Nowadays Haitians are mostly integrated into mainstream Cuban society, although many of them maintain a small-scale farming and livestock production as a base for their livelihoods. About 75% of the inhabitants live in urban areas, where Camagey, Florida and Nuevitas are the major cities. 1998, 63: 1-179. Prior to that date, many documents on the French colonies carry some mention of Haitian ethnobotany. Consuming 2 or three Echinacea capsules twice a day can soothe extreme frustrations as well as other kinds . Springer Nature. Revealing Latinos' plant-healing knowledge and practices in New York City. Most Haitians were illiterate, crowded into barracks (barracones), paid a miserable salary, and compelled to hand over their savings to reimburse the cost of their passage [7, 9]. PubMed Eating and Healing: Traditional Food as Medicine.
Plants of Haiti used as antifertility agents - PubMed [15] who interviewed 29 Cuban informants across the Province of Camagey and reported 111 species used for medicinal purposes.
Uses of medicinal plants by Haitian immigrants and their - PubMed Therefore, herbs are the medicine of choice and necessity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 34 Haitians (21 women and 13 men) whose ages ranged from 45 to 102 years (mean age 68), in the following communities: Central Brasil, Jiqu, Aguacate, Esmeralda, Antn, Batey Varela (Antn), San Serapio, Caidije, La Jagua, Macuto 2, Camagey (neighbourhoods of Puerto Prncipe, Bellavista, Florat, and La Guernica). Accessibility De Smet PAGM: Traditional pharmacology and medicine in Africa. 2008, 117: 41-50. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise. Fieldwork was carried out from December 2002March 2003 and from FebruaryJuly 2004. For example, three shoots of Mangifera indica are boiled and the remedy is drunk in three different cups to treat empacho, a digestive problem; three leaves of Cissampelos pareira are split into half and three halves are boiled in the case of fever; an infusion made from three whorls or tops of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis is prepared and given to children in the morning on an empty stomach as an anthelmintic; the decoction of three leaves of Momordica charantia must be drunk for three days, and the seeds of the same plant are ingested one on the first day, two on the second, and three on the third, and so on for seven days. In some Caribbean grocery stores and health food stores,cerasee is sold in tea bags or dried. An official website of the United States government. My mom comes from a line of Haitian women herbalists from Gonaives, Haiti. To some, the wild green plant with five point leaves may be just an annoying weed, but to many in South Floridas Caribbean community Jamaicans, Bahamians,Trinidadians, Haitians -- its the "it" plant for just about every ailment. Beyra A, Len M, Iglesias E, Ferrndiz D, Herrera R, Volpato G, Godinez D, Guimarais M, Alvarez R: Estudios etnobotnicos sobre plantas medicinales en la provincia de Camagey (Cuba).
Post Labor- Haitian Traditional Medicine - YouTube 1946, La Habana: Contribuciones Ocasionales del Museo de Historia Natural Colegio La Salle 8, Cultural S.A, Len H, Alain H: Flora de Cuba. the use of Dichrostachys cinerea as antidiarrhoeic) or incomplete imitation of local practices. Macia M, Garcia E, Vidaurre PJ: An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants commercialized in the markets of La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia. 2004, 61: 185-204. y tienen faxones y fabas muy diversos de los nuestros " Origin, Evolution and Diversity of Cuban Plant Genetic Resources. Topical application as a pomade or plaster is used in 10% of the remedies, while frictioning, preferred with preparations for rheumatisms and arthritis, accounts for two per cent. Although they are also reported in Beyra et al. She belongs to an unofficial club of Caribbean folks around South Florida who pick bushes from other peoples front yards and the side of the road. Traditional pharmacology and medicine in Africa. Background Haitian migrants played an important role shaping Cuban culture and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. Traveling Plants and Cultures The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Migrations. Once they found themselves in Cuba, the main strategies that Haitian migrants used to maintain their ethnomedicinal practices depended principally on the floristic similarity between Haiti and Cuba (i.e. The species belong to 112 genera and 63 families, with a prevalence of Annona and Citrus (three species each) among the genera, and among the families of Fabaceae (9.8%), Asteraceae (6.5%), Euphorbiaceae and Verbenaceae (4.9%), Lamiaceae and Rutaceae (3.3%). 10.1016/0378-8741(82)90072-1. The hairs of the fruit of this plant contain formic acid and mucunain, which are so toxic that they were used as homicidal poisons in Africa [40,41]. Macia M, Garcia E, Vidaurre PJ. Mints such as catnip are widely used both in Haiti and America. ", She points to a green shrub with slightly oval leaves, This isJackna Bush.. The research led to the identification of 123 different plant species used for medicinal purposes by Haitians and their descendants in the Province of Camagey. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Economic Botany.
