Vol. II, part 1. issnecl July 16th•. 1909.
ZULU
~mDlCIN
E AND
~J
IlJDIC£NE-MEN.
1
Zulu Medicine and Medicine-men.
By
He,'. Alfl'cd T. BI'yant,
Natal.
(1) INTRODUCTION,
ALTHOUGH the Zulu native is sadly lacking in the equipment
requisite for the civilised life, he is quite astonishingly learned
ill the domain of his own environment. It is by no means an
.exaggeration to a,ffil'm that cOl11lJaratively the average Zlliu
can boast of a larger share of pure scientific knowledge than
the :werage Blll·opea,n.
I suppose, if it were possible for ns to go back to the dawn
of human intellect and to meaSllre how much of intelligent
thought has been expended on each of the sev~ral branches
of mllndane knowledge, we shollld find that probably by far
the greater part has been spent on the subject of medical
SCIence.
From the orig'in of primitive man on to the time wIlen the
art of writing was invented l1larks one period in the ·hisl ory
of medical knowledge-the first dark period of unwrittell
progress.
And from the days when Imhotpon, S011 of Ptah,
fit'st wrote "soon after the creatioll JJ at Memphis, and
Hippocrates at Cos, on to these times of modern medicine
marks another, in which we still find oUl'selves. \~Yith this
latter period I am not here concerned, but I shollld like to
glanee into that great book of unwritten lore, snch as may
have existed among ahoriginal peoples prior to the dawn of
VOL. 2, PAR'!' 1.
1
2
REV. ALlt'RED '1' • .BRYAN'!'.
literary enlightenment in Egypt and Greece. '1'rne, that was
an unwritten book; but it existed all the same, writ large in
the traditions and practice of those peoples. Has it ~ven
now ceased to exist? Or may we not find fragments of the
ancient lore,still extant among the primitive races of mankind,
wherewith to reconstruct in some- degree the ancient pages?
The Kafirs of South Africa, upon the arrival of the white
man among them, were, I am convinced, in vil·tua,l1y the same
state of life and knowledge as they mnst have been in the days
when the ancient Egyptians first appear~d 011 the Nile. 'rhis
was a state of life so primitive of its kind that it scarcely
permitted any fnrther reduction to a simpler standard, at any
rate for anything calling itself a human being.
The Kafir's dwelling, merely a rongh binding-together of
twigs and grass, marked only one step in advance of the cavedwellers. His single weapon, an indifferently made stabbinginstrument, consisting of a crude iron blade affixed to the elid
.. of a stick, indicated only the first emergence from the Stolle
A.ge. Hi~ dress, of a single strip of skin covering the
pudenda, with absoilltely no knowledge of any kind of clotl.,
was the simplest advance on the fig-leaf.
His acquaintance with only two, or at most three, specie!;
of edible cereal (amaBele or Sorghum cab'orum, nN'f}a'lCoti
or? Peni.cillaria spicata, and 7bT'oko or T1Jleusine coracana-the maize-plant having been introduced in comparatively recent tlmes by the PortngneseL with not 1110re thall
half-a-dozen varieties of other cultivated vegetable food, and
all prepared for eating by the merest process of water-boiling,
exhibited a culinary art of the most rudimentary descriptioll.
His pottery was almost identical with that in vogue in north
A.frica in the very earliest period of Egyptian history.
'1'his is how we fouilcl him two· centuries back, and how,
for ·the most part, he still remains. Have we allY reason to
believe he was more advanced than this 6000 years ago-he
could. scarcely have been less? There seems every reason to
believe that he was' just where he is. vVhy, then, sllOl1ld we
suppose tlmt he has made any considerahle progress in his
lIrED1CIN.~:-KBN.
;l,ULU MEDLOINF. AND
3
knowledge and treatment of disease? A study of these Jatter
a.s existent to-d~),y will no doubt present ns with a very fail'
picture of. how they must hetve heen before J mhotpou and
.Mscnlapius became gods.
U) 'I'm;
GEN~]IlA[.
STA'l'\JS
AND
INI'l'IA'L'JON OF THE M~;D1CINJ·;­
MAN.
Oompared with the sleek a,nd imposing personality of the
chief the medicine-man presents quite it mean appeal'anco,
though picturesque and awesome withal. Along with the
chief he slmres the greatest power in the savage tribe-not,
it is tl'lle, the power of supreme authority; but a power over
life and death not less effective and real, tllOugh hidden and
mysterious. His well-wrinkled features bear the unmistakable
stamp of a thinking mind, and his intelligent eye has that
flash of deep cLlnning so well suited .to one who has so often
heen the accomplice, behind the scenes, to sinister deeds.
His lean, wiry frame betokens a life of tpilsome, if we11rewarded, activity rathel' than of lnxluy and repose-an
activity consisting mainly in constant arduous journeying'S
throughout the land, and frequently even into the foreign
lands of adjoining tribes.
Ont in the full panoply of ft professional pi'ogress, his body
is betrimmed with a medley of the most fant'Lstic trappillgs.
1\ plume of feathers waves above his head-ring, and a cil'clet
of lion-claws snrrollnds his neck. Various cow-tails detngle
hom his arms and cllOst, supplementing the squal'e strip of
Jeopard-skin and the bundle of genet-tails that covel' his
llakedness behind and before. NmneT0.us bunches of goathorl1s, blackened with the smoke of his hut, and sundry snHtll
grass-woven baskets and bundles of rag-packages, brown with
dirt, containing his strange assortment of drugs and chal'ms,
are strung £L'om every point of vantage about neck, shoulders
}lnd body. A long pouch, holding his snujf~box, and made
hom the whole skin of an un b01'11 calf, dangles from his left
REV. AL]<'R,l<.]D
'r.
BH,YAN'l'.
lutnd, a,nd in the other he carries his long walking-staff 01' a
couple of stont sticks.
Thus, silently followed by his menial, bearing on his head
his master's roll of sleeping-mats, blanket, smoke-horn and
head-rest, the Zuln medicine-man goes forth to conquer death
-or to administer it.
'1'he high dignity and diploma of medicine-man is open to
all who may have the wealth and inclination to seek it.
:Lack of ambition and individnal initiative is a chief characteristic of the -Aft-ican· nature, and accounts for the utter
H,bsence of young men launching ont on independent projects
of their own. But should one perchance be so precocions as
to aspire to the medicine-man's estate, he must first of all
undergo a long period of initiation. He enters the service
of Rome doctor of repute as his 'imPalc,ttha 01' assistant. His
business is to act as the messenger, the herb-gatherer and
general help of his master in professional matters, accompanying him on all his excursions as medicine-bearer, and picking
up by observation and instrnction wh~ttever of knowledge
and skill he can. In an irregular way this kind of study may
continue for years, until at length the tyro feels that he is
capa,ble of dealing with a good many ailments on his own
account, pays his master the requil'ed fee of two or thl'ce
head of cattle, and betakes himself to his own home, w hCl'e
he soon surrounds himself with a comfortable practice. He
constantly adds to his store of knowledge by consultation and
the mutual exchange of remedies with neighbouring doctOl'S,
Ull til, after perhaps twenty years or 111Ol·e, he has picked up
a,ll there is worth knowing in the Kafit' pharmacopreia aml
Kafir pathology.
But all this is the rare and exceptional comse. As a
matter of fact, the medical profession is with the Zulns
hereditary, one of the medicine-man's sons being compulsorily
introduced by him into the trade, as his assistant, during life,
and inheriting his legacy of bags and bundles of medicine
after his death.
ZULU M.F]()lCINE A/l:D )IEDIOINE-MBN.
5
(3) ORIGIN m' 'l'HE ZULlI NAME i·nyanga-MEDICINl<;-lIlAN.
'1'he Kafirs call their medicine man, hi Zulu, an i-nyanga,
and in Xosa, l'\,n i-nyangi (although in the latter language a
totally different term, vi)';. i-gqi?"l~, is in more common use
nowadays, probably derived from the Hottentot: c f. NamaHot. gqei?'ll, pertaining to witchery, from gqei-d1', bewitch,
from gqe'i, belch. Note here the universal habit among witchdoctors, Zulu included, of inaugurating their spiritualistic
seances with an ineyitable prelude of belching).
V\'hether or not there may be any kinship between t}le
Kafir roots indicated above and the constantly recurring
element, ag, g{~, or gi in the Aryan languages, e. g. SkI'. gir,
speech; Pel's. mag, priest; Gr. mago~', wizard; L. mtgw',
soothsayer; g{t?'-?'i?'e, chattel'; Eng. mag, chatter, and the
like, I leave to the philologists to decide.' Certainly CL
I·emarkably similar element, viz. anga, in the sense of "wizard JJ
or "medicine-man" is very prevalent in the present-day
vocabulary of the nasal ising Bantu tribes of Africa, and was
110 doubt equally so in the archaic speech of pre-Egyptian
times.
Thus we find m-ganga (doctor) in tIle Dwahili opposite
Zanzibar, and the same in Kaguru of Sagaraland. The
Nyamnyam, of the Nuba-Fuh~ group, haye n-zanglt (doctor)
and wu-wanga (medicine).! Passing to the Rausa, of the
Negro group, between Lake '1'shad and the Nigel', we have
magani (medicine) and maimagani (doctor). In the Dl1aJl<~
of the Cameroons, b1c-anglt means "medicine" ; and in tIle
Pongwe or Gaboon language u-ganga appears as "doctor."
Moving southward along tIle western coast, we meet with
n-f/anga (doctor) both in the Congo and Angola speec]l.
Still southward of these, at the south-western extremity of
the Bantu field, the H erero 11as on-ganga. (doctor). Returning across the continent, we find n-gak{t (doctor) among tIle
1 In regard to some of the eXHmples here gh'en, the writel' is not
prepared to vouch fOl' the absolute accuracy of the dh'ision, liS here
indicated, of the prefixes frow their roots.
6
R1W. ALFRED '1'. BR.YAN'l'.
Sutos j in-ganga (doctor) in "Mashonaland j the same again
ll,lIiong the 'eongll,s seawll,rd of the Victoria ~~alls; [1nd we
complete the circuit with ~tn-ganga (doctor) among the Nkonde
north of J... ake N yasa.
(4)
'1'HB }hDICIN~j-NAN AND WI'l'CH-D(){)'l'Ol~ COMPAliED.
Among mos~ primitive peoples the medicine-mll,n, the priest
i1l1d the diviner \vas, ,wd still generally is, one and the smne
indi vidual, following the one indivisible trade. All powers
and functions tbat possessed about them anything of the
mysterious and nncanllY, whether they were employed to
el'adicate disease or to revell,l hidden doings, to besto~v good
fortnue or to chll,rm ll,wa,y the bad, were to the savage mind
so identical in their nature as to be most properly com"binerl
ill the sa,me professioll and sallle professi011al-they were but
vH,ried manifestll,tions of the one same power.
'1'he African medicine-nmn (so cll,lIed by Europeans), may
thel'efore vei'y possibly be the direct descendant of the abol'iginal cc priest" who worked at once moon, medicine and
ll1agic. With the Kafirs, however, both Zulu ll,nd XOSll" tIle
office has, throughout all historica'! time (i. e. at any l'ate
since the advent of the white 111an) been divided.
The Zulu medicine-man is a personage totally distinct
from the Zulu diviner or so-called witch· doctor. Even so,
the two professions do still considera:bly overlap, tIle medical
man dealing very lll,rgely in magic and charms, and conversely
the witch-doctor possessing a,ll extensive acquaintance with
disease and curative herbs, although his office is rather to
indic<lte th<ln to <lctua,lly administer. Both <),l'e commonly
called <In 'i-nyanga, though the medicine-man is sometimes
distinguished as the i-nyangn yok~cel(/l)ha (the doctor for
" curing), '1.11d the witch-doctor as the i-nyangn yokubhula. (the
doctor for divining).
This latter has the further titles, solely confined to his OWII
cbss, of mn-ngoma (apparently originally meaning "the
drumming-one "-c f. Swahili, Ganda, etc., rIl-goma, drum;
ZULU ilOjDIC[NB AND
)mDICINE-~LE~.
7
Kikuyu, ?I-gomet, temporary madness), and i8(£-n1£s'i (the
smeller-out-probably from a now obsolete Zulu word 1L1£kisa,
abbrev. form 1W8C£ llIeaning to "help to sIllell out "), and so
called from their practices respectively of drumming or beating on a hide, 01' perhaps originally on a drum, during certain
cel'emonies, and of "smelling out" all manner of secret evil
and the workers thereof.
(5)
'J'H}J NATURE Ol' NATIVE MEDlCAI:'PRAC'l'ICE.
If we examine the Kafir doctor's pathological knowledge
we find it mostly amounts to n'll. His entire acquaintance
with the structure of the human body is drawll from its
analogy with the anatomy of the beasts, with whose bodily
structure he is, indeed, remarkably familial'.
You could put
to him few questions as to the placing of the bones and the
various organs in the body of an ox, pig, or monkey that
would (;ollsiderably embarrass hilll. He could tell you .something, at any rate, about the forill and appearance in health
and disease of the respiratory, digestive, and circulatory
organs j but the whole nervous system, save the bare existence
of the brain and spinal cord, is to him a perfect blank.
He
possesses no name for nerves and knows naught of their existence. A similar state of ignorance reigns throughout the whole
domain of physiology.
He could not even give a school-boy
explanation of the functions of anyone of the principal organs.
He knows that the blood" runs" through the body, but he is
uot aware of any connection between the circulation of the
blood and the beating of the heart.
Despite the fact that the Kafir doctor is so uninformed as
to the canses and nature of diseases, he is conversant enough
with their symptoms. Indeed, to him the symptoms are the
disease, and the great rule of his pathology is: As many symptoms, so many diseases. A person might be suffering with an
unhealthy liver and so be afflicted with pain in the right
shonlder. '1'he latter would be regarded as a separate complaint and called i8i73hobo, while the former (01' liver symptoms)
8
lU~V.
AIJ]i'RED '1'. BUYANT.
would be caned £siHind'i.
In a case of paraplegia you may
find the doctor vigorously carving rOws of incisions about the
paralysed lower limbs and rubbing therein fiercely irritating
powders, which might well be expected to stimulate any cripple
to almost snperhuman activity j but he is all the time quite
innocent of the fact that the evil is not there at all, but away
at the other end, in the brain.
The method of the native doctor, then, in fighting disease
is to deliver a fierce frontal attack against eMIl symptom
indiyidually, which, as we may readily imagine, to one so
innocent of the nature, strength, and position of the enemy,
must often result disastrously. A patient down with severe
dysentery, that will tolerate no checking, he will proceed to
drench at once from above and below with a combination of
t he most drastic astringents varied with a dose of the most
drastic purgatives.
In spite of such blind empiricism it cannot be denied that the
native doctor does sometimes work a cure, sometimes quite a
startling cure, where the efforts of Buropean physicians have
proved utterly unavailing. Remedies he has, as we shall see,
without number, and some of them truly helpful, suited to
every ill-pllysical, me))t~d, moral and social-that man is heir
to. Prequently it is to these we may attribute 1lis success j
but not so in thost; phenomenal cases above referred to.
In the opinion of the writer the secret of many Kafil' cures,
and, it may be added, of many Kafir ailmelits, is not in Hie
action of matter on matter, of drug Oil flesh, but in those occnl t
regions where mind works on mind and mind on flesh.
It is not the quack's innocent inixture of tap-water and
bnl'nt sugar that drives out the malady, but that powerful
battery of mental forces-confidence, imagination and w111hitherto inert withill the patient's own self, and which the
quack has so cunningly, and in the case of Kafir doctors,
perhaps quite unconsciously, excited to activity by his
convincing volubility and inspil'i~illg methods. "Ve often say
the native is favonred with remarkable recnperative powers.
Are these attributable solely to a more robust physical system,
IIU f,U
MEDlOiN E ANU .MEDICiNE-JU!JN.
and not rather, and in a vel'y large degree, to his possession
of a mind working in inore perfect harmony with the requirelIlents of the body?
.A native cannot understand disease in any plant 01' animal
as being in accordance wit-,h the natural order of its destiny.
The only manner of death that is at all comprehensible to
him is that of senile decay-when a thing lIas run its allotted
course and expended it,s powers and sinks serenely back once
1II0re into the lap of Mother Earth. Of the aged who pass awa,y
in this" natnral " way the native ne\'er says that" they have
died" (b(£~file), but simply (( they have gone home" (ba-goduhle). "'\"here is the l'easonaolell0ss in a thillg withering a.way
in the very prime of its existence? Obviously this can only
he brought about by some pernicious influence interfering
from without. He has fixed on only two such external agents
of harm-lI1alice and magic-as best suggesting thell1selves to
his own innate suspiciousness of character. He is convinced
that fnlly 90 pel' cent. of tho!Se who clie "prematurely"
have been done away with by tlJe malice of their neighbours.
Generally speaking, the only form of contractible disease for
which an 'u?n'l'hakc£l1i:i .. is not held to be responsible is that
heterogeneous agglomeration of ailments which he combines
under the generic term 1£1lLKhuhZllne, which may he roughly
described as "fevers," and which lIe is satisfied are somellOw
conveyed through the mediulll of the ail'.
The l'esult of all this is to produce a medical science yery
unlike om' own. 'rhe Kafir doctol' is not only called upon
to combat diseases ah'eady actually in the system, but he has
also to combat tIle machinations and black arts of the unefici
of his race by charms and counter-magic. As we elsewhere
observe, medicine and magic among primitive peoples always
proceed together. '1.'hey are one science, one art j and to the
primitive mind both are equally feasible, equally natural.
In tlleil' view it makes no greater demand on reason to
1)(-)lieve that a piece of vege.table root tied round the neck
, 'll1nTlwlwthi c1escl'ibes ill Zulu a. person given to t.he secret killing
off of others.
10
It.FN.
AI':~'RED
- '1'. BltYAN'r.
can preserve a man from impending evil (say of getting
wounded in battle), than that it can save 11im from its effects
after it has actually befallen him. In fa,ct the accomplishment of the former feat would appeal' to involve less difficulty
than the latter. II; is obviously just as reasonable to expect
Na,ture to have provided antidotes against the seCl'et malpractices of brother-man as against the mischief worked in
human beings by those much mOl'e abstruse forces cn,using
disease and death. 'rhe office of the medicine-man thus
requires him to administer magic and chal'1l1s as often as
health-giving drugs. He would stand agha~t at the magnitude of your ignorance if you were bold enough to ridicule
his ability to confound the knavery of the 1t1n'l'ha7cath'i by
plentifully sprinkling hd'eltz'i-medicine about the kraal, 01' to
ward off tlle lightning by erecting_ a medicated stone in its
vicinity.
But while he assumes the power of being able to ward off
and fortify a,gainst all manner of possible corporal and
physical evils, he knows too how to induce them j and the
proneness of human nature to work evil, especially for
ga.in, being well recognised by the Kafirs, the most skilled
medicine-ma,n is with tl1em invariably snspectecl of being also
the greatest 't<mThakllthi.
(6)
'rHb;
NA'l'II'E MEDICINES.
Orawling into the doctor's hut we may find him in the act
of m~Lkil1g np a prescription, for he is his own chemist.
Squatting alone on the floor on the right side of the hut, a
vast array of small objects, of all shapes, all colonrs, all
characters, lies spread out in an orderly fashion before and
a,bout him. From time to time, after a tllOughtful sunrey, he
picks up one 01' other of the curious objects, pares off a tew
tiny slices, or drops a few particles on to the J'ag-patch outstretched before him, until a small heap has been accumulated,
perhaps half a tea-spoonful 01' so, sufficient for one or 11101'0
doses according to the strength of the ingredients.
11
'l'here are baked illsects and dried reptiles; the dung of
lions in powders and the fat of the water-sprite in bottles;
the shrivelled flesh of the white man and the hardened menses
of the b,1boon; an illCongruous assortment of odditiesSpanish-fly powder, asbestos, glass prisms, washing-soda, flint,
spa, crystal, coml, rare geological specimens of every description; skins and bones of every cOllceivable animal, and
h lIndreds of ba1'ks, roots, berries and leaves-in a word,
choice selections innumerable and wonderful, medicinal and
magical, useful, 11armfll1, and inert, from the whole range of
milleral, vegetable, alld animal kingdoms, terrestrial and
ma]']ne.
'l'here are mnctKhHbctlo, to be eaten for self-fortificatiOlI
against evil; and ,imiKhando, to be set fOl' destroying the
power in others. There are imBlmlelo, to be laid on the
enemy's patl1, that, in passing, a fatal disease may befall him;
and il.inTelel.i, for sprinkling about the kraal to ward off
the lightning or discomfit the 1tm'l'hakctthi in his impious
endeavours; ,il.imP1011CZu, for confnsing him when in the act,
and 'izinGq1onclct, for "taking the edge off" the act when
accomplished.
'l.'here are ,im,i1'h,i e?nnyama, "black medicines," so called
from their colom or the colour of theil' decoction, genemlly
drastic in their natnre, and, from their potency, the first to
be administered to ·the patien t for the ellCl'getic expulsion of
the evil afilicting him.
There are imiTki IJ1nhlollhe, "white medicines," also so
called from their colour, to be administered Sll bseqnently to
the black, as a kind of tonic 01' sedative, to work off the
effects of the latter and to restore the patient once more to a
state of complete healthfulness.
And there are Ct1lW Klwm bh'i, "green medicines "-herbs
and roots freshly culled fr0111 the veld-the hl'gest and most
11 seful class of all.
I have actually registered, in the pages of my Zulu-English
Dictionary, some 777 different plants, and in the case of 225
of these (apart from the charms) some medicinal use or
12
1m\'.
ArJE'R~:D
'1'. I:lRYAN'L'.
property is indicated. A valuable and exhaustive account
of about 150 South African medicinal plants, as used by the
Xosa and Fingo Kafirs in the C,ipe Colony, has already been
supplied by Mr. Andl'ew Smith, M.A., in his book entitled
'A Contribution to South .L\Jrican Materia Medica,' and
the names of 240 other such, mentioned itt this article as
in lise among the Zulus, will indicate to medical botanists
where their fnture investigations might be most profitably
l)ll~·sued.
.
It is a curious thing that so many of our health-givillg
plants, shonld, at the same time, be capable of killing, and
the Kafil' pharmacopceia is as abundant in SUell poisons as is
OUI' own.
For the benefit of sneh as desire to be wa1'lled, I
should say all of the foliowillg should he labelled at any rate
as dangerous, many of them being most. certainly fatally
poisonous, and that, with some constitutions, even in minute
qnantities. It must be recollected, however, that every part
of a plant is not always equally poisonous; that the noxiolls
properties are not at a l1 seasons equally great, and that they
may at times be completely removed or neutralised by the
ll1e~hod of medicinal preparation.
'l'here are the 1tQ'Wengu or
(N)l iLozane rl' ep h 1'0 S ia 111 ac rop 0 da and '1'. d i ££u sa),
'iNcohib(t (Gom pho carpn ssp.), imFulu:a (Op hiooa u Ion
gu lUl1lif era), imPila (C a} I i Ie p si s I a u re 0 1a), ttM/(hecleni
(1' h yto I acca a by ssi n i c a), inGcolo, inGcino (S cj 11 a ri gi d ifolia), iLabolhelw (Hyp oxi s lati fo lia), inKomle (Hypox is
sp.), 1~7nZilanyoni bush 01' (N) 'nMinya, 1tMalusi, in T[ungtmyembhe (Ac 0 ca II t h era tIl nll borgi i), the graminaceolls
h~Dlololhi, ttmDlmullasi, nLovwane, 1tNtlangothi, il?na.Ngu:e,
mnDlebe (Synad e 1I i 11 mar b oresce n s), inKu:a (Dio s corea
rllpioola),2 1tDlv.ishllna (Aster asper), iDungamuzi or
1 'l'he sign (N) indicates a N,LtallHlme, as distinct from that in use in
Znluland.
: This plant belongs hot,tllicaJly to the yam group. Though its large
tubers are said to cause a ml'ing madness if eaten raw, the Zulus have
discovered that, when hoiled, they fUl'llislt quite ,L harmless food in
times of f'Lmine.
WLU ;\1lmWIN}] ,\ND )IEDTOINB-·MEN.
l3
(Euclea natalensis), 1tmHlatholana
b tlJ s ifo lia), 1t1nKhlthlu (Tl"i chi 1ia eme tical,
iHl1delemambhn, 1tGobandhlovu (Secamone gerrardi), 1tQh1tm13 (Hip P 0 brom 11 s al at u s), 1tS1Ik1t?'nbhil-i (Hyp e r i cum
ffithiopicum), 7tSolo or Flat-crown (Albizzia fastigiata),
1tThangazana (C u cum is hir Silt us), 'uMahlabehtjeni (C roto n
g \'a tis s i 111 U Ill), HmZ1:lanyoni (C 1'0 ton. s y 1v a ti cn 111), unNdiyandiya (Bersama I ucenR), and many others.
(N)
i8iZ,imane
('I'n rrroa
(7)
0
TRE PREPARA'l'lON OF MEDICINES AND (h;NERAL 'l'REA'UIEN'l'.
Native methods of prepa'l'ing medicines are muc11 like our
own, though, of CO\ll'se, accomplished in a much cruder
manner. There are cold infusions (i8iChonco), made by
pouring a requisite alUount of cold water upon a certain
qnantity of pounded or chopped herb, ba,rk or root; hot
infusions UmF'1tclumezelo) , prepared 1ike tea, wherein the
medicine is st~eped in hot or boiling water; decoctions
('imPeko), in wllich it, as a rule, is slightly simmered, though
also somet,imes thoroughly boiled; and powders,. in which
the remedy is air-dried or roasted Oll ,L pan and subsequently
pu I verised, or is even burnt to ashes.
'rhe methods of tl'ea,tment are likewise, ill a, similal'ly rude
mannel', akin to our own. 'J'he natives are strong advocates
of blood-letting, and they lHl,ve their way of cnpping, in
w llich a hollow cow's horn is held firmly over incisions cut ill
the flesh, and a vacuum is created by another persOll withdrawing the internal ail' by the mouth and so allowing the
blood to flow.
'J'hey use poultices made of bruised vegetable snl)stances
amI applied warm 01' cold; a,nd lotions, in which the liquid
extract of the medicine is llsed for dropping into or pouring
upon the affected part.
'rhey have vegetable, a.nimal and earthy ointments, consisting of clays, ashes and bruised pastes, to be smeared on
the body.
14
ItIW. ALFRED '1'.
Bl~YAN'r.
One of their commonest modes of curing local pains is by
rubbing powder~d medieine into incisions made on the spot.
They have their vapour-baths, in which the patient,
erollching over a boiling pot, is enclosed, along with the
latter, within the ample embrace of a large skin or blanket;
and their sweating-baths, similarly administered; 01' else a
roomy pit, with a narrow entrance-hole, is dug in the earth,
a large fire lighted therein, and the ashes having been
extracted, .the patient is required to enter and enjoy a rllde
kind of 'l'urkish bath, the entrance-hole being lightly covered
with a blanket or hide to keep out the cold air and keep in
the warm.
