Besides single medicinal plants, informants also reported 22 herbal mixtures that are mostly prepared as a concoction of plants or plant parts and ingested. Cookies policy. Often this practice is associated with a ritual acknowledgement of the plant and its power, by leaving a coin in the place where leaves have been collected, or by adding a coin to the bath and later leaving it at road crossing. During the decades after emigration, the original Haitian ethnomedicinal knowledge progressively changed and adapted to the new environment, maintaining cultivation and use of important medicinal plants, incorporating plants and uses from the host Cuban culture, and diffusing specific plant uses to Cubans in contact with Haitian communities. During the decades after emigration, the original Haitian ethnomedicinal knowledge progressively changed and adapted to the new environment, maintaining cultivation and use of important medicinal plants, incorporating plants and uses from the host Cuban culture, and diffusing specific plant uses to Cubans in contact with Haitian communities. Gabriele Volpato. Google Scholar. 10.1016/j.jep.2003.10.012. 8600 Rockville Pike These mixtures can be more or less complex, ranging from a concoction of two plants to complex preparations with different species. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine Haitian Plants Medicine. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Traveling Plants and Cultures The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Migrations. More than 50% of the mixtures are used to treat afflictions of the respiratory system. CAS In North Miami Beach, Audrey Rowe stopped by her friend Cacheta Francis house to pick some cerasee growing in the backyard. The plant . 1984, 10: 1-39. and Bidens pilosa are added to treat congestions of the respiratory system, whereas 'hot' plants (e.g. The plant pops up all over South Florida, especially when it rains. Map of Cuba with the Province of Camagey. Haitian immigrants and their descendants mainly decoct or infuse aerial parts and ingest them, but medicinal baths are also relevant. I used Kloss's Back to Eden and Santillo's Natural Healing with Herbs for my American source books. About 75% of the inhabitants live in urban areas, where Camagey, Florida and Nuevitas are the major cities. This video showcases plants used for post labor bath and tea as Haitian mother explains the importance of traditional medicine. Her go-to cure-all medicinal plant is asosi, also called cerasee or corailee in the English-speaking Caribbean. In: Pieroni A, Vandebroek I, editor. The relatively high figure for alcoholic maceration (8.7%) is due to the number of plants that are reported to be soaked in rum and used in the preparation of a medicinal and ritual Haitian drink called tifey [14]. An ethnobotanical investigation was conducted to collect information on medicinal plant use by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. The Haitian herbalist and her Ozark counterpart share a similarity: they both gather and use herbs because of necessity. Red sage is an herb found in both locales and is known to be an emmenagogue, or that which promotes menstrual flow (Kloss, 308; Laguerre, 94; Colon, 161). 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. Given the availability of medicinal plants in the surrounding environment, for some species at least, the use of fresh plants may present the advantage of preserving more active compounds and consequently enhancing their absorption and effectiveness. Esquivel M, Hammer K: The Cuban homegarden 'conuco': a perspective environment for evolution and in situ conservation of plant genetic resources. Chemical Ecology. [14]. 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. 10.1016/0378-8741(82)90072-1. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, http://www.afrocubaweb.com/haiticuba.htm#creole, http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ethcode.htm, decoction of three shoots and three roots. In: Pieroni A, Vandebroek I, editor. Pedernales, Santo Domingo, in Ethnomedicine 4: 139-166, 1976. Brandon G. The uses of plants in healing in an Afro-Cuban religion, Santeria. Traveling cultures and plants The ethnobiology and ethnopharmacy of migrations. This paper focuses on traditional medicinal plant uses of Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. 10.1007/BF00052650. the contents by NLM or the National Institutes of Health. Conversely, and to a lesser extent, Haitians contributed to what is today considered as traditional Cuban medicine by introducing into the dominant Cuban community certain specific ethnobotanical practices and uses of plants, as described also in Volpato et al. Original music by Dan Powell and . dicinal plants utilized in the plain regions. Macia M, Garcia E, Vidaurre PJ. So, Lippia alba and Cymbopogon citratus often appear in the corpus of ethnobotanical knowledge of African origin in Cuba [14,51], and Erythroxylum havanense and Chiococca alba are among the main ingredients of multi-herbal preparations used as a medicinal remedy in Eastern Cuba as well as a spiritual remedy in Afro-Cuban religions [19,34]. Medicinal plants and cultural variation across Dominican Rural, Urban, and Transnational Landscapes. 2007, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 64-85. government site. 10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0381:EOPATC]2.0.CO;2. Often, a decoction of leaves and aerial parts is prepared, sometimes in combinations of different species, and left to cool, or otherwise these vegetal parts are smashed and directly added to the bath water. California Privacy Statement, 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. Hernndez J. Uso popular de plantas con fines medicinales. (Kloss, 300; Laguerre, 30). Esquivel M, Fuentes V, Martnez C, Martnez J, Hammer K: The African influence from an Ethnobotanical Point of View. 2004, 90: 293-316. Kloss, Jethro. National Library of Medicine Anales del Jardn Botnico de Madrid. 