Uses of medicinal plants by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in Volpato G, Godnez D. Ethnobotany of Pru, a traditional Cuban refreshment. The ethnic and cultural composition of contemporary Caribbean populations are the result of historical population movements through the slave trade and inter-island migration and of the legacy of the different ethnicities involved in the process of national identity formation. 1974, La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro. The research project has been funded by a grant to Gabriele Volpato from the CERES Programme for Innovative PhD Research at Wageningen University (CEPIP-W). Baths are the second more important category of means of application at almost 16% of the total. The Province of Camagey is located between 2031'01" and 2229'00" latitude North and 7657'00" longitude West from Greenwich. The most frequently used species are Chenopodium ambrosioides, Cissus verticillata, Cocos nucifera, Crescentia cujete, Cymbopogon citratus, Lippia alba, Momordica charantia, Pimenta dioica, Portulaca oleracea, Psidium guajava, and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis. The .gov means its official. Conversely, and to a lesser extent, Haitians contributed to what is today considered as traditional Cuban medicine by introducing into the dominant Cuban community certain specific ethnobotanical practices and uses of plants, as described also in Volpato et al. Generally, decoction is used for hard and ligneous parts, including coriaceous leaves, while infusion is used only for soft leaves and shoots, especially from aromatic plants (e.g. 1 During the immense and ongoing recovery effort, individuals and organized groups have been incorporating natural and traditional medicine into their activities. Haitian migrants played an important role shaping Cuban culture and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. In the Ozarks sarsaparilla tea is also widely used for its purifying properties.. Another blood purifier that is a very common remedy both in Ozarkia and Haiti, is catnip or catmint. 105 e/ngel y Pobre, Camagey, Cuba, Daimy Godnez,Angela Beyra&Adelaida Barreto, You can also search for this author in More than half of the plant species reported in that study are also reported in the current study of Haitian immigrants and their descendants. Ethnobotanical knowledge is dynamic for any given culture and it changes as it is transferred and appropriated by people who are adapting to new environments [44,45]. Pedro A. Guanamaca, una comunidad haitiana. [15]. 2009, 37 (1): 43-53. Baths are also prepared to rid people of the 'bad' and the 'evil eye', a practice known in Afro-Cuban religions as despojo [34,35], mainly using species such as Vitex trifolia, Trichilia glabra, Alpinia speciosa, Allophyllus cominia. 19001931. For example, a small spoonful of the hairs of the fruits of Mucuna pruriens is mixed with Psidium guayaba jam and ingested before breakfast for three days; the massive diarrhea that follows is supposed to eliminate all worms from the gut and the stomach, as reported also by Seoane [16]. Her go-to cure-all medicinal plant is asosi, also called cerasee or corailee in the English-speaking Caribbean. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. Brandon G. The uses of plants in healing in an Afro-Cuban religion, Santeria. GV, DG, AB, and AB carried out interviews and collected data in the field. Almost half of the plants reported in this study are not reported in Beyra et al. Goat feces are dried, powdered, mixed with olive oil and applied topically for burns, while packages made of urine and cotton are applied to the back of the heads of children with fever. 1CERES Research School, Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, NL-6706 Wageningen, the Netherlands, 2CIMAC, Centro de Investigaciones de Medio Ambiente de Camagey, Cuba. Herbal Index. Partly it . Among first generation migrants, twenty are originally from the cities of Les Cayes (Creole name Okai) and Port Salut (Creole name Posal), in the South of Haiti, whereas four lived in or near Port-au-Prince. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. Most of those interviewed are elderly people living in remote rural areas; they often live alone since, because of their age, their husbands and wives have passed away and their children, if any, have migrated mainly to major Cuban cities (e.g. Su estudio en la ciudad de Santiago de Cuba. Pedernales, Santo Domingo, in Ethnomedicine 4: 139-166, 1976. 