'l'he clyster and emetic are special favourites with all
natives. I suppose they resort to this means of treatment
more tl~an to any other, even than. to actual dosing. Practically all those common attacks of passing indisposition to
which one is periodically liable, as well as most of the mote
important febrile complaints, are ascribed by them to tIle
bile (iN.1.Jongo), and their first step is to clear the excess of
this fluid out of the system by one or other, or both, of the
above llle~hods.
(8)
PHYSICAL AND CONS'l'[TUTIONAL TRAITS OF THE NA'rIVJoJ.
'1'he Znlu in his IUttive state is one or the finest physical
types of mankind. Both height and chest measurements are,
I believe, above the ~werage or most European races. A
reature typical of the plire Znlu is the massive thigh and calf,
and the great development of these parts is no doubt largely
due to the amount of foot-exercise he is accustomed to do.
'1'he wrist is another exceptionally strong part· of his an atolllY ,
dne to his propensity for stick-fencing and fighting. In the
'~omen, besides an extraordinary breadbh of hip, we notice a
strength and sii'.e of lIeck quite abllorma.l to their sex, and
caused by their having habituated themselves from early
childhood to carrying heavy weights upon the head.
A nterior to the white man's invasion, ther/> is ~'eason to
ZUI,U MEDlOINE AND MBDW[NFJ-MEN.
15
believe that the Zulu race W:J,S singularly long-lived and free
from disease, but endemic al1l1 epidemic fevers, especially
malaria and dysentery, were periodically prevalent, and
demanded a Ileavy toll at every outbreak, owing to the
intimate social habits of the natives. These it was that he
regarded as pre-eminently the natural diseases, not caused by
hnman malice or magic; and he grouped them [tIl indiscriminately together under the one generic name 1.6mKhuhlanl'.
Whether typhus and typhoid existed is problematiQal, as even
now, among the country Kafil's, they are seldom, if ever, lllet
with. Oonstitutional and organic diseases-consumption,
l'heumatism, kidney, bladder and uterine cOlllplaillts-wel'e
all there prior to the advent of the Ell1'opean; but they were
markedly rarer than with ns, and on acconnt of this rarity
were unnamed and only hazily recognised, and were attl'ibllted, not to natural canses, but solely to malicious and
magical origin. Ijeprosy and the venel'ea.l diseases were
absolutely llllkllown, and so were probably also scarlatilHL
and whooping-congh, while smallpox, from the ~bsence of
pock-marked f[tces, must hlLve been extremely uncommon,l
notwithstanding that pock-marked features are quite remarkably nnmerous among the neighbonring Tonga tribes to tIle
nortlnvard-tribes for several centuries in close contact with
Arabs and Portugnese.
Under the altered conditions of the present day, when the
native if; removed from the open air of the veld into the
vitiated atmosphere and congested dwellings of }~Lll'Opean
towns, this immunity from disease bids fail' to cease.
'rhe black races would appeal' to be unusually susceptible
to new diseases, thongh hardened enough to tIle old. Yet at
the same time they possess a -la-l'gel' sha.re than we of animal
,:itality and recuperative energy. But whether these innate
powers of resistance will prove stronger than the enemy
attacking them remains for longer experieJlCe to show.
I The epidemic) of smaJl.pox during Mpallde's reign was regarded by
the natives as quite an unprecedented event.
16
ltEV. ALPltED 'I'. BIWAN'l'.
(9)
'rREA.'l'MEN'l' 0];' DIS.:ASES.
Scrofula.
'1'here WfOS, however, one ailment---l'H,ther a constitutionn,l
taint than specific disease-which was. frOUl the beginning,
. and still is, particularly rife among them, presenting, I suppose, their national physical weakness. It is scrofula" called
hy them 111nZ'£mllh'ornnb·i (bad flesh) or 1l'InChoboko (the
hrea,king-np 01' breaking-ont disease). It is hereditary, and
there a,re few families without it. It may have originfLted in
the tribe by something ha,rmful in theil' mode of life, perhaps
c1lronic stomach derangement owing to inlpl'Oper and illdigestible food, less probably impure a,il' or wa,nt of exercise.
It is, perhaps, the explanation of their extreme impressibleness to the infection of new diseases, as well as of the strange
fact that, despite their robustness of nature, they are nevertheless .much more fl'equently dowll with indisposition than tlle
/;iuropean.
It shows itself in the usual glandular swellings, erratic
tumours, periodical ontbreaks of refractory sores, impotency,
tendency to persistent, though apparently not very harmful,
chest complaillts, peculiat· and indefinite internH,] disorders.
It follows the orthodox rule of scrofula, in tlmt it is mostly to
be looked for a,t OIlce amO)lg the extremely dense-headed and
the pl'ecocionsly intelligent; among tIle coarse-featured,
wrinkle-faced, generally deep-black, and most l'epulsiyely
ugly of tIle Znlu people, and among those of markedly delicate, finely-formecl fen,tnres, genera]]y of a fail' complexion,
the heautiful of their race. It is as prevalent in the royal
family as alllong the poorer classes of Zulnlancl. I believe
the disease is gradually being eradicated, probably owing to
better food, among the younger generations in Natal.
It is possible tlmt the disposition to extl'eme obesity in the
I":llln royal llollse is in some way attribnta,ble to this blooc1taint. Both Mkungo, still living, a.nd his father, King
Mpctncle, a.re, or were, so hugely fat a,s to be utterly incapable
of walking 01' even of leaving their hut or chair.
ZU[,U J\U:DI.CINH ANI)
]7
~JIo:PlCINB-lIH:N,
A constant w<l,rf:1re is kept Llp against the uni\'ersal enemy,
It is treated rather dOlllesr,ically than professIonally, Abnndant herball'ellledies are in lIse, all commonly known to the
fathOl's and mothers of fmnilies. The plan is to administer
an 'imBhiza or combined decoction of sennLl blood-pn "ifying
drngs. Take the roots of the bitter herbs 'i'l'hetlie (Poly gala
0]) p os i ti fo 1ia) I and nMatlHi?~iana (? Rap II ion aClll'e sp.),
of each a slllall bUllch, snch as cmi he easily grasped by the
single h~tIld; the bulbous roots or the 'ltmDn1.e (Natal lily) and
'It~Math1i1.l9a (Cyrtantlll1s ohli(llllll';) j the bal·k or a foot's
length of the stont ,'oot of the nmNnnY"tvane (Knobwood,
Xa n thox y Ion cap e n se), 'iQ',.wn'ing£ (Capp al'is C01')'1I1hifel'a), n1nHlam.bh(/~n(J,n7.i (Rauwolfia llatalensi!:l), and
'iNi7,'imnllf! (the 'iDnnguJ/I'llzi of Znllllancl, _}~nclefl: natalen sis). Break np the ing"edients by chopping OJ' ponnding,
and boil all together fO!' a few minntes in a small qnantity of
water. vVhen cool, take a dessert 01' table-spoonfnl of thee
decoction once eyer,)' lllol'lling and even ing IlIltil rcJ ie\'ed.
The relief will come, in that the impurities in the blood will
he expelled chiefly throllgh tIle skin alld also through the
secretions. Immediately before the' tl'eatrnent the body is
stimllhted to healthy activity by the patient, completely
enshrouded ill a large blanket; sitting beut ovc]' the boiling
decoction-pot, ancl this induces a pl'oInse perspiration, As a
resnlt of the medicine, tumours, quickly going 011' to suppnration, forlll in any part of the body; 01', shonld t118.Y have been
present aheady, will now rapidly be bronght to a head.
'1'llis latter can also' be ;),ccelerntecl by the poulticing of the'
I It must l)e remembered that this iLrticle is inteuded to be silllply an
ethnological study· of the Zulu people frolll the medical standpoiut.
'l'he methods of tl'eatiug disease here describecl are not tllel'eby recomlIIended fOI'adoption by ElU'opean persons. However, the medical
pl'Lnts· enumerated, some of which are undoulJtedly good, others as
certainly poisonous, are seriously offered to progressive medical science
for analysis ,md pel·!w.pS even calltious experilllent,Ll application. Gratefnl"e~ogUition is llere due to J. Medley Wood, Esq., F.L.S., Dil'ector of
the Bot.'tnical Gardens, DnrlJaJ\, for tIle very generous assistance gi \'en
ill the identification of most of the indigenous plants herein refel'l'ed to,
VOL.
2,
PART
1.
2
18
RJW. ALFRED T. BRYANT.
~wellings with iYoli (Stramonium) leaves. The leaves of the
wmThornbho t Cissampelos torlllosa) runnel' are used for
the same plll"pose. From time to time a clyster, consisting of
one large cupful of the decoction, may be administered.
Though other plants are used in the Cape C010ny- the
mnBangandlalCL, or, as there called, nmBangandlela (H e teromorpha arborescens), for instance-the method of treatment of the Xosadoctors is almost identical with that above
given, and the effect of their remedies, though the plants are
different, is said to be the same. Of the plants used by the
Zulus, the iThethe,I n}lathan.iana., HMathnnga, are probably
really good medicines. Others, like the isiZimane, are to be used
cautiously, as probably powerfully poisonous. '1'he iThondo
climber is also used for the relief of the chest symptoms of
scrofula, and the irnF7Lzane herb for those of the stomacll.
In te s tin al Parasites.
Ikhnmbhi.
There is a complaint comparatively common among the
Kafirs of these parts which seems to be unknown to medical
scjen'ce. It appears to be caused by an intestinal parasite
called by the Zulus iKhambhi (sometimes iQhotho or iBh7llngane). This is an imago of a beetle measuring from a quarter
to half an inch in length, with greenish-black elytra. TIle
beetle is almost identical in appearance with the dung-beetle
found in fresh cow-dung.
Specimens of' the beetle were obtained by me in June, ] 903,
at first hand from a sick native girl in my charge in Zululand,
who had been passing them periodically in as many as a
dozen or more at a single evacuation throughout a period of
ten .years or more. The specimens were submitted to DI·.
Warren', Director of the N atal.Mnseum at :Maritz burg, and they
were passed on by hin~ to Dr. L. Peringuey, the well-known
J An allied plant of the same genus as the iThethe, viz. the Poly gal a.
senega., has a place in the British Pharmacopreia as a valuable stimulating expectorant for chronic chest ailments.
ZULU IIIEDIOINFj AND MEDIO(NE-M}lJN.
19
coleopterist at Cape Town. All the information that these
gentlemen could impart was that the insects appeared to be a
species of an ordinary dung-beetle (Aphodins margini. co 11 is H{w.).
An ola Zulu doctor declat'ed to me that he was well
acquainted with three different varieties or species of the human
parasite: one, the commoner gt'eenish-black j another, W 11ich
he called" white" from its having a white mH,rk on the back j
and a third of a dark brown colour, with faintly defined spots
about the thorax and sides.
1'he symptoms, as far as my experience goes, seem to be of
the nature of intense nervons irritation, similar to that sometimes attributed to worms-gnawing pains, fits and, as the
lIa.tives assert, and, I think, with some probability, also
madness.
'1'he natives attach to these parasites many fanciful ideas j for
instance, after the expulsion of the beetles from the bowels
they must be immediat~ly killed lest they take to flight, in
which case dire calamity wonld resnlt, their host following
snit, himself "flying" apont the veld and hills mad.
'1'he strangest circumstance connected with the iKhambhi is
the assertion, universally made by the natives, that it exists
alive in the imago condition in the llOst. One could understand the lar.vlB of a beetle existing in the humH,n intestine,
just as the larYlB of certain flies have been occasionally fonnd,
but for the whole metamorphosis to take place in the intestine
requires strong evidence in order to be believed.
In weighing the evidence it should be remembered that it is
an indispensable formality in the treatment of the 'iKhambhi
that the stools be passed, never on the grass or in the bush, but
only either into a broken pot 01' upon a specially cleareclgravelly
space, tOl·it is imperative on the patient that he immediately kill
the beetle on expulsion. If it is preferred to regard,the native
stOLT as a delusion it is difficult to explain why the beetles are
only found after certain specifics have been administered to
the sick person.
It was desired that the larvlB ot the beetle might be found j
20
n.Elv. ALli'R.ED 'I'. TIRYAN'J'.
and cert,tin living grubs, passed by the Zulu girl abovementioned, wel'e sent to Dr. Warren :£01' identification, in the
hope that t1ley might prove to be snch. The grubs, howevAr,
were those of a fly (Sarcop haga sp.), and the beetle-grub
is still to be fonnd.
The native not only affirms the presence of these beetles in
the human intestines, bnt he is also well provided with
remedies fol' their expulsion, and can invariably produce them
for your satisfaction by the administl'ation of those l'emedies.
Generally a mixture of sevel'al herbs is made, each bringing
its own qnota of effectiveness. The roots of the familiar
tambootie-grfLss or 1:siQllnga (Andropogon marginatns),
of the £nJ(011~fe enkn7a (Hypoxis sp.), c,nd of tlle shrub
mnKhwangn 1l:as'elltaiJeni, together with the leayes of tlle
1tmNukambhiba (Olansena inrequalis), of the nmQaqongn
(Olerodencleon glabrnm), of the 1:Ph.ahla (Rrnchylrena
disco lor), of tIle nmN!I(/1nathi (Bkebel'gia mey81'i), of
the ~£mN1lngwane (Xanthoxylon capense), and of the
1:nKnzwa bush, a small handful of each, are pounded and
illfused like tea. A cupful of the infusion is drunk when
cool, the dose acting as a pal'asiticide and p111'gative. A
clyster of the root-bark of the 1~mD(thane (A poc1ytes
dimidia.ta) and of the mnNnn,qIVane, together with <my of
the leaves as above, boiled and administered wheu slightly
waem, one cnpful on the fil'st occasion, increased to two or
three on a repetition,l is also employed witll effect., which
would seem to indicate that the beetles lodge themselves
chiefly in the htl'ge intestine. Othel' remedies aL'e the
"lmS()7wsoko(l~t h nl in. conY7.oi des) and the i,~iThelelo (As te I'
erigeroides); of the latter' a hot infusion is made with a
double handful of the leaves and abont two cnpfnls of water,
to be administered as a clyster.
Most people have read of tlle popular amulets of the ancient
Egyptians called scarabs. I am not aware that it has been
in any way finally determined that the myth of the scarab, as
1
The quantities indicated in tllis article are snch as are' :\clministered
to:\ native adult.
ZUIJU 1I1.1WWIN.l!: AND ..MI!JDlOIN.I£-)l.1£N.
2J
it existed ill the religion of the allcient Egyptialls, was something primiLrily invented and imported into Africa by them,
and was not mther an indigenons superstition appropriated
by them from the black races they displaced upon their first
arrival on the Nile. If the latter were the case, and the
Egyptians adopted the Africall belief in the human beetleparasite-but without contracting the disease, and, therefore,
ignorant of the exact character of the parasite-we should.
not be surprised at their tra.nsferl·ing the whole myth along
with the magic conllected with it to the only dung-beetle
they knew, vi .... the COll11l1011 tllln ble-dung-Leetle of the paths
(Scara.bn:lus sa.cer). 'rhe l!lgyptian name for the scarab
was the sUllIe as that of Olle of the foul' great cosmic gods,
.viz. Kheper, meaning "he who rolls," "to be," "to C9me
into being" ;. a.nd there is certainly sOUle philologic~11 rese1l1bla.nce between this word and the Znlu word 'I:Kha11/lJhi for
the hunuoll parasite.
Egyptologists (see Budge, 'l!lgyptiall :Ma.gic,' p. 38) tell us
that the beetle was lIallled Kheper Oil account of its rolling
propensities, cOlllparing it with the sun, which rolls day by day
,oOl'OSS the heavens. Is it not quite as likely tha.t it was so
named because of its strange habit of suddenly emerging
fully fledged frOlll the bowels of a human being, and without
any apparent previous entry therein? It would suggest the
thought of " coming into being," of " self-creation."
Ho lIll d -w orlll s-A s ca ri ds.
'1'lIe bulbs of the plant '£nJobo, taken even in the raw state,
are very effective. 1 have 1000wn two dozen of these worlllS
to be expelled frolll one adult who Jmd takell two of these
bulbous roots, each olle and a half inches in diameter. '],he
roots were pounded very finely and boiled in meat broth.
'J'a p e-w orlll.
Despite our world-wide experience we have been able to
bring the native no 1IIore powerful expellent of tape-worllls
22
Itu]V. ALPRED 'i'.
BltYA~'l'.
than the extract of male fern (N. filix-mas). Yet the Zulu
doctor had in use a number of indigenous species of this
Nephrodium (N. filix-mas, N. athamanticum, etc.),
generically caHed by him iNlco?nan7wma, as his principal specific
for tape-worm from time immemorial. He was probably aware
of their vermifugal powers long before we were. Of course
his cure, being administered only in the raw state, in the form
of the dry and powdered root (a level dessert-spoonful to the
dose), proves much less efficient than the concentrated extract
of our druggists.
Other native'vermifuges are the 1~lIiahlabath'i herb, of whose
smaH roots a handful is thoroughly pounded into a paste and
eaten in a cupful of thin Kafir-corn porridge, a full meal of
this latter heing taken immediately after to assist the action.
Others eat raw a good quantity of the leaves or. black berries
of the iBhin-ini bush (Embelia kraussii). Both of these
plants are specifics for tape- and round-worms alike. For the
tape-worm alone, besides the above, we have the roots of the
iDololenkonyane (Rumex ecklonian us), and of the 1~?n­
Ngkambhibt£ (Clausena inrequalis), and the leaves of
gMakhgth1Lla (Agrimonia eupatoria) shrub, of which a
handful are thoroughly pounded and drunk in a little cold
water.
Round- and thread-worllls are expelled also by the leaves
of the 1~1nQaqongo (Olerodendron gla brum), or by a
couple of tablespoonfuls of the ripe berries of the 1~lIiagnq1~
(Mresa sp.) dried and ground. '1'his latter belonging to the
same botanical group as the iBhinini above, it is probable that
this class of plant really has some vermifugal powers.
The1~11LQalothi (Strychnos henningsii) and the 1~Hl(/1IL­
bh-ihloshane (Gerbera kraussii) and the iNcal111£ (Othonna
natalensis) are described as worm-cures, but it is just as
possible (though not proven) that their action is simply an
alleviation of the flatulence and other stomach pains due to
indigestion, and erroneously attributed by the natives to
worms. Of the 1~Hlambhihloshane, about ten lmwes are taken,
pounded, and mixed with a cupfnl of water, which is drunk.
ZULU MEDICINE AND MEDICINE-MEN.
23
'1'he irnP'ila (Callilepis laureola) is sometimes used by
reckless natives as a vermifuge, a piece of the- root, one inch
cube, being boiled in a cupful of water and drunk. Inasmuch as this plant has proyed fatal to human beings, there
seems no reason to doubt its powers on worms, which it would
probably first poison and then expel with the purging.
An occasional, though somewhat rare, complaint among the
natives is called inTl1l1JLbhll, which seems to be due to tapeworm cysticerci, infesting mostly the back and the region of
the knees. '1'he cure is in their extraction by the knife. '1'he
term inTl'll1nbha is likewise sometimes applied to ophthalmic
granulations (perhaps of tl'achoma), which are said to be
" extracted" in a similar fashion.
Stomach and Intestinal Oomplaints.
I haye said that the Kafirs have very hazy ideas, if indeed
any at all, about, the liYer, kidneys, or stomach propel'. A
large number of abdominal disorders are therefore treated in
quite an empirical way on the offchance of effecting some
good. For instance, a concoction may be made of a handful
of the leaves (a small quantity being taken of each) of the
i.,'iBanga1nlotha (Antidesma venosum), the 1lmN1mgwane
(Xan t hoxy I on ca pells e), the iDlebelendlovn ('1'ri lU eri lL
alnifolia), the 1l1nf11lthw{l1nini (Plectronia ventosa), and
the inKunzi or iBheJ{l (Bopnsia scabra), the whole being
pounded and steeped in a couple of pints of cold water, of
which a large cupful is drunk and the remainder taken as an
enema.
Or the dl'astically operating 1lDl1ltshana (A st e r
as pel'), 'iXolo or (N.) 'll1nKh'llhl'll ('1' ri c hil i 11 em e t i cal,
iD1lnga1n1lZi or (N.) isiZimane (Euclea natalensis) and
the 1l1nHlatholana ('1' urI' ffi a 0 btu s i f 0 I i a), may be prepared'
and administered separately, as elsewhere described. When
there is llluch intemal pain in the abdomen, the isi'l'helelo
(Aster el'igeroides) is prescribed, a double handful of the
tilly leayes being infused in a couple of cupfuls of boiling water
and injected per rectum.
For indigestion the native has some really yaluable mec1i-
24
.u];]v.
A]~j,'.ujl]D
'1' •.BH.YAN'l'.
cines that would, I thillk, be an acquisition to our· OWII
p harlllacopceia. I believe a scientifica.lly prepared extract
of the 1tMond'i (Chloroco dOll w h i tei), the 'inDlI'lw
(Oyperus esculentus) and the u1nBlw(t;!i tree wonld be of
especial value. All are perfectly harmless plants and llOt
Illlplea~a,llt to the palate.
~Jvery lIa,tive fortu!Hlte enough to
procure them habitually carries about with him a supply of
011e of these dl'llgs, Of the ,tt~Moudi lIe carries portions of
the root and chews tIle same whellever the digestion ma,.)' seek
1·elief. '.L'he nodulous roots of the 'inDawo and the bill'k of tIle
'HmHl1VII1.'i are ni.bbled and cllewed in the same way. The
'inDawo is especially mentioned as Do cure for foul brea.th.
Heartburn is relieved by a decoction of tIle cllOpped bark or
root of the tl'mNywlnath'i (B k e l)e l' g i a 1Il eye ri), six illChcs of
w hose stout root lllay be simmered in tlll'ee or fOllr pints of
water and taken as all emetic. 'I'he roots of the in'l'ondo
(Argyrolobiulll marginatullI) llerb. which lLre crushed,
i.nfused with a cnpful of boiling water and a table-spoOl.£ul
drunk from time to time, have tIle reputation of being helpful
in the case of hiccongh arising from stomach disorders. The
roots of the "nm'['hentlJ grass (I m p er ata 11 l' un din ac e a) are a
>;pecific for the same pnrpose.
A COUlmon. feature of stomach complaints is nansea. 'rhe
native does not attempt to seek the cause bnt uses indiscri11lillately one or otller of several plants. As a fact the nansea would
seem to be due to intestinal worllls and bile more frequently
tlutn to anything else. He may crush tIle roots of tIle 'iNcamu
(Othollna natalcnsis) herb, and drink the cold water infuSi0l1 prepared therefl·olll. '1'11is lllay be effective, because tll8
plant possesses vermifugal properties. Half an- inch square
of the bark of the 1t1nQalothi (Strychnos henuingsii) tree,
pulverised and ~runk in a spoonful of cold water, is llsed for
the like purpose, aHd seelllS to act ill the same way, having
the same vermifugal powers. When, however, the nausea
proceeds from biliousness, either the 1tvuHlunglva1Ut (\iVe de I i a
11 at al ens is), or the ili'iNlt1l1a (Ac h y ra u th es a vic u 1a ri s)
cum 1tj1osigcolo (OsteoSpel'Dllllll lIel'Vatlllll) emetics
:.lULU ,lI11<JlHCINE AND }llWlCINE-)llm.
25
lluty be relied upon to cleal' the stomach uf the bile, if duing
nothing' else. A decoction 01' even cold infusioll of tIle fres]l
l'llnners of tIle inl~~7mng'l£ (Uoll1ordica footida) 01' of the
'inT.~ht£n!lwcma yehlathi (Molllol'dica involucl'ata) cl'eeper
is reported as heillg vel'Y soothing for a squealllisli stomach,
as is alsu the prepaJ'a,tioll of inJ'01uZo (A"l'g'Y1'olobiulll lllal'gi nat lllll) tnbel's described above for hiecough. Should tl1C
sick sellsation lJe attributable to nanseating medicine, the
1~Dunqabathtva (Oeratotheca. triloba) has al]'e~tdy been
iIldicat()d.
:For general stolll<wh-aclle, oftentimes, 110 doubt, due to
t1atulence, we have the 'inDcttco, above lllelltioned, again prescribed. 'rhe"Ia-I'ge, white daisy 'ltHlam.1J7£ihZo.shane (Gerbera
kl'anssii) finds its llsefnllless here. '!\vo or three of its
1~1l'g'e leaves are pounded ill a couple of tablespoonfuls of cold
water and tIle whole mixture drunk. 01' all infusiOll ill boiling
water of a halldflll of the leaves of the llNg1cctlelii (01 uytia
p 111 c hell a) herb is taken in the same way, The vel'y bitter
uHlonYlt1l.tJ or 'iNyctthelo (Vel'lIollia woodii) is said to
possess useful pl'operties as a, stolllacllic. 'J'he same remark
applies to the iBoza (Moschosml1 riparia) shrub. Of t11e
leaves or roots of the wild uSellca (Lllffa sphffirica) alld of
the 1~Qado'o (Bidells pilosa) or Blackjack weed a qonblehandful lllay be infused with a large cupful of hot water and
dl'llllk; or a larger qU:tlltity of the herbs in lL sufficiency of
water \llay be given as a clyster.
Nlllllerolls otller planLs have a good rep"ta.tioll as remedies
for general stomach disordel'S alld bowel paills. .Among tllelll
we lllay note the u1nNlt11.g'lL'ane (Xallthoxylon capense),
a foot-lellgt]1 of wllOse stout root is dug up, the lml'k thereof
simmered ill thl'ee large cllpfnls of water alld given as an
injection; t]le 1~bul-llttngtcctna (Wedelia natalellsis) a.s
already prescribed-although WOlllen in child should avoid it,
as this plant is said to bring about abortion; the bark of the
umNono tree, which is chewed; the pink-flowered 1!mSolw8ok,!
(Ethll]ia conyl'-oides); the iridl1ceOllS inDcttvol'l£thi emhloJ)he (Belamcandl1 s'p.); the 11'lllDlanclla8i climbel'; the
26
REV.
AL}i'R~m ~I'.
BRYANT.
bark of the WtnGUYlbdo tree; the thorny weed i'ltKtbnzana
(FJme x spin os a) ; and tIle wrn.M.bhezi tree, of whose large soft
root a piece as large as a child's fist is pounded finely and
cooked as porridge, the action being purgative.
1'he more powerful purgatives as croton oil, jalap and the
like are much esteemed by the natives. There are at least
two species of Croton indigenous to Natal-Croton
gratissimum and O. sylvatic.u1U. Both are called
uMahlabe7mfeni by the natives, though the last-named
species is more generally known as q~mZilany()ni, i. e. the
tree abstained from by birds, owing to its orange-coloured
berries being severely avoided by these latter, to whom they
are said to be fatally poisonous. '1'he valuable medicinal
properties, both as cathartic and as eruptive irritant, of these
crotons are well known to the Zulu doctors, affording once
ag'ain undeniable evidence of the oftentimes accurate knowledge and extensive botanical investigations of these people.
