi tea, a traditional plant used across the Caribbean for all ailments. 1998, 63: 1-179. The complexity of practices related to traditional posology is rarely investigated in ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies. Primero Simposio de Botnica; La Habana. Nevertheless, some culturally relevant products such as dried or fresh specimens of Artemisia absinthium and fruits and seeds of Abelmoschus esculentus were brought to Cuba upon migration (Figure 2). In my research, I discovered three herbs that are used for female problems both in Haiti and Ozarkia. Les plantes et legumes d'Haiti qui guerrissent. Besides the instinctual, the blood is watched by looking into the eyes, checking the fingernails, behind one's ears and through skin eruptions and bleeding. Her laments were set to music: Needless to say, mint teas are the first to be administered if someone complains of stomach upset in Haiti or Ozarkia.. Quite unlike the soothing properties of the mints are the herbs that are known for their tonic or stimulating effects. Weniger B, Haag-Berrurier M, Anton R: Plants of Haiti used as antifertility agents. Of these, about three quarters were reported with the same medicinal uses, and the remaining quarter with different uses. Fieldwork was carried out from December 2002March 2003 and from FebruaryJuly 2004. She is a believer of remed fey, or bush medicine. 10.1007/s10745-008-9211-4. I was fortunate to have three solid sources of information on herbs in Haiti: Laguerre's Afro-Caribbean Folk Medicine, Colon's Traditional Use of Medicinal Plants in the Province of Pedernales, Santo Domingo, and Jordan's Voodoo Medicine. [http://www.afrocubaweb.com/haiticuba.htm#creole]. Almost half of the plants reported in this study are not reported in Beyra et al. Macia M, Garcia E, Vidaurre PJ. The continuous ingestion of low doses of the allelochemicals in these species may be an effective means to prevent massive parasite infestations, especially in children [43]. The Traditional Use of Medicinal Plants and Herbs in the Province of Between bellyaches and lucky charms. 2. Many Haitians are believer of "remed fey" or "bush medicine". Mixtures (components, parts used, preparation and means of use) are given in Table Table1,1, whereas the presence of species in mixtures is reported in Additional file 1. Although its roots grow downwards, the plant itself can grow up to 1.5 meters high, with long and thin leaves and brownish/golden flowers. For most Haitian migrants, given their poverty, there was no possibility to make trips back to Haiti to procure remedies that were not available in the new environment. 8600 Rockville Pike Journal of Ethnopharmacology. You can drink that one over there named King of the Forest, she said. 715-738, 1975. 10.1016/0378-8741(82)90072-1. Almost half of the plants reported in this study are not reported in Beyra et al. Among Haitians, these practices are often related to cosmological/ritual numbers, and plant quantities used in the preparation of the remedies and the timing of administration follow these numbers (mainly three and seven; see also Weniger et al. During the period 19001930, more than half a million Haitians entered the country legally or illegally [6, 7]. 1988, Universidad de La Habana, Tesis de grado de Candidato a Doctor en Ciencias Biolgicas. I might add though, that there is a nebulous line between what constitutes an emmenogogue or abortifacient, but the desired result is the instigation of bleeding. Baths are also prepared to rid people of the 'bad' and the 'evil eye', a practice known in Afro-Cuban religions as despojo [34,35], mainly using species such as Vitex trifolia, Trichilia glabra, Alpinia speciosa, Allophyllus cominia. CERES Research School, Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, NL-6706, Wageningen, the Netherlands, CIMAC, Centro de Investigaciones de Medio Ambiente de Camagey, Cuba. PubMed Given this, as well as the poor availability of ethnobotanical data relating to traditional Haitian medicine, there is an urgent need to record this knowledge. Freshly picked mint from the backyard will ease the pain. My mom comes from a line of Haitian women herbalists from Gonaives, Haiti. 10.1016/j.jep.2005.05.018. In the Caribbean, however, the herbal bath carries an even holier association as a major component of Haitian Voudou (frequently westernized as "Voodoo"). Exceptions to this are the works of Brutus and Pierre-Noel, Len, and Weniger et al. 1988, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba: Editorial Oriente, James J, Millet J, Alarcn A: El Vod en Cuba. Among first generation migrants, twenty are originally from the cities of Les Cayes (Creole name Okai) and Port Salut (Creole name Posal), in the South of Haiti, whereas four lived in or near Port-au-Prince. Haitian immigrants and their descendants mainly decoct or infuse aerial parts and ingest them, but medicinal baths are also relevant. Goat feces are dried, powdered, mixed with olive oil and applied topically for burns, while packages made of urine and cotton are applied to the back of the heads of children with fever. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. FOIA In the Ozarks sarsaparilla tea is also widely used for its purifying properties.. Another blood purifier that is a very common remedy both in Ozarkia and Haiti, is catnip or catmint. 1997, Stuttgart: Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. Fuentes V: Las plantas medicinales en Cuba. Background Haitian migrants played an important role shaping Cuban culture and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. If they or their leaf doctor sense that any of these factors are out of balance in their body, they dose themselves with an decoction (tea) of sarsaparilla root. In: Pieroni A, Vandebroek I, editor. Two main stores are situated in North Montreal and offer a choice of several dozen Haitian medicinal plants, dried and packaged in small plastic bags (Fig. She uses many local herbs and plants, such as chamomile and thyme (left basket) and ginger root (center baskets), to alleviate afflictions that include coughs, other cold symptoms and menstruation . Map of Cuba with the Province of Camagey. [14]. Other therapeutic uses treat afflictions of the reproductive apparatus (menstrual disorders, ovary pain, vaginal infections, as an aphrodisiac; about 9%), skin afflictions (wounds, burns, rashes; about 9%), helminth worm infections (about 7%), and renal afflictions (diuretic, depurative; about 7%). Nez N, Gonzlez E: Antecedentes etnohistricos de la alimentacin tradicional en Cuba. Haitian ethnobotanical practices related to traditional posology often follow cosmological/ritual numbers, both for plant quantities and timing of administration. With Nina Feldman. GV, DG, AB, and AB carried out interviews and collected data in the field. In this context, traditional ethnobotanical practices are sometimes reconstituted as part of Haitian culture [14]. Boletn de Resea de Plantas Medicinales. Some touristic infrastructures (notably in Camagey city and Santa Luca beach) have been developed in the last decade [26]. leaves applied to the forehead to treat headache). Our purpose was to list the plants held to be antifertility agents in the island. 2007, Oxford: Berghahn, 14-38. Fuentes V. Sobre la medicina tradicional en Cuba. Pieroni A, Vandebroek I, Eds: Traveling Plants and Cultures. The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Migrations. Interviews were conducted in Spanish after first explaining the aims of the study. Medicinal plants and cultural variation across Dominican Rural, Urban, and Transnational Landscapes. She is a believer of remed fey, or bush medicine. Children's baths prepared with anthelmintic plants (e.g. Uses of medicinal plants by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. One that I ran across in my research that is very interesting and pertinent to this subject is quassia, or bitterwood. It is used for general hygiene and curing excessive discharges. Economic Botany. They relied heavily on homegardens, wild plants, and on traditional ethnobotanical knowledge and practices in order to survive. Very, very, very bitter. Especially over the last decade, Haitians in Cuba have begun to rediscover their roots and revitalize their traditional culture by forming Haitian associations and groups and celebrating festivals and other events. Herbal mixtures used by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey. He remembered and was able to impart that knowledge when he arrived in the Caribbean. This information on herbs was developed by BHLP faculty members and consultants as an attempt to begin educating conventional health care practitioners about the use of herbs and supplements by ethnic groups in Boston. Throughout the field study, the ethical guidelines adopted by the American Anthropological Association [27] were followed. While I was able to match several Haitian herbs with American counterparts, I was a little disappointed that I could find no mention of the "biggies" of American herbal pharmacoepeia in Caribbean plant botany. The study of Haitian immigrants' traditional medicine in this context not only represents an interesting case about medicinal plant use, but also records knowledge that is rapidly disappearing with the death of older Haitian migrants. In contrast, the use of the same species with different medicinal purposes may be the result of migrant's adoption of some species through experimentation with plants found in the new environment (e.g.
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