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. Article Informants reported using 123 plant species belonging to 112 genera in 63 families. Informants reported using 123 plant species belonging to 112 genera in 63 families. Otherwise, they live in hospices either in Camagey or in smaller cities and villages. Jordan, Wilbert C. "Voodoo Medicine", in Textbook of Black Related Diseases. Seabrook claimed it was called "pains cutter" in rural Haiti.. Douching with a decoction made from oak bark is another female remedy found in both Haiti and the Ozarks (Jordan, 735; Kloss, 171). Haitians believe that giving catnip tea to infants will clarify impurities in their blood. But in Haiti, the purifying qualities of sarsaparilla are held to be more important because of the emphasis Haitians place on the role of blood in the body. Among these, a mixture prepared with the fruit of Crescentia cujete as a main ingredient is highly regarded by Haitians and is considered as a panacea. Immigration was a key factor in the plans for economic reconstruction after the War of Independence against Spain, and West Indians entered Cuba as cheap labour required to cut sugarcane [8]. Although no census of Haitians (residents or descendants) in Cuba has been done to date, we can roughly estimate the number of Haitians and their descendants in the Province of Camagey at about 50,000 or 67% of the population. 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]. 1988, Universidad de La Habana, Tesis de grado de Candidato a Doctor en Ciencias Biolgicas. 2005, 102: 69-88. Remedies prepared by heating plant parts in fire (four per cent) are mostly used for topical applications (e.g. A preliminary study on Haitian plant use revealed that Citrus aurantium (Rutaceae), common name "zorange si" was utilized in a wide variety of ways. The decoction of fresh herbal components is by far the preferred means to prepare medicinal remedies, accounting for almost 60% of all preparations, which is similar to what has been found in traditional Cuban medicine [15, 17, 19]. The data presented in this paper are derived from a wider study that was conducted on the ethnobiological knowledge of Haitian people living in the Province of Camagey. 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). Boletn de Resea de Plantas Medicinales. 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. Macia M, Garcia E, Vidaurre PJ: An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants commercialized in the markets of La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia. Jordan confirms these abortifacient qualities in his work, Voodoo Medicine. Vervain is a popular remedy due to its multiple plant-beneficial compounds. 10.1016/j.jep.2005.05.018. [15] who interviewed 29 Cuban informants across the Province of Camagey and reported 111 species used for medicinal purposes. 1) and generally sold for US$1.50 to $2.50. The incorporation of local remedies into their own pharmacopoeia occurred as a consequence of factors such as cultural contacts and exchanges between Haitians and Cubans and of personal experimentation or imitation of local practices by migrants. Additional file 1 lists the plant species cited by informants in alphabetical order according to their scientific name, along with their botanical families, vernacular Cuban and Haitian names (as reported by informants during the fieldwork), voucher specimen numbers, parts used, preparation of the remedies, medicinal use, and frequency of mention. Haitian with a dried fruit of Abelmoschus esculentus from his homegarden (G. Volpato). About 75% of the inhabitants live in urban areas, where Camagey, Florida and Nuevitas are the major cities. Cerasee or asosi is typically prepared as a tea: Wash the vine; throw it into a pot of water --leaves, stems and all. DeSantis' appointed board approves a lawsuit against Disney, South Florida professor allegedly fired over racial justice unit files civil rights complaint, Gas prices across Florida are on the decline and could get even lower, Florida LGBTQ+ lawmaker tells the GOP: 'Im literally trying to exist', The Symphonia's climate change-themed concert series concludes with 'Water', Favorite Zip Odes: Poems about cafecito, heat, language and I-95 traffic, Bumping Lady Gaga off the charts? Among the shared ethnobotanical practices is also the preparation of miel de gira with the pulp of the fruit of Crescentia cujete. Shes picking up bush to make some kind of remedy. . The final question that I wanted to probe was some sort of linkage between the two cultures of Haiti and America that might account for the similarities I found in treatment methods. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 1966, 1: 25-39. The present investigation shows that Haitian migrants and their descendants living in the Province of Camagey (Cuba) have medicinal uses for 123 plant species belonging to 112 genera in 63 families. 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. In these contexts, the main forces that drive change in the cultural domain of traditional medicinal knowledge are: (1) the adaptation of the original knowledge to the new (host) environment (through substitution of no longer accessible traditional remedies with locally available ones, and the incorporation of remedies from the host culture into migrants' own pharmacopoeia); and (2) the development of strategies to obtain the original remedies (through cultivation, gathering, or marketing of the original remedies, and the development of social networks that link migrants to relatives and friends in the place of origin) [47,48]. This lapse of time is long enough to permit insights to be drawn regarding the process of transformation and adaptation of ethnomedicinal knowledge after migration and in the ways in which the progressive integration of migrants in the host culture modifies this knowledge. They knew the use of cure-to-all medicinal plant Asosi or cerasee or corailee in English which grows all over South Florida, especially in abundance during the rainy season. We are a Social Impact (SI) company; we don't focus in making excessive profits, but we primarily . Laguerre M: Afro-Caribbean Folk Medicine. Respondents in the city of Camagey were located thanks to the local Haitian Association. I soon learned however that Caribbean folk medicine cannot be studied without comparing it to African-American practices. Also, cricket's (genus Acheta and Neoconocaephalus) legs are boiled in water and the decoction is then drunk by children and older people who have urination problems. Haitian's knowledge about plants seems to comprehend and deal with toxic allelochemicals through specific posological practices. ", She points to a green shrub with slightly oval leaves, This isJackna Bush.. Pieroni A, Mnz H, Akbulut M, Baser KHC, Durmuskahya C. Traditional phytotherapy and transcultural pharmacy among Turkish immigrants living in Cologne, Germany. Beyra A, Len M, Iglesias E, Ferrndiz D, Herrera R, Volpato G, Godinez D, Guimarais M, Alvarez R: Estudios etnobotnicos sobre plantas medicinales en la provincia de Camagey (Cuba). Naomie Phillis, 50, sells traditional herbal medicine in Ption-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. 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. Richard Allen Bidens pilosa, Cymbopogon citratus, Majorana hortensis, Ocimum spp.). Among the peoples of African origin who settled in Cuba throughout the centuries, Haitians played an important role shaping Cuban culture and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. Haitian with a dried fruit of Abelmoschus esculentus from his homegarden (G. Volpato). Nez N, Gonzlez E: Antecedentes etnohistricos de la alimentacin tradicional en Cuba. Inventory of medicinal plants used by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. Edited by: Hammer K, Esquivel M, Knpffer H. 1992, Gatersleben, Germany: Institut fr Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung, 1: 110-137. Quinine has quite a reputation for being used in the past to induce abortion. By listening to them, going along into the woods when they gathered and doing reading on my own, I too began to gather and use medicinal herbs. William Seabrook's work The Magic Island also cites the usage of verbena in women who are in labor (Seabrook 327). FURCY, HAITI - About an hour's drive from Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, residents of Furcy, a cool, lush, agricultural community high up in the mountains, say they are used to dealing with . The complexity of practices related to traditional posology is rarely investigated in ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies. 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 [912]. DG, AB, and AB performed botanical analysis and species identification. Traditional Haitian medicine retained an important role in healthcare and cultural practices soon after immigration, when Haitian livelihoods were based on work in the sugarcane fields, on the surrounding environment, and on their knowledge about that environment. They observe nuances in the condition of their blood that are almost unheard of in white Anglo folk pharmacopoeia. volume5, Articlenumber:16 (2009) He deduced that the bark and wood of the simarouba excelsa plant were an excellent tonic and febrifuge (that which acts to expel intestinal worms from the system). [2125]. An infusion (tea) of senna is given to expel worms, reduce biliousness (belching and indigestion), and as an all-purpose laxative (Kloss, 312; Santillo, 175). Haiti is one of the leading producers of vetiver in the world. 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. 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]. 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. Down through the ages women have had to deal with menstrual cramps, excessive bleeding, water retention and unwanted pregnancy, just to name a few. But, says Davis, "there were a lot of problems with the Datura hypothesis. "y tienen faxones y fabas muy diversos de los nuestros" Origin, Evolution and Diversity of Cuban Plant Genetic Resources. and Bidens pilosa are added to treat congestions of the respiratory system, whereas 'hot' plants (e.g. A list of medicinal plants was published by Brutus and Pierre-Noel (1960). Bidens pilosa, Cymbopogon citratus, Majorana hortensis, Ocimum spp.). Boletn de Resea de Plantas Medicinales. The hairs of the fruit of this plant contain formic acid and mucunain, which are so toxic that they were used as homicidal poisons in Africa [40,41]. Lee RA, Balick MJ, Ling DL, Sohl F, Brosi BJ, Raynor W: Cultural dynamism and change An example from the Federated states of Micronesia. 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. The incorporation of local remedies into their own pharmacopoeia occurred as a consequence of factors such as cultural contacts and exchanges between Haitians and Cubans and of personal experimentation or imitation of local practices by migrants. By using this website, you agree to our 10.1016/0378-8741(86)90070-X. GV drafted the manuscript. The site is secure. Haitian Voodoo priests control two major practices which might be of interest to toxicologists: healing and poisoning. Mixtures (components, parts used, preparation and means of use) are given in Table 1, whereas the presence of species in mixtures is reported in Additional file 1. around Central Brasil, Minas in the North of the Province and Central Haiti in the South). The decoction of fresh herbal components is by far the preferred means to prepare medicinal remedies, accounting for almost 60% of all preparations, which is similar to what has been found in traditional Cuban medicine [15,17,19]. Volpato, G., Godnez, D., Beyra, A. et al. Across the yard is a towering shrub with yellow flower clusters shapedlike a candle. Dried cerassee for sale at Grace Seafood in Miami Gardens. [12], Nevet and de la Rosa [9], and Pedro [10]. Haitian immigrants and their descendants mainly decoct or infuse aerial parts and ingest them, but medicinal baths are also relevant. 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).