When employed as a purgative-generally when severe
abdominal disorder of an indefinite nature is pl'esent--a
piece of the bark, half as large as one's thumb, is puhTerised
in half a cupful of lUi Ik or broth, and the mixture drunk.
'rhe true jalap plant, of course, does not exist in South
Africa, but there is an allied indigenous plant possessing
similar powers, though, I think, in an inferior degree. This
~s the Ipomcea purpurea, a convolvulus-like climber
common in the coast bush. Oertain is it that it had no native
name prior to the advent of the white man; but this alone is not
sufficient pr'oof that its purging powers were not well known.
At the present time it is one of their favourite remedies,
and is universally known as iJalambhn or iJalamu (a corrup..tion of the English word "jalap.") It is the tuberous root
of the Mexican species that is officially used, but of the
Natal species it is the stalks, the roots being merely insignificant fibres. Another species of Ipomcea is also used as a
purgative for a generally disordered stomach, and its powers
seem to about equal those of the former variety. It is
the 'q~71tl(hoh;ha wehlathi (Ipomcea ficifolia), a double
ZULU
lIml)lCIN~~
AND MEDfCll\E-lIl.L';N.
27
llandful of whose leaves is brnised in cold water and a cupful
of the mixture drunk.
All species of the Euclea-the iDnngo11l1tz'i of Zululand,
or in Natal i8iZi11lane (B. natalensis), the iD1tnga11l1lzi of
Natal (male of R lanceolata), and the mnShekisane (female
of E. lanceolata)-seem to contain very strong cathartic
principles, if not, indeed, injuriously so, sillce they are said to
frequently draw blood. TIle bark is taken fronl a piece of
the two-inch root, six inches long, and infused with, or even
slightly simmered in, a coupJe of milk-tins of water. ~l'his liquid,
if of the Euclea natalensis, is either drunk, or mixed with
more warm water, injected pe1' 1·ectU1lL. 'l'here is a tendency
to vomit the medicine, which, however, is restrained. '1'he
effect is that of a powerful cathartic. 'l'he prepara,tions
from either variety of the B. lanceolata ~Lppear to be
stronger still, and are never taken by the month, but only as
enema.
"~nother drastically purgative veld-herb is the imP-ila
(0 alli I ep i s 1a llre 01 a), but this seems without any doubt
to be a virulent poison. Native doctors invariably mix the
1:mPiln with otl18l' remedies, which, perhaps, tend to neutralise
its injurious principle. Half an inch of its root, powdered
and infused in half a teacupful of warm water, is said to be
incapable of working any harm to an adult. Others take a
handful of the leaves, make a hot infusion with two large
cupfuls of water, and inject as clyster. Another ver,)'
strong cathartic, demanding great caution in its nse, is tIle
nmHlatlwlan(t (,I'urrma obtusifolia). A good handful of
the bark from the roots or trunk, or of the leaves, is thoroughly
pounded and steeped 1n ~L plnt or so of hot water. .A teacupful
of this is retained, and the rest, along with sufficient extra
warm water, illjected as a clyster. The portion set aside is
immediately afterwards dl'lmk mIxed in warm porridge 0)'
gruel, the result being a complete washing out of the bowE'ls.
An equally strong purgative is tIle imJJ'1lZ0?le herb, lmlf a teaspoonful of whose ground root is mixed in a little gruel amI
taken gradllally in mouthfuls.
28
Jt!o:\'. ALl!'ltED 'J\
]lJ~YAN'r.
'1'he 'iXvlv ·01' (N.) 'lt1nJ(hnhln ('1'ricllilia emetica) is a
tree possessing very powerful medicinal properties, amollgst
others those of a pl1rg~1tive. A piece of the bai'k, of the
length and breadth of two fingers, is pulverised and mixed
into two teacupfuls of hot water as an enell1a, in which form
this drug is usually administered. The 'isi1'/lClelo (Aster
erig'eroi des), with its pinky-white daisy, is also a strong
purgative, a douhle handful of the slllall leaves being steeped
ill two cupfnls of boiling water and injected lLS clyster. 't'he
bulb of the inG1tclw!lb is also used, being chopped np,
thoroughly boiled so as to leave a pint of extract, and
administered as the pl'evious remedy.
'1'he castor-oil (n1nHla/,;uva), like the tltrallloniulll ('iYol·i),
is one of those valuable plants, growing in wild profusion
around every old kraal, of whose lI1edicinal value the natives
know 1I0tlling. 'rllis is strange, since they lla"e discovered
the oil itself contained in the castor-oil seeds, and llave
extracted it fl'OIll time il11l11emOl'ial as a supplil~g agent for
hides,.
Other eatlIartic plauts are the ·tt][al-u.si <Llld '1l1t1a.n7,enketha
herbs, the bark of the 1t~MalJil1W1UL tl-ee, the roots of the pink
umbellate 'iHhtlelema1n/)ha, and those of the blistering '1£11£Nqanclane 1uez'imp-isi 01' 'inDoclB?lt1lylt?nlt (Royenavillosa).
Dysentery and
Di!~l"rhilia.
Dysentery ('i.~iHullo) and, il1 it le:,;ser degree, diarrJIU;}!1
(nknH1tda, 'uHndo) are two predominant diseases among
natives. The C!111se is no donbt foulld, firstly, in their impure
watel'-sllvply, in very mallY localities from stagnant pools and
contaminated streams, and, secondly, from their domestic
systeul not permitting sanitary methods of living. 'l'hougb
they are aWH,re of the difference ill tile symptollis of these twu
complaints, they do not recognise any essential difference in
their nature or treatment. Theil' sole effort in both cases is
to stay the flux. Purgatives alld astringents of t11e most
drastic lIature are what they mainly rely upon. The iwiZi?llane.
ZULU M.1~D[CrNI': ANn M(l]IJICINE-~U:N.
29
the um.Hlatholana, in a word, any of the cathartics above
described, might be inflicted on a dysenteric patient.
But what is of 1I10re interest to ns jnst Ilere are tile
restraining I'emedies they use, Althongh all the following
plants are said to possess the pi'opel'ty of effectually allaying
the dysenteric symptoms, it does not thereby follow tllat they
are all astringents, One of the native remedies of higllest
repute for th~ complaint is the ulmHl·ltllgwana (We de I i a
natalensis), As we shall see latel' 011, this herb is an excellellt w'ound and sore healer, and it is possiblf) that its valne in
dysentery consists precisely in its powel's ~or healing tIle
dysenteric ulcers within the bowels, It is administered al' an
enpma, a hot infusiOll being made of a haJldful of the
pOllndec1roots with two cupfnls of water, and injected, '1'he
action, again, of the nZ,l:pho or ilGwrnbh·£ lezldnli (Cal'dioSpel'lnllll1 helicacabum) can sca.rcely he of a binding
natlll'e. ,Ve shall tind that the pl11lgent leaves of tllis climber
are described as higltly successful ill the curing of syphilitic
sores, and their usefulness in dysentery may also be due to
their healing properties. .A. dOllhle-llHllc1ful of the leaves and
stalks are pOllnded, and a hot infusion made with a conple
of pints of water, to be injected, when cool, as an enema,
'1'he following are furthel' .held in high repnte among
native doctors: 'rhe nmVnthv'amini bush (Plectronia
ven tosa), a plant probably wOl,th studying, A handful of
its leaves are brnised, and kneaded into a cupful of milk,
which is gra.dnally drnnk in mouthfuls, A lnmp of the
crimson inner-bark of the UNgllZi tree, about a cOllple of
inches sqmtre, and the saUle quantity of the bark of the
nMaph1:plw tree, is ground into powder, and eaten in a little
porridge. 'rhe bulbons root of the inT.~nl~w herb has also
decided binding qualities. An infusion is prepared of tIle
pounded root in a cnpfnl of hot water, and the liquid drllnk.
The inTolwnnll (EI e p h an tor hi za h u r ch e IIi i) is another
lUuch-esteemed remedy. '1'he ontel'-bark is removed from a
couple of its large and very red roots, and the interior portion
pounded and made into a hot infusi.on with a qnart of water,
30
REV. ALFltEO '1\ BRYAN'!'.
which, after straining and cooling, is administered as a clystel'.
'rhe woody carrot-like root of the allied plant isiKhttbabende
(Indigofera sp.) is another favourite. Of this a single red
root may be pulverised, aftel' the outer bark has been removed,
and boiled along with a handful of groundt£Jibo, (an astl'iugent variety of Kafir-corn), the porridge being then eaten.
'rhe young man's philtre isiKhwa or 1trn Welela is said to do
good service in restraining bloody stools, a handful of the
small tubers being chopped up, infused in a quart of boiling
water and injected. Or, again, the acidulous leaves 'of the
imFeYI'-sele or (N) i1l1Feyenkala (D iss 0 tis inc a n a), so beloved
of native children, may be used, a couple of handfuls being
thOl'oughly bruised and a hot iufusion made with a qnart of
water to be administered as an enema; or a slightly boiled
decoction of the isiKele"h:ehlane (01' ass u I a ru b i c un da) given
in the same way.
Several iridaceous plants, as, for instance, the mnL1tnge
(An tho I y za p a 11icnl a. ta), furnish some of the most im, pOl·tant native cures for dysentery'a,nd diarrhma, the disc-like
portions of the root being generally used.
'rhe common bramble, iJillg~iolo (Rubus rigidus), has the
reputation of being a very effective remedy, six inches of the
stont root being pounded and boiled in a pint or so of water
and injected into the rectum. The leaves, of the ttNgwalen-i
(Oluytia pulchella) are sometimes made into an infusio11,
and a couple of dessert-spoonfuls drunk as a dose. A small
qnantity of the bark of the ttmBanda tree, of the is£Sejo and
of the tLmDlav1Lza is a.lso ground, mixed with water to taste,
ann taken in doses of a spoollful at a, time.
Other plants fI-equently recommended are the horny roots
of the root-parasites iHl1tle and the -nMof1lmbh1Lka, as well as
those of the iGololenkawn (Sapindus oblongifolius), the
mnGmamu or iHlme (8 c hot ia bra c h y P e tala), and tIle
tID1£la'flwth1w (Vaugueria lasiantha), of the last-named
a double handful of the leaves being pounded, mixed with a
little cold water and the mixture drunk; or the bark frolll
the roots of the ,i,Nqay'£ (B I alO de u dro n vel u tin Ulll), about a
ZULU M1WICINE AND
MEDICINE-~IEN.
31
handful in quantity, may be pounded in a cupful of cold
water and drunk, a similar quantity of bark being further
infused in two cupfuls of hot water for administration, when
cool, as an enema. Many of these remedies are probably simply
astringents, frOl11 the large amount of tannin they possess j
but it is likely tllat some are not so, and among these one migllt
come across something worth having. But only a thorough
analysis and experimentation can prove or disprove tIl is.
Piles (1,tk1Celeku) are not clearly distinguished by the natives
from chronic dysentery, and for them I find the isi[(hwlt is
employed,' as described above. Also the roots of the
iCimumlilo (Pentanisia variabilis) and the bal·k of the
wmKhovothi (Chmtachme meyeri or aristata) are used.
Gangrenous ]·ectitis.
A loathsome disease, occasionally met with in Zululand,
Natal and Pondoland, and much dreaded by the natives, is
the isiGwBbedla (otherwise called inGlL1nbhnll B, urnGnbhane,
or wlIoya). It may be, and I think probably is, a form of
gitngrenous rectitis, although Sir Patrick :Manson, in his book
on 'Tropical Diseases,' does not mention that disease as
existent in these parts, nor do the symptoms of both, as
explained by him, exactly coincide.
The course of the South African disease is as follows. It
sets in with fever, headache, abdominal pains, generally about
the navel) and sometimes vomiting j diarrhooa with blood, or
bloody mncns, passed along with or after the stools; subsequently, in some cases, an eruption of small pimples,
distributed irregularly about the body, not going on to
suppuration, and afterwards dying away, but always a more
pronounced eruption of similar pimples about the pudenda
(anus, vagina and penis), subsequently snppmating and
uniting in one exuding sore surface. There is no itching or
pain attached to this eruption, which has been likened to the
eruption occnrring about the mouth in cases of feverish
catarrh. There'is loss of appetite, with absolute prostration,
so that the patient' has not even stloength enough to sit up.
32
R~~ V.
ALl<'H,ID D 'L'. BRYAN'I'.
'fhe tissue of the rectum becomes rapidly attenuated. disintegrates, and small pieces are expelled with the stools, the
latter finally attaining the appearance of. boiled arrowroot.
Similarly, the tissue at the pudendal orifices cm'rodes, leaving
tIle orifices considerably enlarged. In females the septum
separating the rectulU and vagina may be eaten completely
tll1·ough. Sometimes the spine and neck are said to be
affected, rendering it impossible to hold the head' e."ect.
'[,hElI"e is a general halliness of vision, with dizziness of the
brain.
'['he disease seems to be tractable enough when treated in its
initial stages; bllt owing to the absence of pain, or any othe."
alarming symptom, within 0.' abont the rectum, at the commencement of the attack, the disease very fl'eqllently fails to
be recognised until the danger is far advanced.
Ollce tllB
ad\'anced stage' is reached, though cures are occasionally
accomplished, a fatal result lIlay be anticipated-death
occl1rt"ing, with g."eat abdominal pain (perhaps from peritonitis),accompanied by writhing, thongh without convulsions,
dnring the second, or, more rarely, the third week.
The disease is apparently infectious, several cases frequently occurl'ing in the same kraal; also epidemic, thel'e
being generally many cases at the same time in the same
loca.lity; and perhaps endemic, apparently being more
comlllon in certain districts. It seems, however, to select
no particular period of the year, such as the season of green
mealies -(suggested by Sir P. Manson, if I recollect aright,
in connection with the phagedrenic recti tis of America), for
one particular outbreak known to the writer occurred at the
end of the w.inter and commencemeut of spring, when only
dry grain foods n,nd sweet potatoes were being partaken of.
Tn teeating this serious disease the medicine-man, conscions
of the peril of contagi<;m, COlllmences by fortifying himself
against the dangel', in that he bathes his body beforehand in
a decoction of n1nGann (Sc lerocarya cafra) bal"k. This
jJm:'formance has the look of .a charm rather than of anything
else,' bnt before l'idiculing, it would be well to recollect that
33
ZUI.. U ~IEDLOIN~J AND MEDW[NE-Ml!:N,
the fl;uit of this tree has the reputation of being a potent
insecticide (being used in Zululand for the destruction of
ticks), and it may be also a germicide, He then administers
some of the same decoction to the patient internally; but
what is chiefly relied on is the application of certain remedies
locally, '.I.'11ese consist, as a I'llle, of the inK~m?'i (otherwise
~tGwp;ieor(N,) inhejet-Bopnsia scabra)-which seems to be
a valuable nostrum for all kinds of intractable sores-the
~trnBom,vanll (Oc h IUt at l'OP urp ure a), and the umPh~tl)lmth()
herb. Of these the roots are taken, pounded, simmered, a,ud
the decoction, ",hen cool, administered as a clyster 01' simply
as a lotion for bathing the parts. '1'his clyster 01' bathing is
repeated five 01' six times daily. Another method is to pound
the same clriedroots into powder and then sprinkle over the
sore parts. '1'lIe l'esult is said to be a rapid healing of tIle
ulcer.
.
The '",mGanu and H1ltD/)1nvCt1te are said to be rich in tannin;
but perhaps they contain also other curative properties. Of
the nature and working of the 'inK~tn?'i and ,lt1nPhnJ?h~ttho we
kilOW notlling',
'1'he ~dmVimbha (Withania somnifel'a) is aiso a specific
for this disease. A. warm infusion is made of a" small handful
of its roots, and the same quantity of those of the iOimflmlilo
(Pentanisia variabilis), with sufficient water to f01'111
clyster. A. useful clyster is also made of a small bundle,
about one inch thick, of the roots of tIle i,mlJlwyisane
(Spel'macoce natalensis).
'1'he most curions clyster I ever came across was the
following, It will be remembered t.hat" the 'inG1.tmlJhctne ulcer
eats away the tissue at the rectal orifice until it becomes a
gaping apertl1l'e, perhaps two inches in diameter, and tlle
healing of which is prevented by the constant discharge of
irritating stools. A quantity of fat" clay is, therefore, takeil
and injected, in a semi-liquid state, into the rectum. Tliere it
dries and effectually blocks the passage for so long a time as
the musculal' tissue at the anus may require to Ileal and COlltract, '1'he clay is afterwarcls removed by a further clyster of
a
VOL,
2,
PART
1.
3
34
RIW. A.L.b'RI!1D T. RRYAN'l'.
WfWffi
water.
of the
~~'lnS~tzwane
As a draught for this disease a cold infusion
(Lippia asperifolia) leaves is taken.
Oatarrh, etc.
The several native specifics for the more serious chronic
coughs accompanying lung diseases, scrofula, etc., will be
detailed below, and any of these would be el::perimented with
to remove the transient cough of the simpler ~~'lnK"~~hla1te,
infiuenza, catarrh, and the like. 1'he following are SOlUe
others more suitable for this use.
Of the ~tMathoyi8(~ (Lepidi um capense), one may cut up
the large tuber, pour upon it about one cupful of boiling water
and dI'ink therefrom a dessert-spoonful from time to time.
A handful of the leaves of the uXhaphozi (Ranunculus
pin nat us) may be bruised and infused with a couple of tablespoonfuls of hot water and the whole drunk off to relieve the
COUgll. Or a double handful of the leaves of the bitter
~tHl(Ynyane or iNyathelo (Vernonia woodii) may be infused
with about a quart or more of water. Of this a cupful may be
put aside and drunk in dessert-spoonfuls from time to time,
and the remainder used, while still warm, as fir clyster. Or a
double handful of the leaves of the ~tMachakazi (Oon)"y;01
inc is a) may be slightly boileel and a tablespoonful of the
decoction occasionally drunk.
1'0 relieve the headache which is so generally an accompaniment of these febrile attacks, a few leaves of the illfunyane
(Leonotis leon111'11s) are pounded and steeped in cold water
and the liquid drawn into the nostrils. The pungent leaves
of the ~tZ'ipho or ,i,Kharnhhi lezid~tli (Oardiospermum halicacabum) may be rubbed together in the hands and the
fnmes inhaled throngh the nose. Another plant is the
imBhozisu, whose root is pounded in a little cold water and
the liqnid drawn np the nostrils. The roots of the ~tDl~tt8h(ma
(As te r as pe r), of the 1tQh1t'lne (H i pp 0 bro m n s al a tu s)
and of the iBhinini (Embelia kraussii) are used in a similar
fashion. One of the thick leaves of the 1t1nDZebe (Syn-
ZULU MEDIOI.N.I'] AND MEDICINE-MEN.
35
adenium arborescens) lllay be broken up and the
pungency inhaled through the nostrils; or the same may
be pounded along with the leaves of the isiShoshokazana
(Ranunculus sp.) mixed in a little water and drawn into
the nose.
A snuff for headache is sometimes made from the powdered
bark of the umKhwullgg and the 1tMal1tlek£~ trees; or the
roots of the 1dmLibazi herb may be burned and then sniffed
at. Should the head-pains be the result of some old skull
wound (inGozi) , the dark portion of the 1~}'lathm;ga root
(C yrtan th us 0 b liq u us), or the roots of the inKominophondo
are ground and snuffed up the nose. Other plants used for
headache are the nmEmbhesa, nKhaUmele (R h Yn c h 0 s i asp.).
'inDctwol1dhi, 1tPhico, and 1tLelhi.
Chest Complaints.
'1'he Zulu has his weak parts, and perhaps the chief of these,
nowadays at least, is the respiratory organs. Since the adoption of clothing and town-life in insanitary hovels, chest complaints have multiplied exceedingly. '1'hey come now, not in
the form of comparatively harmless 'scrofulous coughs, but in
the more perilous guise of pleurisy, pneumonia, bronchitis and
consumption, all of wJlich are answerable for lllany deaths
annually.
Among a people so scrofulous as the Zulu, I suppose it would
be only reasonable to expect the presence of typical phthisis
even prior to the advent of the white man in the land. And
yet I am not aware of any absolute evidence that it was so.
But this is by no means equivalent to saying that pulmonary
complaints of a tuberculous nature were unknown. Though
rare, they were very well known and much dreaded, for the
so-called 1:Xhwnln was undoubtedly of this nature.
The term iXhwula ['eally indicates a kind of bovine swelling
or tumour. The virus from this, the Zulu theory declares, has
been secretly and maliciously introduced into the system of
the sufferer by an umThakathi, probably through the medium
36
REV.
ATJ~'RED
'1' •
.BRYAN~I'.
of food. 'l~his explanation will appear at first sight farcical
enough; bnt is it impossible that this particular morbid gl'owth
in cattle may be of a tubercnlous natm'e, and, as snch, capable
of conveying some tuberculons affection to human beings?
European phthisis, we must remember, is probably oontractible
from cattle, not solely throngh the respiratory, as is popularly
snpposed, but also tht'ough the digestive organs.
The unhealthy growth in cattle called iXhwltla is not the
- same as the glandular swellings of bovine tuberculosis, which
latter disease is known to the Znlns '(at any rate in these
present days) as um~fbhila.
It is a ilOteworthy faet that the complalnt in natives
commonly diagnosed by European doctors as consumption is
not absolutely identical in its symptoms with the phthisis of
OUl' own race. With the natives the wasting of the lungs sets
in first at the bottom of the organ; in Enropean phthisis, on
the contrary, at the top-a remarkable difference that alone
may give' Bround to sllspicion. The duration 'of the native
disease, further, covers a much longer period of time than
does the European variety, often continuing over a Vel'y large
number of years. Is it that among these African people we
are confronted, not only with the ordinary type of consumption, but also with a new form of pulmonary tubel'cnlosis
caned iXh1vala, and akin to, thongh distinct from, the former?
Personally I have a belief that tIl ere are other species of
tubercle bacillus infesting the human system besides that of
Koch" each giving rise to its own peculiar complaint, yet all
so simi.1ar as to have been hitherto regarded simply as varying forms" of the same disease. 'l'he bacillus of the native
pulmonary complaint has been identified as that of Koch, but
pet'haps t~e cases examined were those of real phthisis and
no~ of iJf/,,1vala; or else the closely allied bacillus of this latter
disease may. exhibit appearances so similar as to escape ready
detection.
Whatever this iXh1vala disease may be, its incurahle
natm'e is universally recognised by th~ natives; but this does
not deter the medicine-man from making valiant efforts to
(C
ZULU MEDlOJNE A!\l1 M:KDlCINE-:r.IEN.
37
l'e~tol'e llis patient oy fearful concoctions of expectorants,
sedatives and germicides, thongh naturally with no enduring
snccess.
A person dying of the iXh1wla is never "wailed" for,
Lecause whoever cries OV81' such a, Ol1e will assuredly contract
tIl e disea,se himself. This superstition would almost lead us to
IJelieve that the natives have already observed the tendency
the malady has of breaking out again in the same family 01'
society, in other words, they have an idea, which they call
lIoithe1' understand nor express, that the disease is illfectious.
Their injunction on all and sundry to "keep their mouths
i-lhllt" when in the vicinity of a dead consllmptive was not
far wrong after all.
Consumption, of whichever type, in its incipient form, while
still confined to the lower end of the lung, would not yet he
recognised as ,iXhn·(/l{L. It would then be regarded as
another complaint, called 1'siBele (the" breast" disease), hom
the fact of the pain being felt about the nipple. In this stage
it is often confollnded with pneumonia in the chronic f01'111
leading to consumption, 01' with abscess or, gangrene of the
lung following pneulllonia, to all of which the term 1'siBele
1l1ight be applied.
An acute attack of pneumonia would not be regarded as
tIle isiBele disease, ~md would probably receive no more distinguishing designation than the generic term 1tmKll1thZ(t?!!:J
U'lnkhnln (a severe fever).
']'11e incipient dry congl! of any forU1 of consumption ;,,'ould
also he neither isiBele 1101' 'iXhwala, but simply tLDosi-a
name also applied to chronic bronchitis. The 1~Do8i, Le it
known, is the Imir of a lion or other such" poisonous" wild
lll'ast, which, llaving' been maliciously introduced IJY an
1b'III/J'hakath'i into the air-passages of an individual, sets up an
il'l'itatiol1 resulting in a persistent dry cough. A skilful
medicil18-111an claims to be able to extract the uDosi from the
chest, after which feat the patiellt immediately recovers!
'1'he prominent feature in pleurisy of a sharp, catching pain
in the side would canse that disease to become confused with,
38
RJDV. ALJi'H,ED 'l'. BRYANT.
and called by the same name, vi~. 1~Hlabo 01' 1:Hlaba, as
pleurodynia or rheumatic costal stitch.
Any chronic form of chest complaint, if accompanied bya
persistent cough, is oftentimes called by the generic term
isiFnba or 'u]i'1~ba, that is, simply" chest disease," and may be
either consumption, asthma, or chronic bronchitis.
An acute catan'h, if accompanied by general constitutional
derangement with feverishness, would he classed as an
'It?nKhuhlane; hut if it were a simple cold, with the cough as
the sole feature, it would be termed merely an n7c1tI(h1.cehlela,
01' coughing.
The habitual tickling cough, accompanying chr011ic hryngitis or other throat ailment, would be known as an uSi or
nPhepha.
The native doctor's prescription of drugs is as confused as
his nomenclature. A large number of plaut-remedies have
heen found useful in relieving one or otl1el' of the symptoms
accompanying the various chest diseases, and he prescribes in
tmll all soever he is acquainted with, attacking the symptoms
either singly, or in common by a compound mixture.
For .the 'nHlllbo in any form (pleurodynia 01' pleurisy),
fonl' 01' five pieces, six inches IC!ug, of the roots of the
1~m,ltny1thl1tng1~ (V ern 0 n i a cor y m b 0 sa) a l'e taken, hoiled
well in one cupful of water, and the decoction drunk gradually in spoonfuls, giving early relief from the stabbing pain.
01' the roots of the 1:Dttngamm1:, (N.) is'iZimane (E u olea
natalensis) and of the iQwaningi (Cappal'is corymhifera), together with the thorns of the 1:S'uncln palm (Ph cenix
reclinata) and of the inGqu'angane (Celastrus buxifo Ii us) hush, are tied together in a small bundle, such as
can be grasped by the one hand, and an iro11 awl thrust
through the middle of the bundle so as to project at each
end. '1'he whole is now boiled. Having' taken the bundle
from the pot, and holding it by the protruding blunt end of
the stout needle, the doctor vigorollsly stabs the patient here
and there about the painful reg'ion with the sharp point of
the iron, at the same moment blowing with 11is mouth into
ZULU 1I1EDlCINE. AND 1I11mIClNE-lIU:N.
39
the wound a puff of the hot steaHl rising from the bundle of
boiled roots. Perhaps so uncouth a method obtains its usefu 1ness from acting as a rough kind of counter-irritant.
A less barbarous treatment, and, perh~Lps, a more effective
remedy, is the bark of the 1~~Mahl(/bek'll!eni (Groto n gra tis si1I1 u ll1) and the 1t1nZilanyon-i (Cr 0 to n s y 1v a, t ic u 111). A
certain German doctor has attained to SOllle degree of popu hL~
fame by affixing his name to a certain. patent" oil",- which I
llave found to produce very good results as an eruptive
rubefacierit in cn,ses of internal inflammation, particularly of
the chest. Now, this" oil" is said to consist mainly of half
and half croton and olive oils. The Zulus. were fa,miliar with
this property of the crotons and its employment as a counterirritant probably long before any Buropean was. The method
of application is to ground up. the dry bark very finely and
I'Uh tIle powder into incisions cut ill the skin.
Decoctions of the leaves or roots of the 'lL1nIOwkha (Abrus
precatorius),1 as also those of the i8iGvbo (Asparagus sp .),
are sometimes used for this same 1~Hlabo complaint; or the
leaves and stalks of tIle iBohlololo (Senecio speciosns)
may be burned, and the ashes rubbed into incisions made on
the spot.
Chest pains generally-an accompaniment, of course, of all
of the more serious lung diseases-are sa,id to be relieved by
1 This small coast-sln'ub is the identical "wea.thel' plant" (A hI' us
pl'ecator i us no bil i S)-01' else a closely allied species or variety-now
rendered famous hy the reputed discoveries of Professor Nowack, of
Austria, in regard to its supposed powers of foretelling atmospheric
and seismic disturbances, generally, of course, of a disastrous nature.
Strangely enough, with the Zulus, the plant is used as 'L common charm
for the bringing of " good" fortune, on which account its little red and
black bean·like seeds may be oft~m fOlmd cal'l'ied by natives in the
purse, pocket 01' basket. It is, further, a. mcm her of the saute botanical
sub-order as the liquorice plant (Glycyrrlliza glabnt), and its roots
may contain similar properties. Now, the roots of liquorice are well
known as a EUropean medicine for cata1"l'hs and irritation of the airpassages in man. So that we have here another of those numerous
instances of the keenness and llccmacy of observation of tbe native
doctors.
40
IWV. ALll'ltED '1'. BltYAN'['.
a decoction of the iH rinzanyoka tree (? C e I a s t]' U ssp.), a
handful of whose roots, six inches long, are thoroughly
boiled in three cups of water, and the extract slowly drunk
off while still warID.
For any variety of chronic coughing of a serious nature,
whether it arise from consumption, asthma, sCl'Ofula, 01' w bat
not, any of the following measures may be adopted. 'l'ake a
small handful of the roots of the Im'gel' white-flowered
in'L'lashane (Lichtensteinia interrupta), pound, and boil
in a large cupful of water till reduced to one half; of this
'drink <"1 teaspoonful hom time to time. This is allied to our
anise (Pilllpinella anisum), which has a very ancient
reputation in Europe for pulmonary affections. 01' boil wen
together, after having been crushed, four or fi,'e pieces, six
inches long, of the root of the td'hanga7.C£?u£ (C uc lunis
hi r s n t n s), and a small handful of the sm all roots of th e
l£Dlutshana (Aster asper), ill about ;), quart of water, ;LIld,
w hen cool, take a small dessert-spoonflll Ollce a day. A
teacupful of the decoction, diluted with another cupful of
warnl 'wa,ter, may be further administered as a clyster.
'fhe l£Thanga2!ana has tIle reputation of giving especial
relief in such coughs as are more particularly troublesome at
night. For this purpose, a piece of the root, as thick as one's
thumb and six inches long, is crushed and boiled in a small
cupful of milk, the result being sipI)ed occasionally throughout
the night. A warm illfusion of the roots of the inTsnnglwna
('l'ephrosia kraussiana) is also drunk for the sallle
purpose; or the roots of the herb Ursinia tenuiloba may
be boiled in milk and slowly drnnk while still hot.
A strong general specific for violent chronic coughs of
whatever nature is prepared as follows: chop and pOllnd
together a foot length of the stont root, two inches tlllck, of the
·£Qtvaning-i (Cappari s corym bifera), of the l£mNungltane
(Xallthoxylon capeuse), of the l£Mabl£sana \Capparis
gueinzii), of the uMadlozana, and a portion oJ the bul1J of
tIle l£Math'l£nga (Cyrtanthus obliquus) as large as a
boy's fist; boil all for an hour in two quarts of water, of
lIUJiU
1l1EDlCIN~;
AND
Ml'~DlCINE-]',11<:N.
41
which drink a tablespoOllful three 01' foul' times a day, ~llld
take the major port,ion of the decoction, with the addition of
further warm water, if necessary, as an emetic. Or, of the
u.Nlayehlezana or 1~Si shrub (Orot~tlaria sp .), one may take ~t
bundle of the roots, six inches long, snch as can be gmsped
·by. one hand, infuse with foul' or five cupfuls of cold water,
a,nd cli-ink off the liquid. "With some stomachs there is a
liability to vomit the medicine, which is not desirable.
Another favourite remedy is the 1~II,Ny(l?lwthi (B k e lJ 131' g i a,
eapensis or meyeri), of which a piece of the root, six inches
long, is chopped up and simmered in three pints of watel' ,and
lLclministered as an emetic. A large dishflll of the poullded
1)[11'1;: of the nmPhafa (Zi:t.Yl)hns 1I1Ilcronata), made illtO a
hot infusion with a quart or more of water; 0]' a single
tablespoonful of the decoction of the root of the iD1bmbhi
l-iku'ntloyile (Hremallthus natalensis), al'e also sometimes
taken in the sallle way.
If any of these chronic coughs be accOlllpanied hy IlalJitual
expectoration of blood, nJJla/msuna (0 a, p pa ri s g u 13 i 11 :t. i i) is
especiall y indicated.
Many of these native emetics are supposed to be of especial
utility as expectorants, relieving the chest by clel1,ring the
ail'-passages and, perhaps, diminislling the inflammation
therein. The 1~Sllnnnnllcl1b (Acalypha peduncularis)
herb is such a one, and of it a ha,ndfnl of the roots, a foot in
length, is brnised and infused witll 11 quart 01' more of warm
water. A nothel' is the iBoza (M:oschosma riparia), of
which a handful of the pounded leaves is infused with 11
cupful of cold water and drunk, being subsequently followed
by sufficient warm water to excite vomiting. Or sometimes
the leaves are boiled, and the extract preserved in pot or
bottle, a spoonful being taken as required.
'l'hough not acting as an emetic, a good expectorant fur
any kind of dry cough if; said to be the -tsiBlwha tree; a good
pinch of w)lOse powdered bark is drunk in a spoonful of cold
water; or it may bl'\ mixed with hemp .. leaves CinTI:;CLngg) and
smoked.
42
REV. ALFRED '1'. BRYAN'!'.
The natives attribute many of their chronic coughs to
scrofula, especially such dry coughs as, although persist 13 ut,
are not accompanied by any general constitutional disturbance. Under this category the native would, I believe,
include even asthma (isilAdJa 8omoya).
A remedy highly spoken of for such scrofulons coughs is
the HMathnnga (Oyrtanthns obliquus). Having removed
the external covering of a four-inch bulbous root, the whole
of the inner portion is boiled in a quart or so of water, and a
dessert-spoonful of the decoction taken once daily over several
weeks or even for a couple oflllonths. A clyster is also occasionally given, consisting of about a cupful of the warm decoction,
diluted with another of simple warm water. A meal of KanrCOl'll porridge is eaten at the same time, with the result that a
thorough purging takes place, supposedly cleal'ing out the
system generally. The 'ztDl1tt8hww (Aster asper) is ,tllother
specific for these scrofulous coughs. A tablespoonful of the
crushed roots is thoroughly boiled so as to leave about a
small cupful of liquid, of which a teaspool1fuJ is taken once a
day. 01' an emetic may be made of a s1ig~ltly larger quantity
of the crushed root thoroughly boiled in water so as to leave
a large cupful of extract, which is drunk and soon afterwards
followed by copious dl'aughts of simple warm water to ease
the vomiting. Any other of the remedies prescribed for
scrofula might also be used for these scrofulous coughs.
'rhe nn,tives seem to be ignorant of the anti-spasmodic
properties of stramonium (t Yoli) in case of asthma, notwithstanding that the plant grows as a weed on almost every old
kraal-site. But for the shortness of breath accompanying
this last-named, as well as heart diseases, the roots of the
blue-flowered nJiarnpeshana (Oldenlandia decu1ll bens) are
crushed, boiled, and the decoction drunk:
'rhe 'nDo8i or wild-beast's hail', snpposed to be present in
the air-tubes and to cause bronchitic and similar coughs, is
"removed" by the iD1t1nbhi-lika'ntloy'ile (H ffill1an th u s
natalensis). Of this the roots are boiled and the liquid
drunk as an emetic.
7,ULU l\!.EDLCINE AND MEDICINE-MEN.
43
Febrile Complaints.
Everyone who ha~ had to deal with sick lULtives will have
remarked with what pU'l,,;]ing frequency their ailment is
described by them as an U1J/l(htthlane. It is impossible to
express this very comprehensive term by any single expression
ill EnglislL It indicates almost any general constitutional
derangement of a febrile and generally infectious nature,
and may include enteric, scarlet and malarial fevers; smallpox and measles; pneumonia, acute bronchitis and influenza,
as well as all the commoner minor catarrhs and bad coughs to
which one is periodica,lly liable. Practically nothing is
nnderstood of the natnre of these important diseases, and tIle
treatment is confined to a simple alleviation of such symptoms
as are conspicuously evident, as the ernptions, the congh, and
more especially the bile (iNyongo).
Every tt1nl(h~th lane is accompanied by an excessive secretion
of some kind or another, and it is this secretion, be it expectoration or bile, be it discharged through the mouth or
the rectum, that the natives universally regard as the principal
delinquent, responsible for the whole bodily derangement.
And in this view they are not without very respectable
company; for the immortal Hippocrates himself held a
similar view, viz. that the blood, the phlegm and the bile
were the three primary seats of disease. His treatment, like
that of the natives, aimed no doubt at ridding the system
of whatever was abnormal in these bodily fluids.
'With the natives the bile is held to be the cause, not only
of the stomach
and bowel disorders, bllt even of the chest
.
inflamlllations and cough. The doctor's attack is therefore
vigorously directed against this feature, and for the purpose
he uses emetics, enemas and purgatives. A common method
is to bruise a small handfu 1 of the roots, six inches long, of
both the 1'siNama (Achyranthes avicularis) and the
ttlJlasigcolo 01' inKttp7mlana (Osteosperm um nervatum),
infuse with a couple of cupfuls of warm water, drink, and
follow with sufficient simple warm water to cause vomiting.
~
44
R~:V.
AI,l"Rlm '1', BJtYAN'l'.
Another course is to make lL warm infusion of a handful of
the leaves and roots of the 1tb1tHl1tngwana (W' e del i a
natalensis) with one cupful of boiling ,vater. This is drunk
aild followed as before by a copious draught of warm water as
an emetic. A larger quantity of tIle plant is prepared in the
same way, but with about lL quart of water, for use as a
clyster. A tablespoonflll of the infusion may be also drunk
from -time to ti me.
Another remedy is the 1tHlonyctne or iNy(tlhelo (Vern onia
woodii), of which a double handful is taken of the leaves and
an infusion made with a quart 01' more of water to be
administered as a clyster. A dessert-spoonful of the extract
may also be occasionally drunk.
'rhe inKonazana. herb (Alysicarpus wa11achii) is used
for the same purpose, a bundle of the roots, abont one inch
through, being pounded and made into a hot infusion with a
quart or more of water and taken as an emetic.
So, also, is
the 1tmF11.mmvn tree (Pittospornm' yiridiflorulll), a piece
of the bark, about three inches by two, being pounded and
steeped in a pint of boiling water, which is drunk, and afterwards followed by sufficient simple water to excite vomiting.
Sometimes an enema is pl'epared of a double quantity of this
same bark (which, however, does not seem to possess any
independent purging properties) steeped in enongh boilillg
water for the purpose. Another common bile-emetic is the
1t]i(tdint8anll herb (? 'l'ripteris sp.), of a handful of whose
leaves a hot infusion is made with one cupful of water supplemented by a copious draught of plain warm water so soon as
the inclination to vomit takes place. An 1nfusion in a pint of
hot water of a single llandful of the six-inch roots of the
nmSenge (Oussonia spicata) is prepared and administered
in the same way.
The commonest purgative, of course, used for expelling the
"bile" in the bowels caused by an1tmKhnhlane is the iJalambh1t
(Ipomma purpurea), of whose stalks, six inches long, a
handful may be bruised in a Imlf pint of boiling water or fow1broth and the liquid) drunk.
7,ULU MEDICIN./<J AND
l\IEDlCJNE-lIn~N.
45
A general specific for an mnKlmhlane is the urnHlonyane
(Artemisia afra-VVorlllwood), a double handful of the
leaves being infused as tea with a quart 01' so of hot water,
and administered eithm' as clyster 01' emetic,
As a kind of tonic 01' stimulant, to remove the general
seediness or depl'ession cansed by tIle cOlnplaint, a piece of
the stout root, an inch and a half thick and six inches 1011g,
Df the poisonous illlF1tltW (Ophioc'Lulon gllllll11ifera) is
chopped and infused with three or fonr pints of boiling water
as an emetic,
Other remedies used for an tl1nKlwhZ(tne a,nd generally as
emetics are the poisonous 1ul[cdwcieni (Phytolacca abyssinica), the red roots of the in'l'ohmne (Elephantorhiza
bllrchellii), those of the IIllJayil1ul (Olivia milliata),andof
the u1nLomomnmuZi.
Malarial fever (also nowadays commouly called simply an
1w~[(h1.thlane, and recently in Natal, from the shivering
SYlllptOlllS, mnQhuqho) is one of the most destrllctive enemies
the native of Zlllllland lIas ever had to contend agaillSt.
vVhell the last grande (wmee of Shaka, composed of the whole
male population of Zllluh1,nd and Natal, was sent forth northwards to fight Soshangane, beyond Delago~1, Bay, it was
practically wiped ont by illIbho (as the malignant type of the
disease was then called) before it had so much ~1,S reached the
enemy's territory. Although th'e n-atives, even sl1(;h as have
been born within the malarial areas, are not quite so liable as
are the Bnropealls to the severer forms of attack, still, they are
very far from being immune against them. Bvery year ill the
lIHtlarial districts of Zn]uland a very large number of natives
snccllIub, and some years· as large a number as to all other
diseases combined. Yet so far they have not succeeded in
clir;covering any efficient remedy against it. '1'heir method is
to attack the disease with emetics and purgatives, which, by
ridding the systeJll of its excesr;ive accuJllulation of bile, gives
a temporary easement to some of the lnore distressing
"ymptollls, and so, perhaps, facilitates recovery. "Ye are
bonnd to own that, with the natives, this method is
46
HEV. AliFI1ED 'I'. BRYAN'r.
attended with quite astoni.shing success. '1'he peppery bark
of the isiBhaha tree, the veld-herb isiHlazi, or any other of
the already-mentiol1ed emetics, enemas, and purgatives
fonnd growing in their districts would be their nsual plant
specifics.
W"hether entel,ic fever was or was not an aboriginal disease
of the African races, it is certainly lllet with on rare occasions
nowadays in the kraals. One of the chief specifics of the"
natives for this, or perhaps any similarly erupti.ve fever, is the
poisonous uQ'Weng1t or (N) iLozane (Tephrosia macl'Opoda). The root is first externally charred on the fh'e-a
process said to reduce the strength of the poisonous principle.
The unbll1'nt central portion is then ground to a powder, of
which a pinch of 5 to 10 gr. is taken, mLxed with a like
quantity of the inner root-bark of the in[(wnzi or iBh~ia
(Bopusia scabra) herb and a little liquid fat or oil.
In the case of eruptive fever, like smallpox and measles,
the eruption is mistaken for the disease and is cOllsequently
the main objed of treatment. Needless to say, not much
benefit can accrue from such methods, although, in the case of
smallpox, the disfigurement may be somewhat lessened. For
this latter the dry roots of tIle 1'nK1I11tz,i or iBhe.ia herb,
together with those of the medicinal isiDilr,ili (T.Jasiosiphon
s p.) are pulverised and mixed into a paste with wetted
termite earth and plastered over the body. For measles,
urticaria and other rashes, a common specific is the inKokhane
climber, of whose crushed leaves a hot infusion is made and
nsed as a lotion twice a day, a cupful of the medicine being
also drunk. The ground roots of the is(tlvInyisane (Sp e l'lll acoce natalensis) mLxed with termite earth are also smeared
O"~er the seat of the outbreak. The bark of the 1tmHlambharnanzi (Rauwolfia llatalensis) and the leaves of the
nmSuzwane (L i p pia asp e l' i f 0 I i a) are other cures. For any
of the ordinary body rashes, a double-handful of the leaves
of the 1tlvIaholwan(£ (Ipomrea palmata) is crushed in a
cupful of cold water and the whole drunk.
lIULU M]I]DfCINII] AND
~IBD[clN}]-)[EN.
47
Urinary Diseases.
A large number of maladies connected witl,," the urinary
organs, and which seem to be mainly kidney diseases, though
sometimes of the bladder and generative organs, are lumped
together by the Zulus under the one generic t.erm iZe1nbhe or
n.Jovela.
'1'0 be afflicted with this complaint, ,vhatever form it may
take, is somewhat of a disgrace, for it is held to be the result
of illicit intercourse with the wife of another man who has
previously" treated" her in such a way that, although she
he in no wise inconvenienced herself, she shall nevertheless be
capable of conveying this disease to her paramour. 'rhe charm
used by a; husband for this purpose is also usually called
iZembhe or u1nSizi, and consists mostly of parts of certain
wild beasts (iz'iNya1nazane), charred and pulverised.
'1'he chief specifics for this disease are the ~LlJfakhanda­
k.a'ntsele (Eucomis undulata), and the bark of the i1nPisika'!JihZang~LZ1va tree. 1'he poisonous 1LMahedeni or 1:nGlLbivwrnile
(Phy tolacca a by ssi n ica) is also mostly used in this connection. A small handful of the paste of the bruised leaves,
sufficient to cover the palm, is administered, mixed in a big
draught of Kafir beer. Soon a profuse perspiration breaks
forth, followed by vomiting and ultimately purging. The
root, however, is said to be much more potent than the leaves;
a piece, half the size of one's thumb, is mixed, after pulverisatiOll, in a cupful of water and given to the patient to drink.
As before, a copious perspiration takes place, then violent
vomiting. 'rhis is assisted by the administration of large
draughts of water, time after time, whenever an inclination to
vomit manifests itself. Before long purging sets in. At this
stage a large portion of beer is given, which is said to allay
the vomiting, and the drug wOl'ks itself off by purging within
about twenty-four hours. Should the vomiting and purging
continue for a considerably longer period, say for a couple of
days, a fatal climax may be feared. Although so dangerous
and often lethal, Rkilled native doctors place an unusual re1i-
48
[tEV. ALFRED 'I'. BRYAN'I' •.
ance on this bushy climber. Its action undoubtedly exhibits
all the symptoms of a vil'lllent vegetab Ie poison, but nevertheless it may contain valuable cnrative qualities, as it is certain
that remarkable cures sometimes follow its application.
Backache or fixed pains about the loins are a common
accompa.niment of kidney and other a,bdorninal complai nt~.
'rhese are said to he relieved by a half teaspoonful of g'rounu
'£1nJi"uzane root taken in a little gruel'; or by tIle ·jXolo prepamtioJl
already described. '1'he roots of 11S1dnt1nbhili (Hypericulll
rethiopicum) are also used as a clysterforthesmnepnrpose.
Again, incisions may be made at wide int.ervals round the loins,
into which the bulbous root of tIle amaryllid 1£~Mahlokoloza is
I'Ubbed. A festering of each incision follows, which is supposed
to " draw ont" the internal ill,
'1'he native pathology of bladder diseases is akin to that of
the kidneys. They al·e mostly lumped together under the
siugle nallle iQomZo, whether the complaint he calculus,
. bilharzia, simple cystitis or what not. Like the iZembhe so
also the iQondo implicates the sufferer in the evil reputation
of being a fornicator. Bladder a.ffections predominate among
the yont,hfnl male population, and it is believed that they
cOllllllonly follow illicit sexual indulgence. The har111, rea,11,)'
caused by their own excess, is universally held to have been
contracted from the girl. '1'he father 01' the accepted lover
of this latter may }lave suspicions of her faithfulness, and he
thereupon secretly treats' her-on lines similal' to those of the
iZembhe aforementioned-or he may even treat the" lair" in
the bush which the couple are supposed to ftoequent, with
some magic medicament, which, while doing no illjnry to the
gil'l, will inflict an iQondo on the youth.
vVe may remark among aboriginal peoples, still in the
elementary stages of medical knowledge, a. constant predilection for the homceopathic principle. 'rhns,:1 plant is found
to cure a certain ailment; the same plan t will therefore prodnce it! '1'his is the principle exemplified ill the native viewR
regarding the cauroe and curing of both the iZernbhe and the
iQondo diseases.
ZULU MEDICINE AND MEDJOINE-lIIEN.
49
A youth, suspecting his girl of faithlessness, will procure
an iBhuw (Bulbine nata lensis) plant and make an
infusion, mixing therein a quantity of selected, magical,
animal powders. He will drink the mixture, and it acts ~s a
seda,tive di metic. 'rhe (( evil" pl'operties of the iBlmw and
the varions animal powclers are then supposed to infect the
girl aTter intercourse without injuring her, bnt they are fill bseqnently absorbed into the bladder of the ,rival youth.
On becoming aware that he has contracted the disease, his
first endeavour is to discover which particular iQon(lo poison
(for there are severaJ) may have been llsed in his own
instance. HaNing made this discovery (perhaps by the aiel of
a, witch doctol'), he physics himself witll the same plant to
bring about a cure. In the case of the iBhncn the slimy juice
from a few of the thick soft leaves is sqll~ezed into water and
drunk.
The next thing the native doctor migllt advise him to do
would be to apply over the bla,dder, having first anointed the
skin with oil or fat, a poultice made of the leaf-paste of the
wnDlvnzo (Mikania capensis), the 1b1nSintsi (Erythrina
ca f'fr a), the uZil)ho or iKhmnbhi lez'iC/uli (Card i os perm u lU
halicaca bum) and the nXhCLphozi (Ran uncu Ius pi nnatus), all of which are canstic in their action, working,
probably, like mustard, :1,S a connter-irritant. The plaster is
allowed to remain until it becomes unpleasantly hot for the
patient, which is sai.d to be in about an hour's time. The last
two plants, being particularly caustic, should be applied only
in a small quantity.
A handful of the roots of the big-leafed 1~Di1niltcenlcomo or
(N) 1~Li1nil'Wenyathi (B e r k hey asp.) is sometimes boiled in
a cupful of watel' ;"Lnd drunk. Others take half-a-dozen of the
small roots of the isiTlmmcma (Solanum capense) of the
termite nests, pound and boil them well in a pint of milk, and
.drink a ta,blespoonful of the decoction three times a day.
Should, however, more drastic measures be imperative, the
doctor thrllsts a small hollow reed through the penis into the
bladder, and blows into the latter a pinch of the pulverised
,rot. 2, PART 1.
4
·50
··HEV. ALFRED '1'. BRYAN'l'.
bark of the uN1tkl1ni (? Stinkwood 01' Ocotea bull.ata)
along with that of the ulJfahlabelcufeni tree and a little ginger.
Stil;kwood hark is known to be a tannic astringent.
All kinc1s of penial irritation, from inflammation of the
urethra, sbres and the like, are treated with a lotion of the
pounded leaves and stalks of the ~tCath1Lcath1' (Hibiscus
sllrattensis), 01' dressed with an ointment prepared from the
same mixed with powdered i.siBhaha bark and any kind of
f~t. 01' a pill of the leaf-paste of the i.siThumana above-mentioned may be inserted well up the urethra, and allowed to
remain until urination, following a copious draught of beer to
be subsequently taken, washes the whole channel thoroughly
out.•
Stricture is a dangerous complication or re,sult of urethral
and bladder disorders. Whatever may be the real cause of
the consequent difficulty of urination-whether stricture,
urethral spasms, defectiye muscular force or llysteria-the
~tGobo (Gunnera perpensa) and the Natal J.Jily or ~tmDtlze
are prescribed. Of the former a large handful of the
pounded roots is boiled, along with the chopped bulb of tIle
lattel', in half a pint or so of water, and the decoction drunk.
'1'he preparation of the 1'si1'hwl11ana, above-given for cystitis,
is likewise administered as a remedy for stricture. Some also
use the ~tBangalala herb, one of whose roots is boiled in milk
and a mouthful taken from time to time. '1'he bark of tlw
1tmLahleni tree, mixed with urine, is sometimes used as a
charm by evil.intentioned persons to cause stricture in those
they hate. On the usual homceopathic principle, we may
think it possible that the Kafirs have found this same bark
useful also as a curative agent for that complaint.
Venereal Diseases.
Previous to the advent of the white man there is every
reason to believe that venereal diseases were absolutely unknown among the Zulus.
It is averred that the Ca.pe Colony Xosa doctors treat.
ZULU ·nIEIHCINE AND
~[.ED[CINE-~[EN.
51
syphilis (Z. 'iBuiJa, 'i8iPCLtsholo, uGettsulzt), with good results,
while in its primary and secondary stages, by preparations of
nbnVimbha (Withania somnifera), of wrnThinna (Solanum melogella), and several species of the wnThombho
(Cissampelos tOl'ulosa, etc.). In Natal, as compared with
the Cape Colony, the disease is a comparatively recent introduction, and yet, when not too f,'i1' advanced, the' local
medicine-men seem generally able to get the"better of it. I
have not heard of their using any of' the above-mentioned
Xosa specifics for this pnrpose, although they are fully
aware of the really antiseptic or germicidal properties of the
Ub1L Virnbha, for it furnishes them with one of their chief
remedies for the malignant rectal ulcers of the i,~iG(cebedlcL
disease, while the blood-purifying powers of the wnTho?nbho
are also kn:own, it being universally llsed for scrofulolls
affections.
'1'he Natal men, I find, administer internally a decoction of
the roots and leaves of the 1~N.J·al1Vana veld-herb, also a
decoctiori of the leaves of the common aloe 01' mnHlabcL (A.
fel'ox); and they sprinkle on the external sores the same
leaves charred and ground, or better, a paste of the
bruised leaves of the nZ/:1Jhn 01' iKhambhi leziduli (C ard i 0 sperniu III hal i caca bum), the wrnDlonzo (M i kan ia cape usis), the 1t?nS'intsi (EI'ythrina caffra), and the nXhfllJhnz'i
(Ranullculus pinnatus), is laid on as a POllltice. All of
these latter plants (especially the first and last named) possess
intensely canstic properties, and should therefore be allowed
to remain on the body but a short time, perhaps not more
than an hour. They are said to burn and'bring away all the
foulness of the ulcerated parts, leaving them clean, and
stimulating them to rapid healing.
For all uretlu'al and vaginal discharges or sores of a
generally venereal nature, as in gonorrhcea or gleet (71,Gola,
'iKlilabh1L, iDilop7m, or sometimes by the generic terms 11Jovela
01' iQondn), a large pill is made of the pounded leaves of the
'1.LZ,ip],o, which is then thrust into the vagina Or penis, ~nd
allowed to remain. A copious draught of beer is subsequently
52
REY.
AJ~F.RI';D
T. BRYAN1\
taken, presnmably in order to induce a washing-out by m·ill:1,tion. Or the leaves and st,alks or the 1tCathncoth1/, (Hibiscus
surattensis) are crushed very finely in cold water and the
strained milky liquid is injected into either or the ch:1,nnels.
'1'he urethral affections are also relieved by the isiThnmanlt
(Sol anum capense), of which six or the sma,]] roots are
pounded, boiled in a pint of milk, and a talJlespoonrul or the
decoction drunk three times a clay. The lweparation of tIle
iRhnc1t already mentioned is also taken intel'llally to l'endel'
the urine bland.
Uterine Disorders,
I need sC<tl'cely say that the distinguishing nature of the
various uterine disorders is not recognised. As a general
specific we often find the following method employed: the
pulverised bark of tIle 1t0htkani tl'ee (?Ocotea bllllab)
is mixed with that of t.he 'I.t}'fahl(f})ek7~reni tree (Oroton
gratissimnm and O. sylvaticum) and a little ginger and
blown, through a small hollow reed, into the womb.
What the properties of the 1tNukani tree llmy be I am
unaware, but I have an opinion th:1,t they are of a canstic
nature. ':I.'hose of tIle crotons, as a cutaneons eruptive irritant
and stimulant, are well known. If the crotonic principle,
tll en , is so powerful when applied to the extemal skin, we
may conclude that its action will be cOl1sidel ahly stronger
when applied to the much tendel'el' tissue of the internal
organs. In this way, perhaps, it lllay be of sOllle real value
when intl'Oducecl into tIle womb in cases of inflammation, or
where that orgflU is overcoi1ted with morbid matter requiring
canterising.
In cases or injuries to the womb from obstetrical operations,
of uterine inflammation and the like, a hot 111fusioll is made of
tIle leaves of the 1tmJ'nluka l'Ul111ing herb, a portion being
drunk and the rest injected either into the womb or into the
rectum.
o
ZULU
~rEDICINE
AND 1llEDWINE-:M1<1N.
53
Impotency and Bat-;l'enness.
'With all primitive peoples, all that pertains to the sexual
functions, involving as it does the l1ropagation of the species
and the preservation of the tribe, is a matter of paramount
importance. Impotency on either side is with t.hem mOre than
a disgrace, it is a calamity. Should the nude organs fail
altogether to produce the seminal fluid, the roots of the
,imPinclisa (R ubi a cor d if 0 1i a) are boiled and drunk at
bedtime, result111g in an early emission. A hot milk infusion
of the roots of the tlQontsi (Eriosema cordatum and K
s'alignutll) herb has a similar effect. 01' the powdered root
of the iHlalll'w (Glol·iosa virescens) nmy be drunk in
whey. 1:he pulverised root of the amaryllid 1.dliahlokoloza
is sometimes blown throllgh the Ul'ethra.
Should the semi11al disdlarge l)e present, but lack vitality
and fail to produce conception, a prize specific is the creeper
'l~NY'ibonisele, of whose roots a hot illfusioll is drun k by both
husband and wife. It is, however, imperative to success that
the lattel' be quite unaware of the husband's having' also
drugged himself with tIle medicine.
'rhe roots of the iBhmlLu bulrush (OypC1'lIS sp.), along
with those of the iQwaning'i (Capparis corymbifera),
furnish another remedy j and the tLB(mgalnlu herb enjoys a
particularly high reputation, one of its roots being boiled in
milk and a little of the decoction drunk from time to time j as
does also the veld-herb tLNjaltvana 0)' -iKhmnbh'i lesipatsJwlo,
whose roots a,ud leaves are boiled and ~L sl1lal] quantity of the
decoction drunk three 01' four times daily for a few days. In
a word, almost anything calculated to pl'odnce il'l'itation of
the sexual organs is greedily availed of as a means to remedy
impotency.
The imBhabazanc, or COl11mon stinging-nettle,
the 'l£mHlwazirna11lbha, another nettle-like creeper, the roots
of the herb amaQute 01' (N) tLBhtlsha are all called upon to
do sel'vice to this end.
'Yhere simply a lack of nervous 01' muscular power is supposed to be the defect, the bulbous roots of the tLN{hcen{i1ceni
54
[lE\". AU.'Rlm 'f. BltYAN'l'.
'iJjetbeleJongosi (Eulophia arenaria) are slightly boiled,
and a tablespoonful of the liquid occasionally drunk.
'rhe prospect of at last attaining to the crown of matnrity
is hailed with proud delight. by both boys and girls alike.
All kinds of measuees aee employed by them to hasten its
accomplishment. Should the menstruation be delayed-and
this equally applies to all subsequent retarded periods-resort
is had to the imP-illtl'isa (Rubia cordifolia). Over-eager
children oven eat the raw roots of the plant; bnt the orthodox
method is to boil them and drink the decoction. Another firstmenstruation specific is the inDa~ro (Cyperl1s esculentns),
a hillldful of whose nodnlOlls roots are boiled and mashed in a
little amabele porridge and then eaten j bIlt the action of tllis
may perhaps be that of a general stomach tonic rather than of
an emmenagogue.
So constantly. does this plant 'irnP'indis(f. reappear in all
nati ve treatment of all sexual ailments that one is almost
forced to believe .that it mnst possess some useful quality.
One might at first have supposed this property to be of a
nat.u ee induciug "heat JJ or local excitement, seeing that it is
indicated for impotency as well as retarded menses. But this
can scarcely be the case, if those native doctors be right who
prescribe it. also in cases of metrorrhagia.
For profuse menstruation of all kinds, the roots 6f the
irnPincz.isct are mixed with those of the nmTshr'ki grass
(Eragrostis plana), boiled, and the liquid drunk. The
.menstrua cynocephali, deemed so necessary an ingredient by the native doctor, for the homooopathic reason
that the complaint is held to be due to a malicious poisoning
of the individual with snch substance, need not be mentioned
here.
vVhen the monthly process is accompanied by pain-a disorder coming under the generic term. isiLmno (any ullrecognised abdominal "gnawing ")-relief is sought ill the
pink-flowered i8iD~{'(t (Gladiolus ludwigii). Two double
handfuls of its nut-like roots are crushed and boiled in two
cups of water, which is then i'njected per rectum, and may
01'
ZULU MEDWINl)l AND
:r.lfmICINJ;;-~[EN.
55
be repeated every day as long as reqnired. Another larger
kind of gladiolus (also termed £siDwl/) having a raceme of
large-sized orange-yellow Howers, is likewise employed for
the same purpose. 01' the lal'ge tuberous root of the i~iNlrazi
(Cissus cuneifolia) is chopped and boiled in a quart 01' so
of water to form an enema. Other remedies are the isiNdiyandiycL tree (Bersama lucells), of which the bark is used;
and the mnTimafane 01' 'i8£Nyn'ane(R 0 yen a I u cida),pl'eparcd
as an enema.
Dysmenorrhrea is ~nost generally due to chlorosis 01' anrumia,
and for such il'on is the orthodox European specific. It is
another proof of the curiously correct insight of the Zulu
doctors that they, too, were aware of this latter fact, and in
their ti'eatmen t of painful menstruation regularly prescribed, in the old iron-smelting days" a powder made from
the dross or slag.
If impotency is lamented in the case of the male, sterility
in the female is even more deplored, if ouly that a heavy price
has been paid for her. The native understands nothing of the
causes of barrenness, for the reason that he is ignorant of the
whole physiolog)' of procreation. Nevertheless, he has
several remedies which, when they chance to find the conditions corresponding to their peculiar properties, appeal' to be
efficacious.
A. common specific is the beautiful liliaceous £Hlam'Vu
(Gloriosa virescens), whose roots are pounded, mixed with
food and eaten by husband and barren wife, with the result,
as they say, that the latter conceives. vVe have recently
heard of n, discovery that yeast has proved an effective cure
for barrenness in cows, and the explanation given (whether
correct or not, I cannot Yentllre to say), was that the yeast
had the effect of killing the particular microbes responsible
for the uterine disease. N ow, if there be any truth in such a
statement, the iHlmn'v1L, inasmuch as it is a well-known licekiller, may also have the nature of a germicide, and act on
human beings in a similar way to the yeast on cattle.
Other native doctors prescribe the Howers of the isiNama
56
RIBV. ALFRED 1'.
Bl~Yl\N'l'.
8sibO'lnvu sehlaih£ (Pupalia sp.) which, after bruising, are
rolled into a couple of small paste-balls, one of which i"
swallowed by the man, the other inserted into the womb, with
the result that in clue time conception takes place. Or, the
roots of the 71Ngibonisele climber may be boiled, a portion of
the decoction being dl'Unk and the remainder injected into the
womb. Another favoured remedy is a mixture of the roots of
the iBh1tma rush (Oyperus sp.) a'ild the root-bark.of the
nrnThuma (Solanum sodomroum). '1'he iLabatheka (Hypoxis latifolia) is also sometimes used.
Should a painful menstruation be an accompaniment of the
inability to conceive (,],s might Imppen in the case of
fibroid tumours), the roots of the ullfpondollcle (a species of
aloe) are employed in the sallle way as those of the 7~Ng-ibo­
n'isele above.
In some feJ;llales there is a disposition to deliver prematurely
or miscarry. This misadventure may be prevented by the
administration of any 1trnSekelo (a generic name for any
medicille of this class), for instance, a certain bush climber
(Pyrenacantha scandens). Of this the roots are selected,
pounded, steeped in cold water and the infusion drunk in
cupfuls from time to time.
To facilitate delivery, or to procure it when retc\rdedmedicines generally called an iNembhe-several plants are
indicated. Of these one of the chief is the iNothwane or
'inDola encane (l'riumfetta rhomboidea). A bundle, such
as one can easily grasp in the hand, of the six-inch roots is
pounded, a hot infusion prepared with a cupful of boiling
water, which is then drunk. Other remedies are the iBh1t?JIa
(Oyperus sp.) rush, the bulbous root of tIle 1tHlakahla herb,
the veld-slu'ub 1tHl1~nguhl1tng1t (Vernonia cOl'ymbosa),
the bush iKlolo or iLalanyathi (Gl'ewia occidell talis), the
'ltMayime herb (Olivia ll1iniata), the climber isiNv.:azi
(Cissus cnneifolia), and the herb uGobo 01' 1tKlenya
(Gunnera perpensa).
But the mother's troubles are not yet at an end. There is
that perilous contingency of parturition known as puerperal
ZUI,U )lEDICIN]~ AND :MEDlCINE-}lEN.
57
fever. In order to facilitate the due expulsion of the afterbirth and the proper clearing of the womb, the natives employ
the roots of the aforesaid ~lGob(/, alO1lg with those of the
isiDwa (Gladiolus ludwigii).
'rhe native doctors seriously assel·t that they can not only
alter the sex of the offsprillg habitually borne by any woman,
but they can actually procure the birth of whichever sex they
will. Use is made of that beautiful orange lily (Glorios~1
virescens) already referred to, and Wll1Ch is commonly called
theiHlamv~~ lomfana nentombhazana. 'The peculiarity of this
plant is in its root; some roots are said to exhibit the shape
of the female orgall, while others represent the male. All
that is necessary is to physic the wife before coition with a
decoction of a root which resembles in shape the organs of
whichever sex is desired!
I once received the following interesting information as a
valuable professional secret. "Your goats perchance have the
undesirable habit of bearing always useless males. Catch a
weasel (Precilogale albinucha), dry it whole, grind it to
powder, and admillister in water to the she-goats before
covering. '1'he result will be female offspring."
Hheumatislll, Heart Complaints, Dropsy, etc.
Rheumatism ill all its forms is very comlllon among the natives
owing to the habitual sleeping anel sitting on damp groundfloors, and to the constant neglect to change ,Yet clothing.
In tllese cases an up-to-date Zulu doctor has first resort
to the iPhnngnlo or stealll-bath. '1'he process is described in
my Zulu-English dictionary as follows: Certain medicines
(which ;),re erroneously supposed by the nat,ives to be the
curative element) are boiled in a, large pot, over which the
patient sits, closely surrounded by grass mats or blankets,
until he becomes thoroug111y steamed out, the steam being
maintained by the insertion into the water of two or three
large red-hot stones. 'll}le patient 1S afterwards sprinkled
over the bare body with the same or another similar decoction
58
REV. ALl' RED' '1'. BRYAN'f.
while boiling hot, the sprinkling being done by a slmtll bunch
of the leafy stalks of the 1£lnGlmya, iOimaml'ilo, 1£lIfagwanyan(£
and other herbs', whose pl'opel·ty is said to be to render the
boiling water harmless. ~l'he native doctol' thus first clears
<?ut and" softens down" the body through a vapour-bath, and
then eno,eayours to excite a shock 01' thrill throughout the
system by means of the hot-watel' sprinkl.ing. This treatment
is further supplemented by medicinal dl'aughts.
'£0 aJlay the pains of rheumatic fe\'er, the whole viscous
bulb of the.inGcino (Scilla rigidifolia) veld-herb is
thoroughly boiled in a quart of water, of which one teaspoonful is taken morning and evening for one day only. 01'
a larg'e handful of the 1£Gobo root (Gunnera perpellsa) is
pounded.. and .boiled along' with the chopped bulb of the
u1nDw:e or Natal J.. ily, and the decoction drunk. Other
general remedies are the roots and bark of the 1t1nNyezane
(Dovyalis rhamnoides), which are boiled and the extract
drunk. 01' the roots of the ~£1nL1£ll/1n(£ O'nrrrea hete1'opllylla) along with ~£1JlQalothl: bark (Strychnos henningsii) may be prepared in the same ·way. ~l'he pungent
bark of the i8iBhal~(£ is also praised as a specific for rheumatism, and I am of opinion thnt the peppery bark of the
~£IIIN~mg1t;ane (Xanthoxylon capense) wonld prove equally
efficacious.
]~ocnJ treatment sometimes takes the forlIl of a simple'
.sprinkl~ng ~£ the painfnl part, by means of a small brush,
with the boiling decoction of the iOima1nlilo (Pentanisia
y ar ia bi I is), this plant, the pretty wild forget-me-not of the
veld, haying the reputed prpperty, "as mentioned .aboye, of
prevent.ing burning. liquids from injl1rjng the tissue. Similarly, the 1'oots of the ~£S"aCJ.a (Bel'kheya sp.) may be boiled,
its leaves pounded and 1;1ix~d with cold water, which is then
addecl to the boiled root-decoction, and the mixture used to
foment the paiuful limb, any benefit derived therefl'om being
prObably due to the fomentation rather than to the herb,
which is generally held to be simply ast~:ingent.
For stiff-neck the bark of the umSongi tree is used.
ZULU ~IlmiOIN1~ AND MEDICINE-~rEK.
59
Heart troubles are an accustomed complication of rheumatism. The native doctor knows nothing about the functions
of the heart, though acquainted with the symptoms of. heart
diseases (commonly terJJled n Valo, because supposedly located
in tIle cartilage at tIle end of the stel'l1um), and, in his feeble
way, he is able to meet the call made on his skill.
He takes the roots of the blue-umbelled uBani (Agapanthus umbellatus), makes therewith a hot infusion ill a
quart oE water, to be administered as an emetic and repeated
daily. Such a daily emetic may be also prepared from the
red roots of the 1tmDabu shrub (? Blephantorhiza sp.); or
these same roots may be dried, pounded, and rnbbed into
incision~ below the breast. A handful of tlH;~ leaves of a
species of Mesembryanthemulll (called by the natives by
the generic term iKhn?nbh'i Zmnab1tia1,ro) is sometimes infused
in a little boiling water and used as an emetic against the
fearful dreams symptomatic of heart weakness. POl' such
dreams the 'iLa/)(Ithelw (Hypoxis latifolia) is also used, a
hot infusion being made of its bulb and taken as an emetic.
The inner bark of the white-flowering nNtliziyonkul-n 01'
nm1t }Vane tree, as also the bark of tIle 1!~Mo!Ja1ro'IJllng1t tree
and the roots of the 1tJJI Vn?na (Turrrea floribu nda) kee,
taken as an emetic, are other remedies.
'1'he inDab1tlalnvalo (chips of crystal 01' natural glass
hawked in from Basutoland) so valued by the natives, is
not worth referring to, un less to show what' absurd and
injurious practices (for the .glass is broken up and taken
internally 1) these people al'e capable of lllixing up with mllch
otherwise reasonable tt·eatment. ~I'he like remark applies to
the specific of some doctors for palpitation, viz. the dried
hearts of the -inDhlondhlo snake and the 1tXa1lln (Mon i tor
niloticus)j but the roots ofthe 1t~Ma1npe8halla (Oldenlandia
decum bens) herb, cl'ushed, infused in boiling water and
drunk, which are used fot' this same purpose of palpitation
and shortness of breath, may pel'chance be of some benefit.
Dropsy of the lower limbs (called u~Mankunkunlm, isiKlmkhuklm, oriKhunk1tlo, by which latter name rheumatic swellings
60
ItEV. AJ,FRED
~\
BRYAN'I'.
are a,lso called) is a frequent accompaniment of hea,rt trou ules,
and is regarded as the result of takllia poisoning. Several
such "poisons" are mentioned, vegetable and animal, bu t
among the commonest is the diodon or globe-fish ('l'etraodon
stellatus and inermis) found along the Natal coast. Now,
we do know that some varieties of this fish are really
poisonous, although I am not aware how the poisonous principle acts on the human system. It is just possible that it
may affect the heart, and so really give rise to dropsy or the
limbs. Whatever the cause, the native treatment is the.same.
Chief reliance is had on the vapour-batll, already described
under rheumatics.
Certain species of inT8em(~ or dwa,l'f
euphorbia (E. pugniformis and B. bupleurifolia) ,l,re also
employed; the ·roots being dried, burnt, and the ashes rubbed
into inCisions made about the affeCted parts.
'1'here is a vaguely described complaint with the natives
called is'iBhobo or mnaNrceba, which appears to be mostly
intercostal neUl'algia, at other times muscular rheumatism, 01'
a symptom of liver disease. It is another of the takaia
maladies: 'rhe amaNg'lve and the It?nZilanyoni 1 or (N)ltMiny{~
bushes are among the chief poisons supposed to cause it.
The latter bush is so named because all birds avoid it. '1'he
witch-doctor is usually consulted by the patient as to which
poisonous plant lllay have been used, and the same plant
becomes once more the antidote. Should it have been either
of the above, the roots are boiled and given as an emetic, a
small portion being also drunk j or they may be ground and
1'1l bbed into incisions.
'
Sometimes the roots of the ltmQagongo (C 1e l' 0 de n d ron
glabrum) are mixed with those of the iBoza (:Moschosma
riparia), a hot infusion made with a quart of water and
taken as all emetic. Another remedy is the iBohlololo or
(N) inZlvabnhl1tllgn (Senecio speciosus), whose leaves and
stalks are burnt and the ashes rubbed into incisions. Or the
1 This is said (tlIOugh personally I have some doubts) to be a different
plant to the umZilanyoni 01' uMahlabehtjeni tree (Oi'OtOll sylvaticum) already mentioned.
ZUI,U .1IIEDICINE AND
lImD~CINE-lIH~N,
61
bark of the nll;Iahlabeklifelli tree (Croton gl'atissimum and
C. sy 1vati c u 111) and the dry root of the amaryllid 1~llf(~hloh;oloza
may be g~ound to powder and rubbed in as before. '1'he male
of the (N.)iDwtga?nuzi (Eucl ea Ian ceol a ta) and the isiBhaha
are other reputed cures.
A good counter-irl'itant for any kind of fixed internal pain is
said to be the 1~1nNq(mdane 1ce?n])isi (Royena villosa), a bush
fonnd along the coast, whose leaves or pounded roots are bl'uised
and laid over the painful spot for perhaps half an honl' or an
lionr, as the plant lIas strong caustic properties. '1'he compound
plaster, or indeed any single one of the ingredients-'wnDlonzo,
1~Z.ip7IO, 1~Xh(~phozi and nmHintsi-already mentioned under
bladder complaints, is equally efficacious for the salUe purpose.
An effective eruptive rubefacient for lung, and probably also
for any otller interllal inflammations, is the bark of the
n1l1(~hlc~be7,a~feni (Croton gratissimum) and the'lt'rnZ'illlnyoni
trees (Croton sylvaticul11), which is ground very finelY!lnd
rubbed into incisions in the skin.
Diseases of the Nervous Systell1.
The medicine-man often meets with spinal diseases and prescribes the roots of the 1~Goban(llovn (Secamone gerrardi),
of the 1~Sc~hlnla?nanye (? Pte roc e I as t I' ns 1'0 s tra tu s), of
the uNgazi, and of the 1b~fcifn1l11)h1dm, all ground to powder,
along with the dried body of an iG01nonq() or large fruit-bat,
and rubbed into incisions made along the affected pai,t.
Paralysis is held to be a local affection of the particulal'
lim b concel'lled, Its specifics are the 1~Ntlangothi and
mnN1mgwane (Xanthoxylon capense).l 'rhe administration of the former is described in my Zulu-English Dictionary
as follows: "The patient stands in the sun, and then, commencing with the lellg·th of his shadow, the doctor makes
1 .An allied tree (Xanthoxylon fraxineum) is nsed in America.
for chronic rhenmatism, which, frol11 the crippling of the limbs, would,
perha,ps, in native diagnostics, be regarded as f1kill to para.lysis.
Maybe the umNungwone [11so does possess useful qualities.
,REV. ALFRED T: BlWAN'l'.
lllClSlOns i~l it along the gl'ound 'and so' r'ight away up the
whole ~naffected side of the body. On the followi~g day this
process is repeated with the other 01' affected side. Finally,
tl~e bark, after having'be'en'r~bbed into the incisions, is boiled
in water, and the patient, dipping his fingers into the hot
dec~ction, is ~equired to keep sucking the liquid from the
finger-tips, afterwards s,~~cking with them the sevei'al
affected joints. A cure' follows-when the omens are propitious ! "
.
,
Other doctors approach nearer the mark of reason, and
advocate the hot-air tr~atment. A hole is dug in the ground,
;1, great fire'is kindled inside, and, after the a,shes have been
removed, the patient enters, and the hole at the top being
loo>;ely covered over, is allowed to pm'sp{"e fl'eely for some
time. He is supposed to come out more 01' less cured. It is
'possible that the shock caused by the burial in a half-roasting
pit, apart from the genel:al benefit conferred on the system by
the copious perspiration, may al~o not be ~Yithout its advantages.
It seems pretty certain that the native doctors have an inkling
of the curative effect of "shock" on certain. ner\TOl1S and
muscular diseases. '
.A. native is' repoHed as "unable" to move his 1illlbsperhaps from paralysis of some kind. The doctor m·ders him
to be placed amidst a heap of dry faggots completely encircling
him, and perhaps a foot 0)' more high, at a foot's distance.
The sticks arc then set 011 fire, and the patient, "unable to
move,'~ is compelled to see and to feel the nerve-disturbing
flames arise on every side around him. vVater medicated
with iCimaml'ilo aud similar herbs is constantly sprinkled by
the doctor on the firebrands nearest the patient, so as to
control the flames and prevent burning. ~l'his sprinkling
furth~r creates also an amount of steam about the patient
scarcely less dreaded than the fire. At length the fire burns
itself out; the sufferer. is removed "much exhausted," but
sometimes quite recovered.'
In this connection I may add how in a case of epilepsy the
patient was ordered to supplement the medical treatment by
ZULU ;)IEDICINE AND UEDICINE-~[EN.
63
plunging, at a certain hour, intoa particular pool-everywhere
known to be especially infested with crocodiles, and reputedly
also with pythons-in one of the rivers in further Zulubnd.
The object of this, it seelllS ~o me, could have been nothing
other than to cause a vitalising shock to the brain and
nerves.
Hysteria.
Hysteria is very common among native girls.
In the
majority of cases it is the result of a mental disorde.', and
although not necessarily caused by any physical derangement,
is often sympathetically arollsed, through the nerves, at those
times when the sexual functions are most active, as is evidenced
by the fact of hysteria occurring so frequently about the
menstrual period. The Africans being a race of strong
emotions, both sexually and sentimentally, we should almost
expect hysteria to be rife among them.
The nature of the complaint not being understood, it is
always attributed to the evil "charm" of some malicious
young man. Technically the girl is said to have been" thrown
at" (phosiwe) by him, and the charm used, and supposed to
cause the hysterics, is called an iHabiya. '1'hese {tmaHabiya
may be harmless animal substances, as the fat of lions,
leopards or various birds, but they are 1I10re ft'equently plants.
The native never administers his charm internally to the
individual, mostly not even corporally at all. The same
plant as is supposed to have caused the hysteria is regarded
also as its antidote; which accounts for the universal custom
of requiring that the same young JUan who has been detected
"charming" a girl in this way shall also cure her, as he
alone will be cognisallt of the proper remedy. Among a
large number of plants l'epnted to possess snch properties, we
note the roots of the 1.tKhathwa herb, of the 1£mMbhezi tree,
or of the amaPhof1£ bush.
The root of the inDa1col1£th'i emnya1na (Belamcanda
punctata) is employed to allay the hysterical crying,
64
REV. ALE'RED T. BRYAN'l'.
Perhaps it possesses some sedative properties. A hot infusion
of the fleshy stalks of the 1£Zililo (Stapelia gigantea) is
used as an emetic for the salUe purpose.
The physical or mental affection with which native witchdoctors are always afflicted may be a form of hysteria, and
they are sometimes medically treated. For instance, the
roots of the mnHlonishw[£ (Psoralea pinnata) and of the
1£Bh1£bh1£bh1£ climbel' (Helinus ovata) are pounded and
stirred with cold water until the liquid froths, when it is
dl'llnk as an emetic. Multifarious superstitious formalities
are at the same time performed, but their mention is of no
importance be1'e.
A few YlOars ago a cm'ious complaint, forming quite an
epidemic, was introduced into N. E. Zulu land from the
adjoining Tongalaud. ']'he disease attackea young persons
of both sexes, but generally girls. The sufferers would congregate in bands and they wonld have wild convulsive· fits,
and fits of jumping frenzy during which the head would be
completely smothered' beneath several layers of cloth secured
about the chest and back by braces of goat skin comlUon to
all t.ypes of Zulu witch-doctors. They would cry in uncanny
tones, likened to the bellowing of a bull, and would speak in
an (( unknown tongue."
A person so afflicted, even after a more Ot' less complete
recovery, is known as an iNdilci.
The Zulu imagines that the disease is due to a new type
of spirit, akin to the iDlozi (ot' ancestral familial' spirit) and
q.£11~Lozikazana (or whistling familar spirit) and yet distinct
from both.
I have prosecuted some inquiries, which have led me to the
conviction that the convulsive fits were plainly those of
epilepsy j that the" unknown tongne" was simply incohel'ent
mutterings in Zulu and kindred languages, and that the rest
was mainly hysteria.
Insanity.
Various physical derangements are apt to cause a temporary
insanity or delirium (1£ffiunyu) with the natives, mostly malli-
WW MEDICIN}] AND M1<JDICINE-MEN.
65
festing itself in a wild rushing abont the country: vVhen
this symptom appears-which, of course, in the native view,
amounts to a distinct disease-a piece as large as the fist of
the very poisonous bulb of the inGcolo forest-climber is very
thoroughly hoiled in a pint or more of water, of which only
one teaspoonful may be given to drink. This qnantity is said
to suffice of itself to cause in a healthy individual mental
derangement of some kind lasting several hours j' the already
deliriolls, however, it is supposed to bring round. Another
plant said to produce a similar kind of insanity (though I
have not heard it prescribed as a Cllre for the same) is the
bulb of the iLnbatheka (Hypoxis latifo lia).
Ski n Disease s, etc.
Body sores, especially if intractable, are plastered with the
ground roots of the inK1£nzi or 'iBh~j(t herb (Bop usia
scabl'a) moistened with a little water. This plant, we may
l'ecollect, is a chief specific for the ulcerous rectal disease
called iSI:Gwebedla or inG1£112bhcme: No doubt it really
possesses some kind of antiseptic power. This may also be
the case with the running pea-like plant 1£Q uengn or (N)
'/:L()zane (Tephrosia macropoda), which is not only cnrative of sores, but in leaf-extract is nsed for destroying head-lice,
and effec:tually expels intestinal worm" £1'0111 cattle, although
dangerously poisonons if rashly taken internally by hnman
beings.
The 1£112NI£llgwane (Xanthoxylon capense), again, from
its use in the preservation of meat and in the treatment of
decayed teeth, undoubtedly contains antiseptic powers of a
high order, and similarly also the 1£b1£ Vimbh(t (,Vi t han i a
somnifera), the leaves of both of which are successfully
employed in the healing of sores.
, The leaves and roots of the 1£Shnqa or 1£Shwaw1£ (13 e l' kheya s p.), pounded and steeped in cold water, furnish an
excellent astringent remedy for the same ljnrpose.
A general ontbreak of sores throughout the body is treated
Y01. 2, PAR'r 1.
5
1
66
HEV. ALFmm T. llRYAN'l'.
with a dose of nZipho (Cardiospermum hal icacabum),
a handful of the leaves being pounded in warm water and
drunk.
The leaf of the common kraal-weed iYoli (D"atura stramonium), freed of its mid-rib, and laid oyer a painful wound or
sore, is certainly delightfully s.oothing, if not indeed also
curatiye. Another plant used in this connection is the greellpodde!'J. isiNama (Priva leptostachya), of which the seeds
are ground and spread on as a plaster. A leaf-paste of the
shrub Polygonnm ser1'ulatllTIl is also an efficient SOl'ehealer.
For cancerous growths ('isiDla), as ulcerative or gangrenous
stomatitis, and popularly (though doubtfully) even for true
cancer, the large 7~?nBl()ntlo Euphorbia (E. grandidens)
holds a universal reputation throughout South Africa of being
the one sovereign remedy.
The so-called cancer bush
(Sutherlandia frutescens) has likewise a reputation as a
cancer cme, though I am not aware that its reputed
properties in this respect are known to the natives here.
Thrnsh of infants (amaLovnla) is cured by rubbing over
the sore parts of the mouth the crushed leaves of the sorrellike isiTJutthe or (N) isiN7tng1t (Oxalis semiloba).
For itch (7~'1"wuyi\, eczema (7~mFul(/, nl1wNa) and similar
cutaneous diseases the common specific is a lotion made
with "hot or cold water, of the "pounded bark and roots of
the 7~Solo or Flat Crown (Albizzia fastigiata). The juice
expressed from the leaves of the iBhuC1t (Bulbine natalensis) is also used.
Ophthalmia.
Owing to the prevalence of scrofula, ophthalmia (-inTelo) of
the strumous form is common among the natives. It is
regarded as the work of an 7t?IL'l'hakathi, and the skilful
doctor claims to be able to extract from the organ the
injurious bodies, which are declared to resemble small grains
of Kafir-corn! This statement seems to be merely a childish
ZULU MEDIC'INEAND MEDICINE-MEN.
67
exaggeration of the granulations sometimes formed on the
inner side of the eyelids after pumlent ophthalmia.
For pustular ophthalmia generally, incisions are first of all
made above and about the eyes; ·then a quantity of the leaves
of the . small red-berried isiThurnanr/, (Solalll111l .capense),
found about termite nests, is boiled, and· the face,. held. over
the steaming pot, treated to a vapo1ll' ba,th. The eyes are
subsequently bathed in' the decoction, and the juice of the
berries may be rubbed into the incisions. There are several
other uses of this plant which tend to indicate that it contains
germicidal properties of some real value.
The large rough leaves of the 1~Dimilt(;enkomo or (N) uLimi.1'Wenyathi (Berkheya sp.) are el.'nployed in a similm: manner
to the above.
Another germ-killing plant is the mnErnbhesa shrub, w~lC?se
roots are used as a lotion for sore eyes, as well as a p.owdel'
for destroying head-lice.
.
The isiHlosa herb is anot11er remedy for ophthalmia.
.
The. inflammation or redness of the. eyeball oc(mrri~g in all
forms of this disease, especially in the common. catarrhal
form, is relieved by an application of th~ pungent root. of the
nSolo (Albiz;"ia fastigiata), aninch of whi.oh is .pounded
in a small quantity of cold water, and a chop or two of this
latter poured into the eye from time to time. '11he leaves of '
the green-podded isiNarna (Priva leptostachya), as also
those of the tbrnTh1bnd;u11bka or Natal plum (Ximen ia cafha),
are employed in the same way.
'1'he peppery roots of the medichlal isiDikili (Jjasiosipholl
s p .), as wel~ as the leaves of the nlJfponclonde aloe, are bmnec1
to ash, and a pinch of the latter inserted into the eye. Or the
flowers of the imPe]ilw herb are pOllnded,mixed with soot,
and dropped into the eye before going to bed.
A universal household remefly is to apply· in the same "'ay
a little of the pulverised backbone of the cuttle··fisll, or even
of the shell of the common snail-a simple remedy said to be
reitlly efficacious with both JUell and beasts.
Although the real sn:rsapal'illas of South and Central
68
REV .. FATHER A. T. BRYANT.
America are not found in S. Africa, a single species of the
.same genus is indigenous to the coastal bush of Natal and
Zululand. This is the inGqaqab1~lani or (N) iYali 01' 1~Limi­
l1/Jenyathi (Smilax kraussiana). It is an entangling bllshclimber with stems about a quarter of an inch in thickness,
bearing tiny hooked thorns. It constitutes one of the minor
eye remedies of the natives when affiictfld with ophthalmia,
though generally in conjunction with one or other of the
plants already mentioned, a decoction being made, and the
eyes held for a time over the steaming pot.
Earache.
Pain in the ear is relieved mOllt uSllally by the thick mottled
leaves of the dwarf isiKholokntho (Sanseviera thyrs ifo 1ia),
which are warmed over the fire and a drop of the juice let
flow into the ear. The roots of the n1nFaJla-ka'sihla1~iana
(Stylochiton sp.), boiled in a little urine, or the leaves of
the isiNama (of the kind used to provide smoking-tubes)
crushed and steeped in the same fluid are other cures for
earache. The 1W1Sintsi (Erythrina caffra) leaves are also
sometimes crushed, infused in hot water, and a. drop of the
liquid placed in the ear. The 1~mHl(/.k1wa is another common
household remedy for this purpose.
Toothache.
Before the advent of the white man, dentistry was an
unknown art among the Zulus. They were a people not yet
attained to the inventive stage, and they turned instinctively
to Nature for aid in all their needs.
Owing to the lack of suitable implements for extraction, the
aim of the native doctor is to destroy the troubling tooth
in 8it1~. He claims to possess medicines which, when applied
to a decaying tooth, cause it to drop out forthwith. This is
merely an exaggerated statement of a property certain plants
have, when inserted within the decayed cavity, of causing
snch teeth to break up, thus falling out piecewise. Such
ZULU lIIEDICINE. AND MEDlCINEJ-MEN.
69
plants cOlllmonly allay the pain at the same time by killing
the nerve. Carbolic acid is a good example of this kind of
drug with us.
'1'he famous thorny isiKh1L?lwkeZct bush, growing in the bushveld, is one of the principal native medicines. '1'he dried roots
are grou;ld into a powder and inserted into the cavity of the
tooth, having the above-mentioned effect. '1'he small reddishberried'isi'l'hnmana (Solanum capense) is said to possess
the same powers and is prepared in the same way. The rootbark of the 1LmN1Lngwane (Xanthoxylon capense) is pungent and disinfectant. Applied as before it is said to relieve
the pain very rapidly, and no doubt at the same time destroys
the corroding bacilli.l
'rhe powdered root of the 1LmKhovothi (C h re t a c h m e
meyeri) and the leaf-paste of the 1LbtLHltLngwana (Wedelia
natalensis) have the reputation of being equally efficient as
dental anodynes.
Others poultice the painful tooth with a paste of the pounded
roots of the 1LmHlakwva or castor-oil plant, or chew the roots
and leaves of the 'isiSin'iwi herb, or the very bitter,milky roots
of the 1LmThombho climber (Cissa In pel 0 s tor ul 0 s a).
Not only call the native doctor speedily rid you of toothache,
but he will tell you with equal· conviction that, by imitating
the peculiar cry of the hnBlml1L rock-monitor (Veranus
ldbigolaris) you may as speedily induce it!
Ex trac tion of 'l'hol'ns.
'1'he professions of the native doctors in regard to the extraction of thorns are no whit less marvellous than those in regard
to the extraction of teeth. A few uNya1vothi (? Penicillal'ia
spicata) seeds are taken, one half thereof ground very fill ely
and inserted into the wound, the other half sown whole in the
I It is curious that the kindred tree (Xanthoxylon fraxineum)
should he used in America for identically the same purpose, and be
there locally known as the Toothache·Tree. This fact testities to the
prolxtble usefulness also of the Natal species ..
70
REV. AJ,FltED 'I'. BltYAN'l'.
soil. At the s~llle moment as the. sown seed sprouts through
the earth the thorn. will emerg.e from the flesh in which it is
embedded!
Others insert a, pinch of pulverised illKomankoma root
(N. filix-mas) into the wound with an equally propitious
result.
W oUllds.
Quite 50 p'er cent. of Zulu men bear ugly scars (izinGozi)
~-b0ut the head' or body as souvenirs of faction or other fights.
Some of these, .covel~ing split or splintered bones, cause them
periodical pain (£ziLn.loJ-t-h-ronghouG all their' after-life. For
wonnds, when fresh, whether causea. by<tSS€-g.a.i or stick, the
native possesses nothing better than the nbuHZ1mgU'CLna herb
(vVedelia; natalensis). The lea,'es are bruised and steeped
in a little cold water, a few drops of the extract are poured
into the wound and the whole of the leaf-paste plastered over
it and bonnd on like a poultice. The action of the herb is to
prevent inflammation, with all its consequent pain and suppuration, thus ensuring immediate healing. Another herb used
under like circumstances is the nGodide (J atroph a hirsu t a),
tho dried bulbous root being pulverised and sprinkled on the
fresh wound.
Broken Limbs and Sprains.
Broken limbs are not so frequent with this bellicose people
as are broken skulls, and yet they must necessarily occur at
times, especially from falls. Oonsidering the l'emarkable lack
of inyentive genius. among the natives, it almost surp~'ises us
to find that they had already discQverJjd the use of splints even
b~fore ~he white man's coming. True, it ~vas only a rude contrivance, formed of a couple of split dqg's bones, which were
firmly bound 011 each side of the fractured limb and acted well
enough. Bu~ their main reliance was on certain herbs, which
were said to have the wonderful power of "making fractUl"ed
bones unite." Ohief amongst these we note the tLMathtLnga
ZULtl MEDICINB AND
~fEDIOL.'ill-UEN.
71
(Cyrtanthlls obliquus). The dark-coloured portion of the
root below the bulb was dried, pulverised, and rubbed into
incisions made at the seat of breakage. Equally effective, and
applied in the same way, is the herb 1~NglI;aleni (Cluytia
pulchella). Others employ the root-bark of the coast-tree
1L'n~Nqandane 1Uempi.si or inDodenmya1na (Royena villosa)
along with the root of HMathunga as above; roast both on a
pot-lid till dry, pulverise, and rub into incisions as before.
For simple sprains (notwithstanding that the natives frequently refer to these also as breakages or uk1l;aph1~ka) the
1~Nyen?Ja (Rhamnus prinoides) and the iridaceous inD(~1UO­
luc"u;atha are nsed as embrocations.
Snake-bite.
'1'he tl'e~ttlllent of snake-bite must always hold an important
place in the medicine of the aborigines of a snake-infested
country like Zululand and Natal. It has been asserted by
European experts over and over again that sllake-poisOl;,
when taken into the system through the stomach, is harmless
and inert, and yet, as far as I can discover, the hom(l)opathic
principle reigns supreme among all those races of mankind
that have been born and reared amongst snakes, and the antidote is taken through the mouth. The orthodox antidote of
the Zulu doctor, 110 less than of the Indian of Brazil, is the
smtke itself, and by preference the very snake that has bitten,
or, if tllis be unprocurable, another of its species.
There are venomous snakes of several distinct kinds in
South Africa, each with its o,vn peculiar poison, and demanding its own peculiar treatment. '1'here are tIle c~lubrine
hlack (Dendraspis angusticeps) and the green iMambha;
the vipers, iBhuluh~, or puff-adder (Bi ti s arietans) and the
1~Maqandalingophi-all lethal snakes; and the naias or socalled cobras, -tmli'ezi and 'iPh'impi, scarcely less poisonous.
A native snake-specialist would keep a regular supp1y of
the dried bodies-the head, bile, liver, heart and lungs-of
72
REV, AJJll'RED1', BUYANT.
all these, to be ground int.o powder and administered by tIle
mouth on demand. It is Reriously avelTed that some native
doctqrs have so _satnrat.ed their blood with these poisons Ly
frequent small doses as _to become at length absolutely
immune to any l{ind of snake-bite,
No doubt these animal antidotes of the natives would be
more effeCtive if it were-possib1e to inject them into the blood
more directly than through the alimentary canal. The South
American Indian is fully aware of this, and the Zulu docto"r
has already all inkling of the fact, and is even now,:in his
rude way, making a manifest effort (as we shall presently see)
to find some readier access to the blood than through the
mout]). Personally, I believe that the future will prove the
nati ve theory to be concct, that s1lake-poison is assimilable
through the ~tomach, and can both Cllre from and iml11unise
against the effects of bite, and tliat the secret of success lies
only in the proper metllOd of administration, chiefly as
regards the timeliness of application and the quantities to be
taken.
European experts have not yet advanced one inch ou the
Kanr in discovering any more certain al1tidote than the
snake-poison itself. 'l'hey supplelllent their serum (antivenom), hypodermically injected, with chloride of gold or of
lime, strychnine, ammonia and permanganate of potash; and
the native -doctor supplements llis dried sm.ke-head and bile
with innumerable plant-remedies.
Smitll, in his 'South African Materia :Medica,' mentions
the i1l1wnyane (L e on 0 t is 1e onur us) and the 1t1nOu;il'i
(L. ovata) as the mOEt powerful remedies known in the Cape
Colony. The knowledge, he says, was carried there by tile
Fingo refugees, and these, -we know, came from Natal and
Zululand. The Zulu doctors are well aware of the powers of
these plants, and tlley even believe that, when sprinkled in
decoction about a kraal, tlleY will keep snakes away. But I
han not heard that they are- regarded by them as the best
snake-bite antidotes. Indeed, 1 find tIle-Zulus rarely lih, to
re1i On a,ny single remedy; -they. are 11101'e accustomed to mix
ZULU MEDICINE- Al\D i'lm'DLCIl\E-i'lmN.
73
together' a Im:ge number of reputed cnres, although naturally
any l?ingle pla,nt would be nsed if others,were wanting.
The method of one Zulu doctor was to mix a quantity of the
ground root 'of the isiThu1)Wna (Solanum capense) with
another of pulverised snake, and giye tIle sufferer to drink.
Another compounded together tIle roots of the JisiThtl1nuna,
the roots or green fruit (excepting shell) of the umHlala
'(Str)' c h no s s pi 11 osa), the roots of tlle nYltmyane.(Leonoti s
lconurus), and other plants, made therewith a hot infusion
in about a qnart of water, gave the major portion to drink as
an emetic, then, taking himself It mouthfnl of the relDainder,
set about vigorously biting the patient (so as to draw blood)
in all parts of the body, allowing, as be did so, tIle medicine
in his mouth to enter the wound. This is the llem'cst approach
the 7,ulu doctor has made to subcutaneons injection.
'L'11e fatal action of snake vellom seems in some species, as
with the mambas, to be that of a nerve poison) with consequent paralysis and the like; in others tlHtt of a blood poison,
as probably with the puff-adders j ill others, again, pcrllltps of
both combilled. Now, the nmH LaLa tree is a Strychnos, and
its roots 01' fmit therefore probably contaiu a certain percentage of that most powerful nerve-stimulant strychnia, which
has beell proclaimed' by Dr. l\1i.illel· as practically:t Cllre fOl'
some, at <),n), rate, of the worst Australian sllakes, 'Tlris is
another example of how penetrating the observation and how
correct the knowledge lllay be of these untutored savages ill
regard bJ tIle properties and uses of t,be numberless medicinal
plants sUlTounding them.
'1'he i8i'1'h~t1IUl1W, again, is kllO\\'n to be effective in cases of
stricture and palsy of the bladder-muscles, so that as a
counter-agent to the paralysing action of snake poison it also
has been quite l'atiollally selected. ''''{llnt the exact working
of the iM~"n:yClne may be is not so manifest; but inasmuch as
it is capable of inducing intoxication and delirium, it also
probably carries some property of it nel'ville character.
Among other plant renl'ec1ies of high repute, and used as
specifics for snake·bite, we may . mention tIle ill Kokha'lle
74
REV. ALFltED T. BRYAN'l'.
climber, of whose leaves a handful are- bruised III a hot
infusion and drunk. 'rhe 1~1nN1mg~L"ltne (Xanthoxylon
caponse), being a reputed cure for paralysis, and furtber,
well known as· a disinfectant, may also be said to be reasonably used f01- snake-bite~ for wlllc.h a decoctioIT of the root is
employed. A small handful of the six-inch roots of the
1t'mEmvesa shrub may be pounded in a quart or so of hot water
and drunk. The roots from foul' plants of the isiDikil,i
(Lasiosiphon sp.) may be crushed and thoroughly boiled
so as to leave a pint of liquid, which is drunk. Of the
1t1nQaqongo (Olero dendron g la brll m) a quantity of the roots
may be pounded, made into an nrfui;ion, itOO -dTnnk-this
remedy being especially indicated in cases of 11Ut11!ba bite.
The shrub Oassia occidentalis, as also the climber
Ipomrea ficifolia, are other notable iz'iHl1mg1t or snakebite antidotes. Of the former a double handful of the leaves
and stalks are pounded together with the pips of one green
mnHlala fruit (otherwise one foot length of the root), mixed
in one cupful of cold water and drunk. Of the latter a similar
quantity of the leaves may be taken and administered in the
same way, a portion of the liquid being used also to bathe the
wound. 'l'he iPhO'lnbhane runner and the roots of the 1tMl~y£me
(Olivia miniata) are likewise employed for this same purpose.
.
Most of these plants work as emetics, in which kind of
treatment the natives somehow place great reliance.
Vermi n-Killers.
There are a few good plants used as vermin~killers. Among
those used for destroying lice on the head we have the pealike 1tQtVengt~ 0)' (N) 'iLoZll?le ('1' op hI' 0 s i a m acrop 0 da and
diffusa), and the s1lmbs tt?nE?nl)hesa and iNyathelo or
1tHlollyane (Vernonia woodii). TIle modes of preparation
are various, sometimes tIle roots being boiled and the head
washed in the decoction, at others a paste is made of the
ZULU j}LEDICINE AND MEDIClNE~MEN.'
75
ground roots or pounded leaves and well nlbbed into the
hair.
:For the destruction of maggots in cattle-sores the sovereign
remedy is the umKhiphllmpethu (Oalpurnia lasiogyne).
'rhe bulb of the iLabatheka (Hypoxis latifolia) is ground
a,nd placed in food for the destruction of all small vermin.
Alcoholism.
So IIp-to~date have the Zulu doctors become tlHl,t they
actualiy have a cure for inebriates (vide my Zulu-English
Dictionary under is'iDakwa) , as well as I'emedies for the shi,e1'ing fits, 1t1nQlmqho Or (N) lt1nZ'W!O, and the alcollOlism ('ll Vulo)
following habitual inebriation. 'rhese shivering fits are a
curious feature in native alcoholic poisoning. Some natives
get them invariably, even after a "reasonable" indulgence,
and none are safe from them if they go to habitual 'excess.
'1'he whole body trembles, the teeth chatter, and since the
p<ttiellt is inv~riably found huddling over a fire, we may
assume that he experiences 'L sensation of intense cold. In a
word, the symptoms so far are identical with those manifested
in mala~ial fever. But beyond this shivet'ing fit the attack
ral'ely goes" X have never heard among the raw Zulus of a
case of a~solute delirium,! although they.do at times get as far
as a state of nervous collapse, showing itself in an abnormal
timidity 'or restlessness. I should therefore suppose that this
'l£1nQh1tqho or lI1nZlL7.0 mnst be a mild variety of alcoholism
peculiar to KaEr beer or Katir corn poisoning, since among
l<::;ul'opean inebriates we do not hear of such shivering.
Hair"Restorer.
Certain Afl:ican races regard hair-dyeing as a very necessary
improvement of their physical beauty. Although the Zulu
wonH:in have the habit of regularly colouring the Imir with
1
This does not refer to the isiShimeyann (treacle. mead) drinkers of
N at:1l, among whom I llave found several eases of delirium.
76
REV. ALFRED '1'. BRYAN'I'.
red ochre, they have not yet discovered an actual dye. But
if they have not yet got as far as hair-dyes, they are already
possessed of a hair-restorer: Several diseases cause a fa,lling
out of the hair of the head. '1'0 remedy this and render the hair
strong alld its growth vigorous, they use a wash made of the
pounded leaves of the 7tFttknzela herb (Oci mum 0 b 0 vatu lll).
CONCLUSlON.
I have now complet~d a hst of some 240 Zulu medicinal
plants, giving what the natives believe to be their properties
and the manner in which they use them. '1'11is may be about
as many as a good average native doctor will be acquainted
with. But it is far from being all. ~L'here are perhaps
another 240 named medicina,l plants, of equal value, used in
different parts of Zululand and Natal, but not included here;
and there is certainly quite another 240 which, although
possessing valuable curative qualities, have no distinguishing
native names, being simply referred to by the generic terms,
such as iKharnbhi (medicinal herb), isiPhtmgv (cough-cure),
ttrnHlabelo (embrocation), ibiBl1l!ngtt (snake-antidote), awl so
on. It is probable that we should not be far wrong if we
calculated the medicinal plants of Natal and Zululand, already
known to the natives, as being somewhere about 700 in all.
So much, I think, will suffice for this, as I believe, the first
pll blished contribution to the Zulu mat e ri a 111 e d i c a.
A good
deal of investigation in this entertaining and, indeed, profitable
subject remains still to be done, especially in regard to the
botanical identification of the various remedial plants, the
exact symptoms they are capable of relieving, and the proper
doses in which they should be administered. But what I
have written here-th.e result of long. extensive and difficult
research-will at any rate point out the way to those desirous
of prosecutiug still further il1quiries il1to the domain of South
African medicine andrnedical plants; and will prove to us,
more oyer, that the natiye· doctor, though still indeed groping
in the darkness of profound ignorance, is nevertheless groping
along quite in the right direction.
7.[JT,H
~fEDICINE
AND
~IEDrcINE-MEN.
·77
[1'he following lists have been compiled from Father
Bryant's article, since they will summarize in a convenient
form the results obtained. ·They will also clearly show the
gaps in OUl' knowledge of the botanical identifi:cation of the
native drugs. .
It is highly desirable that a competent chemist should
undertake an investigation into the active principles of the
mOre important drugs herein enumerated; and all possible
assistance in the supply of rnatel'iai or information would be
gladly rendered by the Natal }fnsenm.-EDIToR.]
'rABL~J OF ZUJ,U lIhDlCJNAL PLANTS ARRANGED IN BOTANICAL ORDER.
Order RANuNcuLAc.IF..
Latin name.
Rltnnnculus
pillnn.tus Poir.
Ditto
Ditto
Ra1).l1nculns sp.
Native name. POl'tion used.
uXhaphozi
Catarrh, etc.
Page.
34
Urinary compln.ints
49
Venereal diseases (syphilis) 51
Catar~h, etc.
35
isiShoshoka·
Order
Cissltlllpelos
torlllosa E.lIf.
Ditto
Ditto
Use.
Leaves
l\fENTS"f'l!!R~TACElE.
umThombho
Roots
Lmwes
Venereal diseases
51
Toothache
Scrofuln.
69
18
Clttarrh, etc.
34
Rheumatism
58
Stoll1ltch and intestinal
complaints
23
Febrile complaints
44
Order CRUCIFERElE.
Lepidium cn.pense
u1fn.thoyis,t
Tuber
Thb.
Order
Dovyn.lis l'bn.m·
noicles B. q- H.
Trimer:a n.lnifolia·
Planch.
l1mNyp.zltne
iDlebelend·
lovu
BIXINEM.
Roots n.nd
bark
Leaves
Order PITTOSPORElE.
Pittosporl1S
viridifiornm Sirns
umFusallWu
Bark
'78
REY. ALFRED '1'. BRYANT.'
Order POLYGALEA:.
Latin name.
Native name.
Polygala sp,
Polygala oppositifolia Linn.
iThethe'
'Use.
Portion used.
Page.
Scrofula
Roots
18
Ii
Order CAPPARIDElF..
Capparis'
corymbifera E.M,
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Capparis gueinzii
Sond.
iQwaningi
Chest compuillts (pleurisy) 38
Bark of root
Root
uMabusaua
ImpQtency an4 barrenncss
Scrofula
Chronic coughing
Chest complaints (expectoration of blood)
58
]7
40
41
Order HYPERICINEA.
Hypericum
rnthiopicllm Thunb.
Ditto
uSukumbhili
~~bisclls
uCathucathu
Poisonous
12
Urinary complaints
(backache, etc.)
48
Urinary complaints
50
Yenereal diseases, gonorrhooa, etc,
52
Impotency and barrenness
56
Roots
Ordel' MALVACElE.
sUl~attensis Liml.
Ditto
Leaves and
stalks
Leaves
Order TILIACElE;
Grewia
occidentalis Linn.
Triumfetta
. rhomboidea Jacq.
iKlolo or
iLalallyath i
iNothwane or
inDola encane
Roots
56
Order GER,tNAIACElE.
Oxalis smp.iloba
Sond.
. isiThathe or
isiNungll
Clausena
inrnqlL\uis Bth.
'Ditto
umNukambhiba
Leaves
Skin diseases (illfantilc
thrush)
66
Roots
Tapeworm
22
Leaves
Intcstinal parasitcsIkhambi
Scrofula
20
Intestinal parasitesIkhambi
20
Order RU'l'ACElE.
Zanthoxylum
caFense Harv.
Ditto
umNungwane Bark of root
-
Leaves
17
ZULU lIfEDICINE AND MEDICINE-MEN.
La.tin name.
Na.tive na.me.
Zanthoxylum
capense Ha1·V.
Ditto
Ditto
umNl1ngwane-
Portion used.
Leaves
Use.
Pa.ge.
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Stomach cOlDplaints
Chest complaints (chronic
coughing)
Pltralysis
Skin diseases (sores)
Toothache
Snake-bite
Bark of root
Root
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
79
Leal'es
Root-bark
Roots
23
25
40
61
65
(19
74
Order OCHNACElE.
Ochna atropurpm·I).1.D.O.
umBoUlvane
Ekebergia llleyeri
Presl.
Ditto
umNyamathi
Roots
Gangrenous recti tis
Order MELIACElE.
Ekebergia capensis
D.O. or meyeri
Presl.
'rrichilia emetica
Vahl.
Root
Indigestion a.nd heartburn 24
Leaves
Intestinal parasites20
Ikharnbhi
Chest complaints (coughing) 41
Root
umKhuhlu or
iXolo
Ditto
Bark
'!'urrooa obtusifolia umHlatholana
Rochst.
Ditto
Tm'rooa fioribtmda
Rochst.
umVuma
Apodytes dimidiata
umDakane
Bark and
leaves
Roots
Vet·y poisonous
13
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Very poisonous
28
13
Stomach and intestinal 23,27
complaints
Heart complaints
50
Order OLACIN ElE.
Root-bark
E.M.
umSekelo
Pyrenacantha
8candens Plauch.
Ximenia caiIl'a UlllThnnduluka
Sand. (Natal plum)
Roots
Int.estinal parasites20
Ikhambi
Impotency and barrenness 56
Leaves
Ophthalmia
67
Order CELASTRINElE.
Celastrus buxifolius Linn.
Ce1.1.Strus sp.
iuGowangane
iHlinzanyolm
Roots
Chest comp1.1.ints (pleurisy) 38
Chest complaints (chest
pains)
40
80
. R.I~V; A.LFRl<JD
'1'. BRYAN'i'.
Native nall'\e. Portion used.
Use.
Page.
La.tin na.me.
Ellllodendl'on veIniNqayi
Bark of roots Dysentet·y and diarrhooa. 30
tinllm Haru.
Ptel'OCeIastrlls uSahlnIalllR.nye
Roots
Spinal disease
61
1'0stratns Walp.
Order RHAUNEJE.
Helinus ovat8: E.M.
Rhamnus prinoides
L'Herit.
Zizyphus mucronata Willd.
uBhubhnbhn
uNyenya
Hystet'ia
Sprains
Roots
Bark
64
it
Chest complaints (cOllgbing) 41
Order AUPELIlJEiE.
Cissns cnneifolia
E. and L.
isiNwazi
Impotency and barrenness
Order SAPINDACE.IE.
isiN diyandiya
Bel'sama Iucens
Szysz.
Ditto
Cardiospel'mnm
uZipho 01'
iKhambhi
helicacabulll Linn.
lezidnli
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
HippobrOlllus
uQhllme
. alatus E. and L.
Ditto
S,tpindus oblongi- iGololenkawu
folins SontZ.
Root
55. 56
Very poisonous
Bark
Le.tves and
stalks
Leaves
13
Impotency and harrenness 55
Dysentery and diarrhooa 29
Catarrh, etc.
Urinary complaints
Venereal diseases (syphilis)
Skin diseases (sores)
Very poisonous
34
49
51
66
C.ttarrh, etc.
Dysentery Itnd diarrhooa
34
30
Roots
Iil
Orde}' ANACARDIACEiE.
Sc\erocarya caffra
Sonel.
nmGann.
Bll.l'k
Gangrenous recti tis
32
Order LEGUMINOSiE.
Albizzia fastigiata
Oli, •.
Ditto
Ditto
.A.rgyrolohium
llk'tl'ginatllm
Bohns.
Ditto
uSolo
inTondo
Bark and
roots
Root
Roots
TUbel.
Very poisonous
13
• Skin diseases (eczema)
66
Ophthalmia
67
Hiccongh through stomach 24
disorders
Stomach sickness
25
81
ZULU l\IEmCTNlil AND }flilDICINE-MEN.
Latin name. Native name. Portion uaed.
Page.
Use.
A.brus pl'ecl1.tOl'ius
lUlIKhoklm
Lel1.ves or Chcst complaints (pleurisy) 39
Linn.
roots
44.
Alysical'pus
in KOlll1.Z>\1H\
Febrile complaints
R.oots
wn,llichii Wight
alul Arn.
Maggots in cattle sores
75
Calpllrnin.
IImKhipham.
lasyogyne E. M.
pethu
7;')
Yermin·killer
Cassia occidentalis
Lcaves n,nd
Linn.
stn,lks
Chest complaints (chronic 11
Crotn,laril1. sp.
IIMayehlezfl,na,
Roots
coughing)
01' uSi
Dysentery and din,l'rhm:t 29
Inteli.ol' of
Elephantol'hiza
inTolwane
roots
Imrchelli nth.
Febrile compln,ints
45
Roots
Ditto
Heart complaints
59
Elcplmntorhizn, sp.
IImDahu
49
Urinal,), complaints
Erythrinn, cn.fl'ra
nmSintsi
Leaves
Thb.
Ditto
Ditto
Eriosemn.
cordatnm E.II!.
Indigofem sp.
Psoralea pi nllnta
Linn.
Rhynchosia. sp.
Schotia
brnchypetala Sond.
Tephl'osh....
kr:tllssiana Meim.
'I'01)hr08in IIIMropoda E.M. and
difl'usa E.M.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Vencreal diseases (syphilis) 51
()8
Earache
Impotency and barrenness 53
nQontsi
Roots
isiKhnhabende
llmIDonish wn
Root
Roots
Dysentery and diarrhma
Hysteria
64
Roots
Cntal'l'h, ctc.
Dysentery ana dial'l'hren
35
39
u Khalimele
mnGxnlllu 01'
iHluze
inTsl1.ngwana
30
Chest complaints (chl'onic 40
coughing)
12
Vory poisonous
uQnongll or
iLo7.ane
Root
Roots nnd
lenves
Febl'ile complnints
Skin (lisenses (sores)
Yermin·killer
74
46
65
Ordel' ROSACEN..
Rubus I'igidus
Smith
Agl'imonin
cnphfttoria Linn.
i,Tingyolo
Root
Dysentery nnd diarrhma
30
uMl1.khuthnla
Leaves
Tape-worm
22
Dysentery ancl dinrrhma
30
Order CRA8SULACEN..
Cl'I1ssula
rubicunda E.M.
VOl"
2,
PART
isiKelekhlnne
1.
6
82
REV. ALFRED 'I'. BRYANT.
Order HALORAGElE.
Latin name.
Native name.
(hmnera perpensa
uGoho
Linn.
Ditto
Ditto
Use.
Urinary complaints
Portion used.
Root
Root
Page.
50
Impotency and barrenness 56
Rheumatism
58
Order MELASTOMACElE.
Dissotis illCllnll
NU1!d.
imFeyesele or
imFeyenkala
Leaves
Dysentery and diarrhooa
30
Very poisonous
12
Febrile comphLiuts
45
Very poisonous
13
Order P ~SSIFLORElE.
OplIiocaulon
gUIllmifera Hk. f.
Ditto
imFlllwa
Cncumis hirsutus
Sond.
Ditto
uThangazana
Root
Order CUCURBITACE.tE.
Roots
Lll.ffa sphrerica
uSelwa
Sond.
Momordica
in'rshllngwana
involucrata E.M.
yehlathi
;\loJllordica footida
inTshungu
Schum.
Chest complaints (chronic 40
coughing)
Stomach complaints
25
Leaves or
roots
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Stomach and intestinal
complain ts
25
Heart cOlllphtints
50
Leaves
Scrofula
18
Roots
Chest complaint (chronic
40
25
Order FICOIDElE.
l'\'[esembryanthemLUn sp.
iKhambhi
lftlnabulawo
Leaves
Order U DlBELLIFE RlE.
Hetel'omorpha umBangandlala
arborescens
Oh. and Sch.
Lichtensteinia ininTlashane
terrupta E.M.
coughing)
Order ARALIACElE.
Cussonia spicata
Thb.
umSenge
Roots
Febrile complaints
44-
Order RUBIACElE.
Oldenlandia
decubens Hiern.
uMampeshana
Roots
Chest comphtints and heart 42,
disease
50
83
ZTJLU MEDICINE AND MEDICINE-MEN.
Latin name.
Native name.
Petanisia
i Cimamlilo
variabilis Ha1'v.
Ditto
Ditto
Plectronia
lun Vuthwamini
ventosa L.
Ditto
Rubia cordifolia
imPindisa
Linn.
Spermacoce
isiMuyisane
natalensis Hochst.
Ditto
Vanguel'ia
uDulmnthwa
lasiantha Sonel.
Portion used.
Use.
Roots
Piles
Leaves
Roots
Leaves
Order COMPOSITlE.
Artemisia afm
umHlonyane
Leaves
Jac". (wormwood)
Aster asper Less.
uDlutshana
Roots
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
L\ stet· erigeroides
isiThelelo
Leaves
Harv.
Berkheya sp.
nLimilwenkomo
Roots
or
uLimil wenyathi
Ditto
uShaqa
Ditto
Leaves and
roots
Ditto
Leaves
Bidens pilosa
uQa.dolo
Leaves 01'
Linn.
roots
BrachylruUl1
iPhahla
Leaves
discolor D.O.
Clillilepis laureola
imPila
Page.
31
Gangrenous recti tis
Rheumatism
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Dysentery a.nd dialThroa
Impotency and barrenness
33
58
23
Gangrenous recti tis
29
53,
54
33
Febrile complaints
Dysentery and diarrhroa
46
30
}'ebrile complaints
45
12
Very poisonous
Stomach complaints
23
40
Chronic coughing
42
Chest complaints
Intestinal parasites 20,23,
28
49
Urinary complaints
Rhe umatisru
Skin diseases (sores)
58
65
OphthalmiIL
Stomach complaints
67
Intestinal parasites
20
Very poisonous
12
Virulent poison
'l'ape-worm
Catal"l.'h, etc.
Intestinal parasites
27
22
34
20
Stomach complaints
Tape-worm
25
22
Stomach-ache
25
25
D.O.
Ditto
Ditto
Conyza incisa .AU.
uM'1ChaJmzi
Ethulia conyzoi(les umSokosoko
Linn.
Ditto
Gerbem kraussii uH1alllbhihloSelL. Bip.
shane
Ditto
Root
Leaves
Leaves
84
REV. AL}'RED 'f. BRYAN'l'.
Latin name.
Native name. Portion used.
Mikani~1
c'1pensis
D.C.
Ditto
Othonna natalensis
mnDlonzo
Leaves
iNcamu
Use.
Page.
Urinary complaints
49
Venereal diseases
Tape-worm
51
Stomach and intestinal
disorders (nausea)
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Febrile complaints
Chest complaints
24
22
ScIL. Rip.
Ditto
Os teosperm mil
nervatum D.C.
Ditto
Senecio speciosus
Willd.
Ditto
Tripteris natal·
ensis Hwrv.
Ursini a teuuiloba
D.C.
Vernonia woodii
Roots
uMasigcolo
24
iBohlolo
Roots
Leaves and
stalks
ltMadintsana
Leaves
Dropsy
Febrile complaints
40
Hoots
Coughs
'ill
Stomach disorders
25
Cat~1rrh, etc.
Chest complaints
}!'ebrile complaints
Vermin-killer
34
ill;
44
uHlonyane
43
39
60
Hoffr!!.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Leaves
Roots
Le,wes
Roots or
leaves
Vcrllonia corym· uHlllngu·lllllgu
bosa Less.
vVedcli;). natalensis ubuHlungwana
Sond.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
74
Impotency and barrenness 56
Roots
Leaves
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Dysentery and diarrhooa
Febrile complaints
WOlmds
24
29
,14
70
Order MYltS1NElE.
Em beliiL lcmllssi
iBhinini
Hu'l'v.
MUlS~1
sp.
uMaguqu
22
L81LVCS or
Tape-worm
bhtck berries
Ripe berries Tape-, round-, and thread· 22
(dried and
worms
ground)
Order EBENACElE.
Euclea natalensis
A.D. C.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
isiZimane or
iDungmnuzi
Poisonous
12
Scrofula
Bark of root
17
Bark
Intestinal complaints 2il,27
Root
Chest complaints (pleurisy) 38
85
ZUJJU MEDICINE AND MEDIOINE-.mm.
Latin name.
Euclea htnceohtt,t
E.M.
Use.
Native name. Portion used.
umShekishane
Bark
'i'
Ditto 6
lwyemL villosa
Li'wlt.
iDungamuzi
unNqamhllle
wezilll pisi or
inDodennyaml1
Ditto
Ditto
!toyelllL lucida L. um'l'illllttane 01'
isiNywnnc
Root
Roots
Root-bark
Page.,
.Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Dropsy
Stolllach and intestinal
complaints
27
61
28
Dropsy
61
Brokon limbs lLnd sprains 71
Impotcncy and barrenness 55
Order ASCLIWIADAC.I!l&.
uMondi
Chlorocodon
Root
whitcii Hk.f.
iNcohi!)a
GOlIIl)hoeall)Us sp.
Ral)hiouacme sp. ? uMathaujana
Roots
SCCaJJlOilC gerrardi uGo!)audhlovu
Harv_
Ditto
uZililo
Stapelia giglLutea
1!'loshy stalks
Indigestion
.
24
Very poisonous
Scrofuht
Poisonous
17
la
Spinal diseasc
Hysteria
61
64
Scrofula
17
Febrile COlliphtints
46
Tapo-worm
22
Stomach and intestinal
complaiuts
Rhe luna tism
Snake-bite
:H
III
N.E.B.
Order Al'ocl:NACE&.
lutllwol1ia natalen- llmfIlalli bhalll- Bark of root
sis SoneZ.
anzi
Ditto
Bark
Order LOGANIAC.I!l£,
Strychnos honningsii Gily.
Ditto
Ditto
Stryclmos spinosa
Lam.
tunQalothi
Bark
,lJ.J.I.l:Ilala
Roots 01'
green fl'lll t
58
7a
Order CONVOLVULAC.I!l£.
I pomooa. fioifolia
LeU.
Ditto
Ipoluooa pIU'l'urea
Roth.
lpoillwa pa.lrnata
./<'orsk.
umKhokha
wohlathi
Leaves
iJalamblm or
iJalamu
uMahol wana
Root
Leaves
Intestinal complaints
Snake-!)ite
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Febrile complaints (rash)
:
26
7·.1,
26
46
86
HEV. ALFREn '1'. BRYANT.
Order SOLANACElI!:.
Latin name.
Native name. Portion used.
Datura stramonium
Linn.
Solanum capense
L.F.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Solanummelollgena
Linn.
Solan urn sodomomm
Li?}n_
Withania somnifem
Don.
Ditto
Ditto
Bopusia scahr'1
Prcsl.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
iYoli
Leaf
isi'fh umana
Roots
51
67
69
73
51
Root-bark
Impotency and harrellness
56
Roots
Gangrenous rectitis
33
Root
umThurna
Venereal diseases (syphilis) 51
Skin diseases (wounds and 65
sores)
Leaves
Order SCROPHULARIACElE.
inKunzi or
Leaves
Stomach and intestinal
iBheja.
eomplaints
inKunzi, iBhej'1
Roots
Gangrenous recti tis
or uGweje
inKunzi or
Inner root- Fehrile complaints (enteric
iBheja
hark
fever)
Roots
Skin diseases, etc. (body
sores)
Order PEDALINElE.
Ceratotheca triloha uDonqahathw!1
E.M.
Clerodendron glahl'umE.M.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Lippia asperifolia
Rich.
Ditto
Pri~a leptostachya
Order VERBENACElI!:.
umQaqongo
LClwes
Roots
umSuzwane
Leaves
isiNama
Seeds
Juss.
Ditto
Page.
V cnereal diseases (syphilis)
Ophthalmia
Toothache
Snake-bite
Venereal diseases (syphilis)
Leaves
uhuVimhha
Use.
Skin discases (wounds and 66
sores)
Urinary complaints
49
Leaves
23
33
46
65
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
25
Intestinal parasitesIkhamhhi
Tapc-, round-, and threadworms
Dropsy
Snake-hite
Gangrenous recti tis
20
22
60
H
34
Fehrile comph1ints (measles) 46
Skin diseases (sores and 66
wounds)
Ophthalmia
07
ZULU MEDICINB AND
87
MlmrCrNI']-MI~N .
•
Ol'(ler LAmA"'}".
Latin name.
Leonotis leonnrlls
Native na.me.
i:vrnnyane
Use.
Portion used.
Leiwes
Page.
C;ttrlrrh, etc.
il4
Sll:Lkc-bite
72
7;J
B"own
Ditto
Ditto
IJeonot.is OVi1tlt
R.oots
72
lIlIlC",ili
Sp,'eng
)foschosllIa riparii1
Dropsy
iBoza
GO
Hocllst.
Ditto
Ditto
Ocilllnl11 obovatlllll
nFnknzel:t
Le:,,"es
Chest com plaints (expcctorn- 4·1
t.ion of blood)
Stomach disorders
25
7(;
Hltir-restorer
E.~[.
Order AMARANTACElF..
Acbymnthes
:wicnl:tris E.lIf.
Ditto
l'nJlfllifl sp.
isiNftlna,
isiNltll1lt osihornvll sehl:tthi
Roots
B'lowers
24·
Stomnch ltlld intestinnl
complltints (nltllsclt)
4·:1
Felll'ile cOlllplaints
Impotency ltnd bltTl'enlloss 5;)
Order PH Y'ror.ACCACEJE.
Phytolltccl1l1byssi·
nicl1 Hoffm.
Ditto
Febrile complaints
nMlthedcni
uM:thcdoni or
inGubivnmile
I,eltYes
·15
Poisonous; nrinltl'Y 12,4.7
disel1scs
Onlor 1'0LYOONACElF..
Emex spinosl1
inKllnZltllllt
Lel1f
Stolilltch l1nt! intcstinaJ
complaints
Skin diseases (sorcs)
Roots
Titpe-worm
22
Ul'inary compbints
50
Febrile compbints
(small pox)
Ophthnhnin
Snl1ke-hi te
4(;
Ca.mp'l.
Polygonnm
serrnlatnm Lay,
Rumex ecklonianus Meisn.
i Dololellkonyane
2;";
(j(j
Order LAURINEiE.
Ocoten buUl1ta
E.M. (stinkwood)
? uNnknni
Lasiosiphon sp.
isiDikili
Bark
Order 'l'HYMELEACEiF,.
Roots
Gi
i1
88
REV. A I,FRED T. DRY ANT.
Order EUPHORBIACEIF..
Latin name.
~\.calyplllt
pedllnnSnnnnundu
cularis Mcisn.
A ntidesllm
isiBangn.llllothn.
vcnosum E.],r.
Clnyte:t plllchella
uNgwn.leni
Linn.
Ditto
Ditto
Croton grn.tissiuM:thlabeknmum n1l.,·ch.
feni
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Croton sylvatienm
Use.
Nn.tive name. Portion used.
Roots
Len.ves
Bn-rk
Page.
Chest complaints; eX}Jecto- 4·1
ration of blood
Stomach and intestinal
23
complai n ts
Stomach-ache
23
Dysentery n.lld diarrhooa
Broken limhs and sprains
V cry poisonous
30
71
13
26
Ditto
DitT.o
Ditto
1lT1l7.ilanyoni
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Chest compln-illts (pleurisy)
Uterine disorders
Dropsy
Very p.oisonous
26
uGodille
Root
Stomach and intestinn.!
complaints
Chest complaints (pleurisy)
Dl'01)sy
Wounds
3f)
61
70
nmHlakllva
Hoots
Tooth:tche
(i!)
Very poison@lIs
12
:10
;'2
61
]:1
Ffochst.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Jatropha hirsnta,
Hoch.
R.lcinu8 C:OlllIllunis
Linn.
Sy-nadenium
:trhorescena Ilk. f.
Ditto
llIuDlehe
Cn.tn,rrh, etc.
Leaves
Order URTICACEiE.
Chrotachme meyeri umKhovothi
Harv.
Chmtachme aristate
Planck.
Urtica urena Linn. imRhabazane
Root
Toothache
GO
Bark
Piles
31
Impotency and ha,1'rflnneSS
53
Order ORCHJDEiE.
Eulophia :trcnaria uNdwendweni or Bulbous
Bohn
jl\fabeleyongosi
roots
Impotellcy and l)arrenness 53
Order HiEMODORACEiE.
Sanseviem thyrsifolia Thb.
iRiKholokotho
Leaves
Em'ache
liS
89
ZULU lfEDlOINE AND MlmWINK-MEN.
Order IRIDEE.
Use.
Natiye name. Portion uBed.
Latin name.
Antholyza
paniculata Klatt
Gladiolus ludwigii
umLulIge
Dysentery and diarrhooa
Root
Page.
30
Impotency and barrenness
isiDwa
Pappe
Cli via ulini....ta
Order AJllARYLLIDEE.
uMayime
Root
Febrile complaints
54,
57
45
Regel
Ditto
Ditto
CI'inum (Natru
Lily)
Ditto
Cyrtallthus
ohliqulIs Ait.
Ditto
Ditto
Roots
Bulb
llI11Duze
Impotency amI barrenness 56
Snake-bite
74
Scrofula
17
Urinary complaiuts
uMathunga
Root
Bulb
Catarrh, etc.
Chest complaints (chrollic
coughing)
Scrofulous cough
Ditto
Bulbous root
.'
Root below
Broken limbs and sprai~s
.Dit"
bulb
Very poisonous
inKomfe
Hypoxis sp.
Intestinal parasites
Ditto
luKomfe ellkul!t
Root
Very poisonous
Hypoxis latifolia
iL:tbatheka
50
17
35
40
42
70
12
liD
12
Hook
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Hremanthus
natalensis Pappe
Ditto
Bulbs
iDUlnbhi-lika'ntloyile
Bulbs
Root
Heart complaints
Impotency and barrenness
Insanity
Vermin-killer
Coughing'
59
56
65
75
41
Chest complaints
42
Very poisonous
12
Heart complaints
5U
Order DIOSORACEJE.
Dioscorea rupicola
inKwa
Kth.
Agapallthlls
mnlJe11atus L'Herit
Aloe feroK lIfille1'
.(Common Aloe)
Aloe sp.
Ditto
VOL.
<!,
uBall1
Order LILIACElE.
Roots
umHlaba
r,enves
11Mpondolllle
l~oots
PAWr 1.
Venereal diseases (syphilis) 51
Impotency nnd barrenness 56
Ophthalmia
6i
7
90
R1W. ALl'RED
']'.
BRYANT.
Native name. Portion used.
Use.
Page.
isiGobo
Leaves and
Chest complaints
39
roots
iBhucu
Bulbine namlensis
Urinary complaints
49
llaker
Leaves
Skin diseases (eczema)
Ditto
66
Urinary diseases
47
Encomis undulam uMakbn.nda
ka'ntsele
Ait.
iIDamvu
Root
Impotency and barrenness 53
Glorioso. virescens
Latin name.
Asparagus sp.
Llll.
iIDamvu
comfana
nentombhazana
inGcolo,
Scilla rigidifolia
inGcino
Kth.
Ditto
Ditto
Smilax kraussiana inGqaqabulani,
iYali, or
M6isn.
nLimilwenyathi
Ditto
Bulbs
"
Bulb
57
·Very poisonous
12
Rheumatism
Ophthalmia.
58
68
Order PAL'M.IE.
Phoonix reclinata
JlICq.
iSlmdu
Stylochiton sp.
umFana-ka'sihlanjana
Roots
Chest complaints (pleurisy) 38
Order AROIDE.IE.
Earache
Roots
68
Order CYPEREAil.
Cyperus sp.
Cyperl1s esculentus
Linn.
Ditto
iBlnuna
inDawo
Root
"
Impotency and barrenness 53, 56 .
Indigestion
24
Impotency and barrenness
54
Intestinal pal'8.SitesIkhambhi
20
Order GRAMINE.IE.
Andropogon
marginatus Bteull.
(Talllbootie grass)
Erngrostis plana
Nees
Imperam
arundinacea Gyr.
isiQunga
Root
lunTshiki
Roots
Impotency and barrenness 54
umThente
Root
Hiccough through stomach 24
disoluers
ZUT,U i\IEDlC[N}j AND
)IEDTCINE-:m~N.
91
TABLE OP ZULU MEDICINAL PLANTS ARRANG~m IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.
Zulu name.
umBanda
umBangandlala.
lIBangalala
Ditto
isiBangamlotha
uBani
imBhabazane
isiBhaha
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
iBhinini
Ditto
imBhozisa
iBhucu
Ditto
Ditto
iBhuma
uBhubhubhu
iBohlololo
iBohlololo or
Botanical name.
HetcroJ1lorplw. al'bOreSCclls
Ch. 4' Sch.
Antidesma venosum E./t!.
Agapanthus umbellatus
L'Rej·it.
U rtica urens Li'lln.
Embolia kraussii Harv.
Use.
Page.
Dysentery and diarrhcea
Scrofula
30
18
Urinary complaints
Impotency and barrcnness
Stomach and intestinal complaints
Heart complaints
50
53
23
. Impotency and barrenness
Chest complaints (dry congh)
Fe brile complaints
Urinary complaints
Rheumatism
Dropsy
Tape-worm
Catarrh, etc.
53
41
46
50
58
61
22
34
59
3'~
Bnlbine natalensis Jla~;er
Cyperus sp.
Helinns ovata E.M.
Scneeio speciosns Willet.
49
Urinary complaints
Venereal diseases (gonorrhroa, 52
etc.)
Skin diseases (eczema)
66
Impotcncyand barrcnness 53,56
64
Hysteria
Chest complaints (pleurisy) 39
Dropsy
60
illZwabuhhmgu
lun BOll1v:l.llc
iBoza
Ditto
Oehna atropllrpnrea D.C.
Moschosllla riparia HOelL
Ditto
iBuba
uCathucatlm
Ditto
iCimamlilo
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
umCwili
Hibiscus surattensis Linn.
Gangrenons rcctitis
Stomach disorders
Chest complaints (expectoration of blood)
Dropsy
Syphilis
U rillary complaints
Vencreal diseascs (gonorrhcea,
ctc.)
PClltanisia variabilis Haj·v.
Piles
Gangrenous recti tis
Rheumatism
Paralysis
Snake-bite
Leonotis o\'ata Spj·cng.
33
25
41
60
51
50
52
31
33
58
62
12
92
HEV. ALFH.ED '1'. BRYAN'l'.
Zulu name.
Botanical name.
nmDabn
mnDakane
? Elephantorhiza sp.
Apodytes dimidiata E.M.
Use.
Page.
Heart complaints
Intestinal parasitesIkhambhi
inDawo
Cyperns escnlentus Linn.
Indigestion
Ditto
Stomach-ache
Ditto
Impotcncy and barrenuess
inDawolucwatha
Sprains
Bclamcanda sp.
inDawoluthi
Stomach and intestinal comemhlophe
plaints
inDawoluthi llelamcanda punctata Moench.
Hysteria
emnyama
inDawoluthi
Catarrh, etc. (headache)
Lasiosiphon sp.
isiDikili
Febrile complaints (smallpox)
Ditto
Ophthnlmia
Ditto
Snake-bite
ulllDlandhlasi
Very poisonous
Ditto
Stomach and intestinal com·
plaints
umDlavuza
Dysentery and diarrhooa
Synadenitun aborescens
umDlebe
Very poisonous
Hk·f·
Ditto
Catanh, etc.
Trimeria alnifolia PZanch.
Stomach and intestinal disiDle bclendlovu
orders
l\fikn,nia capensis D.C.
Urinary complaints
umDlonzo
Venereal diseases (syphilis)
Ditto
Dropsy
Ditto
Very poisonous
inDlolothi
Aster asper Less.
uDlutshann,
Stomach and intestinal comDitto
plaints
Catarrh, etc.
Ditto
Chest eomplaints (chronic
Ditto
coughing)
Cllest conlpbints (scrofulous
Ditto
coughs)
Tape-worm
iDololenkonyane . Rumcx ecklonianus Meisn.
Ceratotheca triloba E.M.
Stomach and intestinal coruuDonqabathwa
plaints
Vangueria laBianthn, Son(Z
Dysentery and diarrhooa
uDulamuthwa
Hremanthus nahtlensis
iDUlubhi
Chest complaints (coughing)
Pappe.
lika'ntloyile
Ditto
Chest complaints
Mltle of Euclea lanceolata
iDungamuzi
Stomach and intestinal comE.M.
plaints
59
20
24
25
54
71
25
63
35
4,6
67
74
12
25
30
12
34
23
4\:1
!)l
61
12
12
23
34
40
42
22
25
30
41
42
27
I\UJ,U )IKDW[NE AND lmDLOINF,-lIIEN.
Zulu name.
iDungallluzi
Botanica.l name.
J\Ittle of Euclea lanceolata
iDungrLlllUzi or
isiZimane
Ditto
Euclca natalensis A.D.C.
93
Use.
Dropsy
Page
61
E.M.
Ditto
umDuzc
Ditto
Ditto
isiDwa
Crinulll (Natal Lily)
Gladiolus ludwigii Pal'pe.
umEm bhesa
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
uIIIFana-ka'
sihlanjana
ill1Feyesele or
imFeyenkala
11 Fnkuzela
imFulwa
Ditto
umFusa.m vu
J2
Stomach and intestinal 23,27
complaiuts
Chest complaints (pleurisy) 38
17
Scrofula
50
Urinary com plaints
58
Rheulllatism
Impotency lLlul barrenness 54.1 57
Catarrh, etc. (headache)
Ophthalmia.
Snake-bite
Vermin-killer
35
Gi
iJ.
Stylochiton sp.
Earache
68
Dissotis incana Na1uZ.
Dysentery and diarrhwa
30
Ocimum obovatum E.]!.
Ophioca luon guulluifcra. H kj.
Hair-restorer
Very poisonolls
Fehrile complaints
i6
12
Pi ttospol"llm virid iflorulll
Sims.
imlhlzane
Ditto
"
Scrofula
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Urinary disea.ses
Ditto
umGanu
iuGcolo or
inGcino
Ditto
Ditto
nGCl1sulu
llGobandlovu
Ditto
isiGobo
llGobo
uGobo or
uKlenya
Ditto
Very poisonous
Scleroca.rya cafra Sonet.
Scilla rigidifolia Kth.
Secumone gerrardi II a)·V.
Asparagus sp.
Gunnera perpensa Linn.
;.j.
45
44
18
27
48
Gangrenous recti tis
Very poisonous
32,33
12
Rheumatism
Insanity
Syphilis
Very poisonous
Spinal disea.ses
Chest complaints (pleurisy)
Urinary complaints
Impotency and barrenness
58
65
51
13
61
Rheumatism
58
Sf)
50
56
94
REV. ALP,RED 'l'. BRYAN'!'.
Page.
Botanical name.
Use.
'Wounds
70
Jatropha hirsuta Hod~.
uGodide
30
iGololenkawu Sapin<lus oblollgifolius Sond. . Dysentery and (lia,rrh(elt
Smi1'1,x kraussiana Meisn.
Ophthalmia
68
inGqaqabulani,
iYali,or
uLimilwenyathi
Celastrus buxifolius Linn.
Chest complaints (pleurisy) 38
inGqwangane
inGuduza
Stomach and intestinal
28
complaints
umGugudo
25
umGunya
58
RhelUnatism, heart complaints, dropsy, etc.
Zulu name.
umGxamuor
iHluze
umHlaba
uHlakahla
umHlakuva
Ditto
umHlala
umHlambhamanzi
Ditto
Sehotia brachypetala Sond.
Dysentery and diarrhcea
30
.Aloe ferox Miller
Strychnos spinosa Lam.
Rauwolfia natalensis Sond.
Venereal diseases ,( syphilis)
Impotency and barrenness
Earache
Toothache
Snake-bite
Scrofula
51
56
68
69
73
17
uHlam bhlhloshane
Ditto
iHlamvu
iHlamVll
lomfana
nentoDlbhaza.na
lIDlHlatholana
Ditto
Gerbera kraussii Sch. Bip.
Febrile complaints (measles, 46
ctc.)
22
Tape·worm
Ricinus communis Linn.
Gloriosa virescens Ldl.
TmTrea obtusllolia Hochst.
Ditto
isiHlazi
iHlinzanyoka
? Celastrus sp.
umHlonishwa
lUnHlonyane
uHlonyane or
iNyathelo
Ditto
Ditto
isiHlosa
Psoralca pinIh'\ta Linn.
Artemisia afra J ac'l.
Vemonia woodii Hofflll.
25
Stomach-ache
Impotency and barrenness 53, 55
57
13
Very poisonous
Stomach and intcstinal 23,27
complaints
29
Dysentcry and diarrhma
1!'ebrile complaints (malarial 46
fever)
Chest complaints (chcst
40
pains)
Hysteria
64
]'cbrile complaints
45
Stomach disordcrs
25
Catarrh, etc.
Febrile complaints
Ophthalmia
M
44
6i
/mLU )[EDWfNE
Zulu name.
iIlllllc
iHlulelemam bha
A~"]) )lEDICINE-M}~N.
Botanical name.
Ditto
llHlunguhlungu
Ditto
nbuHlungwana
VCl'llouia corymhosa Less.
Wedelia natalensis Sond.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
umHlwazi
umHlwazimambba
iJalamb}lll or
iJalamn
Ditto
uJiba
iJingijolo
inJobo
umJuluka
isiKelekehlane
uKhalimele
iKhambhi
lal11abulawo
uKhathwa
llmKhiphampcthu
umKhokha
umKhokha
wehlathi
isiKholokotho
umKhovothi
Ditto
isiKhubabende
ulIIKlmhlu
isiKhumukela
isiKhwa or,
umWelela
Ditto
umKhwangll
I pomak'1 purpurea Roth.
9lj
Use.
Page.
Dysentery and diarrhu;a
30
Very poisonous
13
Stomach and intestinal
28
complaints
Chest complaints (pleurisy) 38
Impotency and barrenness 56
Stomach and intestinal COlll- 24plaints (nausea)
Dysentery and diarrhrua
29
Febrile eompbints
H
Toothache
69
WOlmds
iO
Indigestion
N
Impotency and barrenness 5:3
Stomach and intestinn.\
complaints
]'ebrilc complaints
Dysentel'y and dil11'rhom
26
44
Crassula rubicnnda E,M.
Rhynchosia sp,
Round Worms-Ascarids
Uterine disorders
Dysentery and diarrhool1
Catarrh, etc, '(headache)
:30
30
21
52
30
35
Mesembryanthemuru sp.
Heart complaints
59
Hysteria
Vermin-killer (llmg-gots in
cattle-sores)
Chest complaints (plelU·isy)
Stomach and intestinal
complaints
Earache
Piles
Toothache
Dysentery and dial'l'h(J)a
Very POiSOllOllS
Toothache
Dysentery and diarrhooa
63
75
68
31
69
30
13
69
30
Piles
Catarrh, etc.
31
35
Rubus rigidus SI1Lith
Calpurnia lasiogyne E.M,
Abrus preeatorins Linn.
lpomooa fieifolia Ldl.
Sanseviera thYl'sifolia Thb.
Chretachme a·ristata Planeh.
lndigofem sp.
Trichilia emetica ValLl.
39
26
96
Zulu name.
l1mKhwangu
was'entabeni
iKlolo or
iLalanyathi
inKokhane
Ditto
inKolluLnkoma
. inKomfe
il1Komfe enkub
H.EV. ALPBED ~I'. BltYAN'I'.
Botanical name.
Grewia occidentalis Linn.
N. filix-mas Rich. 01' Lastl'ea
inruql1ale HIG.
Hypoxis sp.
Page.
Use.
20
Intestinal pa1'asitesIkhambhi
Impotency and barrenness
56
Febrile complaints (measles
and rashes)
Snake-bite
Extraction of thorns
,16
V cry poisonous
Intestinal parasitesIkhambhi
Catarrh, etc.
Febrile complaints
12
20
73
70
inKominophondo
inKonazana
Alysicarpus wallichii Wight
<j' A,'11.
inKunzana
Emex spinosa Campd.
Stomach and intestinal complaints
inKunzi or
Bopusia scabm Presl..
iBheja
Ditto
Febrile complaints (enteric
fever, smallpox)
Ditto
Skin diseases, etc. (body sores)
inKunzi or
Gangrenous rect.itis
uGweje
inKuzwa
IntestinalllarasitesIkhambhi
Dioscorea 1'upicola Kth.
inKwa
Very poisonous
35
44
iLabatheka.
Hypoxis latifolia Hook
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
umLahleni
uLethi
ubnLiba .. i
uLimilwenkomo 01'
Berkheya sp.
uLimihvenyathi
Ditto
nmLomomnandi ~
uLovwane
umLulama
Turrrea heterophylla Sm.
umLunge
Antholyza panicuJata K~att.
12
56
59
65
75
uMabilwana
Impotency au d barreness
Heart complaints
Insanity
Vermin-killer
Urinary complaints
Catarrh, etc. (headache)
Catarrh, etc.
Urinnry complaints
Ophthalmia
Febrile complaints
Very poisonous
Rheumatism
Dysentery and dial'l'hooa
Stomach and intestinal complaints
25
23
46
65
33
20
12
50
35
35
49
67
45
·12
58
30
28
/lULU lIIEDICINE AND 1IIEDICINE-)[F,N.
Zulu name.
Botanical name.
uMabusana
Capparis gueinzii SOlid.
Ditto
uMachakazi
ullTadintsana
uMadlozana
l1Maftilllbhllka
Ditto
uMaguqu
uMagwanyana
ullfahedeni
Ditto
uMahedeni or
inGubivumile
uMahlabathi
nMahlabekufeni
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
ull1ahlokolozTh
Ditto
Ditto
uMaholwantt
uMakhanda
ka'ntsele
uMakh u th ula
ullfaluleka
uMalusi
97
Use.
Page.
Chest complaints (chronic
coughing)
Chest complaints (expcctoration of blood)
Conyza incisa Ait.
Catarrh, etc.
? Tripteris uatalensis Hm·v.
Febrilc complaints
Chest complaints (chronic
coughing)
Dysentery and diarrhcea
Spinal diseases
Tape, round and thread worms
Mrnsa sp
Rheumatism
V cry poisonous
Phytolaccl1. abyssinica Boffm.
Febrile complaints
Urinary discascs
Tape-worm
Very poisonous
Stomach and intestinal complaints
Chest complaints (plcmisy)
Urinary complaints
Croton gra tissi m Hm B I£l'ch.
Uterine disorders
and C. sylvaticmn Hochst.
Croton gratissimum BU1·ch.
Dropsy
Urinary complaints (backache, etc.)
Impotency and barrenness
Dropsy
Ipomooa pl1hnata Fo'rsk.
Febrile complaints (rashes)
Eucomis undulata Ait.
Urinary diseases
Croton gratissimum BHl·ch.
Agrimonia eupatoria Linn.
40
41
34
'14
40
30
61
22
58
12
45
47
22
13
26
39
50
52
61
48
53
61
46
47
Tapc-worm
22
Catarrh, ctc.
35
Stomach and intestinal com- 28
plaints
ullTampeshana Oldenlandia decumbens, Hicrn. Chcst complaints and hcart 42,59
diseases
uMankenketha
Stomach and intestinal com- 28
plaints
llMaphipha
Dysentery and diarrhcea
29
llMasigcolo
Osteospermmn nervatUlll D.C. Stomach and intestinal com- 24
plain ts (nausea)
uMasigcolo or
Febrile complaints
43
"
inKullhulana
98
l1UlV. ALFHED 'r. BRYAl"\'T.
Zulu name.
uMathanjana
uMathoyisa
uMathlmga
Ditto
Ditto
Botanical name.
Use.
Page.
? Raphionacme sp.
Lepidinm capense Thb.
Cyrtanthus obliquus Ait.
Scrofula.
17,18
3,1
Catarrh, etc.
Scrofula
17,18
Catarrh, etc.
35
Chest complaints (chronic
40
coughing)
Ditto
Chest complaints (scrofulous 42
coughs)
Ditto
Broken limbs and. sprains
70
nMayehlezana
Crota,laria sp.
Chest complaints (chronic
41
or uSi
coughing)
ulliayime
Clivia miniata Rege~.
Febrile complaints
45
Ditto
Impotency and barrenness 56
Ditto
Snake-bite
74
umMbhezi
Stomach and intestinal com- 25
plaints
Ditto
Hysteria
63
Indigestion
24
Chlorocodon whitei Hk. f.
uMoildi
Heart complaints
uMoya wovunl:,'1.l
59
Impotency and barrenness 56
uMpondonde
Ophthalmia
Ditto
67
34
iMunyane
Leonotis leonurus Brown
Catarrh, etc.
Ditto
Snake-bite
72,73
Gangrenous rectitis
isaMuyisane Spermacoce natalensis Hochst.
33
Febril~ complaints (measles, ,1,6
Ditto
etc.)
isiNama
Achyranthes avicularis E.M.
Ditto
Ditto
Priva leptostachya J'uss.
Ditto
Ditto
Pupalia sp.
isiNama esibomvu
sehlathi
Othonna natalensis Sch. Bip.
iNcamu
Ditto
iNcohiba
isiN diyandiya
Ditto
uNdwendweni or
iMabelejongosi
uNgazi
Gomphocarpus sp.
Bersama lucens Szysz. -
Stomach and intcstinal COIllplaints (nausea)
Fehrile complaints
Skin diseases (wounds and
sores)
Ophthalmia
Earache
Impotency and barrenness
Talle-worm
Stomach and intestinal disorders (nausea)
Very poisonous
"
Impotency and barrenness
Elllophia arenarm
Bo~u8
24
,1,3
66
67
68
55
22
2,1,
12
13
55
53
Dysentery and diarrhcea
29
ZULt; :MEDlClJ\E A1\D
Zulu name.
uNgazi
uNgihonisele
uNgwaleIV
Ditto
Ditto
ILDiaNgwe
Ditto
uNjalwana
uNjalwana or
iKhambhi lesipatsholo
iNkomankoma
umNono
Botanical name.
Cluytia pulchella Linn.
"
Nephl'odiullI fllix-mas Rich,.
(Lastl'ea inrequale Rk.),
Nephrodinm or Lastrelt
athamanticulll Hk.
~LEDIClN}>l\lEN.
99
Page.
Use.
61
Spin,.l diseases
Impotency and barrenness .53,56
25
Stomach-ache
30
Dysentery and diarrhooa
71
lll'oken limbs and sprains
12
V cry poisonous
60
Intercostal neuralgia
Venereal diseases (syphilis) 51
Impotency and barrenness 5a
Tape-worm
22
Stomach and intestinal com- 25
plaints
'l'riumfetta rhomboidea Jacq. Impotency and barrenness 56
iNothwane 01'
inDola. ellcane
Royena villosa Linn.
Stomach and intestinal com- 28
umNqandane
plaints
wezirupisi or
inDodemnyama
Dropsy
61
Ditto
Broken lilllbs and spraills
Ditto
71
Elillodendron volutinum Haj·v. Dysentery and diarrhooa
iNqayi
30
Very poisonolls
12
uNtlangothi
Paralysis
61
Ditto
Hea.rt complaints
59
uNtliziyonkulu
or ullinWane
Intestinal p •• rasi tesuruN ukam bhiba
Clausena inroqllali~ Blh.
20
IkhaUlbhi
Ditto
22
Tape-worm
uNukani
? Ocotea bullltta E. Me').
Urin:U'y comphLints
50
Ditto
U terinc disorders
52
uNungwane
Zanthoxylum capense Harv.
Scrofula
17
Ditto
Intestinal parasites20
Ikhambhi
Ditto
Stomach and intestinltl 23,25
complaints
Ditto
Chest comphLints (chronic 40
coughing)
Ditto
Paralysis
61
Ditto
65
Skin diseases, etc. (sores)
Ditto
Toothache
69
Ditto
Snake-bite
74
100
H,:mv. ALFRED '1'. H]WAN'l'.
Use.
Zulu name.
Botanica.l name.
isiNwazi
umNyaDlathi
Cisans cuneifolin E. ,5" Z.
Ekebergia meyel'i P,·esl.
Ditto
Ditto
iNyathclo or
uHlonyane
nNyawothi
uNycnya
umNyezanc
isiPa tsh ola
imPepho
umPhafa
iPhahht
Ekebergia capensis D.O.
01' meyeri Presl.
Vernonia woodii Hoffm,
? Pcnicillnria spicata Willd,
Rhamnus prinoidcs L' H c)·it.
Dovyalis rhamnoides B. 4' H ..
Zizyplms nlUcronat.1. Willd.
Bl'achyl:cna discolor D.C.
uPhico
iPhombhane
amnPhofu
ltmPhuphutl~o
imPila.
Ditto
Ditto
. Callilcpis laurcola D.C.
imPindisa
imPisikayihbngnlwa
Rubia cordifolia Linn.
uQadol0
Bi dens pilosa Linn.
Strychnos henningsii Gilg.
Ulll Qalothi
Ditto
Ditto
umQaqongo
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
amaQate or
uBhusha
uQhume
Ditto
uQontsi
Page.
Impotcncy and barrenness 55,56
Intcstinall'arasites20
Ikhambhi
Indigestion (heartburn)
24
Chest complaints (coughing) ,n
Vermin-killer
74
Extraction of thorns
Sprains
RhelUnatism
69
71
58
Syphilis
51
Ophthalmia
67
Chest complaints (coughing) 41
Intestinal parasites20
Ikhambhi
Catarrh, etc. (headache)
35
Snake-bite
74
Hysteria
63
Gangrenous rectitis
33
Very poisonous
12
'rape, worm
22
Stomach and intestimtl com- 27
plaints
Impotenoy and bal'1'enness 53, 54
Urinary diseases
,!7
Stomach oomplaints
'I'ape- worm
Stomach aml intestinal complaints (nausea)
Rh eUlllatiSlIl
Intestinal parasitesClerodendron glabrum E.M.
Ikhambhi
Tape, round, and thread-worms
Dropsy
Snake-bite
Impotency and barrenness
Hippobrollllls alatus E.
4' z.
Erioscma cordatum E.M.
and E. salignulll E.M.
Very poisonous
Catarrh, etc.
Impotency and barrenness
25
22
24
58
20
22
60
i4
53
13
34
53
ZULU lIIEDICINE AND }IEDlOINE-MEN.
Zulu name.
isiQunga
Botanical name.
Andropogon marginatns Steutl.
iQwaningi
Ditto
Ditto
Capparis corymbifera E.M.
Ditto
uQwengu
or iLozane
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
uSahl nlamanyc
isiSefo
umSekelo
Tephrosia macropoda E.M.
T. difInsa E.M.
? Pterocelastrus rostratus
Wltlp.
Pyrenacantha scan deus
101
Page.
Use.
Intestinal parasites20
Ikhambhi
17
Scrofula
Chest complaints (pleurisy) 38
Chest complaints (chronic 40
coughing)
Impotency and ban-en ness 53
12
Very poisonous
Febrile complaints
Skin diseases, etc. (sores)
Vermin-killer
46
Spinal diseases
IiI
Dysentery and diarrhma
Impotency and barrenness
30
56
65
74
Planch.
uSelwa
umSengc
uShaqa
'uShaqa or
uShwawu
Ulll Shekish allC
. LnJb sphrerica Sone!.
Cnssonia spicata Thb.
Berkheya sp.
'"
Fcmale of Euclea lauccolata
15.M.
isiShoshokazana
Ranunculus sp.
isiSinini
umSintsi
Erythrina call'ra Thb.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
muSokosoko
Ethulia couyzoides Linn.
Ditto
uSolo
Ditto
Ditto
umSongi
uSukulllbhili
Ditto
iSnndu
uSunnllundu
Stomach complaints
Fcbrile complaints
RhemuatismSkin diseases
Stomach and intestinal com·
plaints
CatalTh, etc.
Toothache
Urinary complaints
Venereal diseases (syphilis)
Dropsy
Earache
Intestinal parasitesIkhalll bh i
Stomanh and intestinal complaints
Albizzia fastigiata Olivo
Very poisonous
Skin diseases (eczema)
Ophthalmia
Stiff-neck
Hypericum rethiopicum Tlntnb.
Very poisonous
Urinary complaints (backache, etc.)
Phomix rcclinata Ja,eg.
Chest complaints (plem'isy)
Acalypha pednncularis
Chest complaints (cxpectoMeis'll.
ration of blood)
25
44
58
65
27
85
ti9
49
51
61
ti8
20
25
13
66
67
58
12
48
38
41
]02
REV. ATJFHED
T. .BRYAN'I'.
Page.
Zulu name.
Botanical name.
umSuzwane
Ditto
Lippia asperifolia Rich.
34
Gangrenous recti tis
Febrile complaints (measles, 46
etc.)
uThangazana
Ditto
Cucumis hirsutus Sond.
isiThathe or
isiNungu
isiThelelo
Oxalis semiloba Sond.
Very poisonous
13
Chest. complaints (chronic
40
coughing)
Skin diseases (infantile
66
thrush)
;lO
Intestinal parasitesIkhambhi
Stomach and intestinal 23,28
complaints
Hiccough through stomach 24
disorders
Scrofula
17,18
Aster erigeroides Hal·V.
Ditto
umThente
Imperata arundinacea Cyr.
iThethe
umThombho
Ditto
Ditto
iThondo
umThuma
Ditto
isiThumana
Ditto
Polygl1.la oppositifolia Linn.
Cissampelos torulosa E.M.
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
umThunduluka
umTimatane or
isiNywane
inTlashane
inTolwane
Ditto
inTondo
Ditto
inTsangu
Use.
18
Venereal diseases (syphilis) 5]
'l'oothache
69
Scrofula
18
? Solanum melon gena Linn. Venereal diseases (syphilis) 5]
Solanum sodomooUID Linn.
Impotency and barrenness
56
Solanum capense L. f.
Urinary complaints 49,50
Venereal diseases (gonorrhooa, 5l!
etc.)
Ophthalmia
67
Toothache
69
Snake·bite
73
Ximenia calha Sond.
Ophthalmia
67
Royena lucid.'\ L.
Impotency and barrenness
55
Lich tensteinia interrupta
E.M.
·Elephantorhiza burchellii
Bth.
Argyrolobium marginatum
Bolus.
inTsangwana
Cannabis sativa Linn.
Wild hemp
Tephrosia kraussiana Meisn.
umTshiki
inTshungu
Eragrostis plana Nees
Momordica fretida Schum.
Chest complaints (chronic
coughing)
Dysentery and diarrhrea
Febrile complaints
Hiccough through stomach
disorders
Stomach sickness
Chest complaints (dry cough)
Chest complaints (chronic
coughing)
Impotency and barrenness
Stomach and intestinal complaints
40
29
45
24
25
41
40
54
25
ZULU lIIEDIO£NE
A~D
MEDTOINE-ilIEN.
Zulu name.
Botanical name.
inTshungwana
yehlathi
inTsulwa
MOlllordica involucrata E.M.
ubuVimbha
Ditto
Ditto
urn Vuma
umVuthwamini
'Vithania somnifera Don.'
Turrma floribunda Hochst.
Plectronia ventosa L.
Ditto
uXhaphozi
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
iXolo
or umKhuhltl
Ditto
Ranunculus pinnatus Poi'!'.
iYoli
Datura stramonium Linn.
Trichilia ellletica Vahl.
Croton sylvaticum Hoehst.
umZilanyoni
umZihnyoni or
uMahlabelrufeni
umZilanyoni
umZilanyoni
or uMinya
umZilanyoni
uZililo
Stapelia gigantea N.E.B.
Euclea natalensis A.D.C.
isiZimane or
iDungamuzi
Ditto
uZipho
CardiosperlllUIll helicacabum
or iKhambhi
Linn.
lezidltli
Pitto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
103
Use.
Page.
Stomach and intestinal COlll- 25
plaints.
Dysentery and diarrhrea
29
Gangrenous recti tis
Venereal diseases (syphilis)
Skin diseases (sores)
Heart comphints
Stomach and intestinal complaints
Dysentery and diarrhrea
33
51
65
59
23
29
Catarrh, etc.
34
Urinary complaints
49
Venereal diseases (syphilis) 51
Dropsy
61
Stomach and intestinal 23,28
complaints
Kidney disease
48
Skin diseases (wounds and
sores)
66
Very poisonous
13
Stomach and intestinal COill- 26
plaints
Chest complaints (pleurisy) 39
Intercostal neuralgia, rheu- 60
matislll
Dropsy
61
Hysteria
64
Scrofula
17, 18
Dysentery and diarrhrea
28
29
Catarrh, ctc.
Urinary complaints
Venereal diseases (syphilis)
Vencrcal diseases (gonorrhrea.
etc.)
Dropsy
Skill diseases (sores)
34
49
51
51
61
66