1992, 39: 9-22. We will present and discuss data about: 1) traditional remedies, their uses, and preparation, 2) traditional practices and beliefs related to these uses, and 3) changes and adaptation of Haitian medicinal knowledge with emigration and integration over time. Mixtures (components, parts used, preparation and means of use) are given in Table 1, whereas the presence of species in mixtures is reported in Additional file 1. The use of medicinal herbs is highly developed. Chemie, Pharmakologie, Toxikologie. Scientific name, botanical family, vernacular Cuban and Haitian name(s), voucher specimen number, part(s) used, preparation, use(s), and frequency of mention are reported for 123 plant species used for medicinal purposes. Down through the ages women have had to deal with menstrual cramps, excessive bleeding, water retention and unwanted pregnancy, just to name a few. According to information we . Cabrera L: El Monte. This lapse of time is long enough to permit insights to be drawn regarding the process of transformation and adaptation of ethnomedicinal knowledge after migration and in the ways in which the progressive integration of migrants in the host culture modifies this knowledge. following Len [28], Len and Alain [29-31] and Alain [32,33]. Miel de gira is considered as a panacea, and its use is apparently widespread among Cuban and Cuban-Haitian populations as a preventive and a remedy, when it is taken in small spoons in doses of from one to five spoons per day [16]. Estudio etnobotnico I. Fuentes V. Plants in Afro-Cuban Religions. Boil and simmer until the water turns a murky greenish brown. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. It is known in both locales as a blood purifier or that which promotes a cleaning action of the liver, kidneys, spleen and bowels. Information was obtained . 2001, Guantnamo, Cuba: Editorial el mar y la montaa, Nevet M, De la Rosa AS: Kote ou bouke m pote. Immigration was a key factor in the plans for economic reconstruction after the War of Independence against Spain, and West Indians entered Cuba as cheap labour required to cut sugarcane [8]. The vervain plant is a lesser-known herbal remedy, but it has a lengthy history of medicinal use when it comes to a variety of systems in the body . The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Otherwise, they live in hospices either in Camagey or in smaller cities and villages. Its worse than cod liver oil.. Everyone calls Francis Sister Francis because shes a respected elder. [15] who interviewed 29 Cuban informants across the Province of Camagey and reported 111 species used for medicinal purposes.
Herbal Index | Graduate Medical Sciences The use of herbal medicine is common in Haiti, where the knowledge of plants is passed down through the generations, and Haitians are known to use the hibiscus flower and the cerasee plant . About 40% of the total population of the province lives in the city of Camagey; almost 200,000 people live in rural areas. Dayana St. Fort was born in Haiti. Inventory of medicinal plants used by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. Because of the importation of workers for plantation slavery, a vast body of knowledge departed Africa for the New World. Echinacea can be taken numerous times a day, as recommended by an herbalist. Baths are the second more important category of means of application at almost 16% of the total. Canella winterana, Pimenta dioica) are added to preparations with stomachic purposes. Even though the Haitian and the Ozarkian know that "modern medicine" exists and is practiced by doctors located an automobile or donkey ride away, the old herbal beliefs don't die away. I used Kloss's Back to Eden and Santillo's Natural Healing with Herbs for my American source books. An infusion (tea) of senna is given to expel worms, reduce biliousness (belching and indigestion), and as an all-purpose laxative (Kloss, 312; Santillo, 175). I was fortunate to have three solid sources of information on herbs in Haiti: Laguerre's Afro-Caribbean Folk Medicine, Colon's Traditional Use of Medicinal Plants in the Province of Pedernales, Santo Domingo, and Jordan's Voodoo Medicine. They observe nuances in the condition of their blood that are almost unheard of in white Anglo folk pharmacopoeia. Traveling cultures and plants The ethnobiology and ethnopharmacy of migrations. There are many varieties such as peppermint, spearmint, lemonmint and horsemint. Almost five per cent of the remedies are used without processing, which is especially the case for fruits eaten as medicinal foods (e.g. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Santillo, Humbart. Among the Haitians interviewed, 21 migrated to Cuba between 19131926, ten are the offspring of Haitian couples who entered Cuba during the same period, and three more left Haiti between 19461954. The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Boletn de Resea de Plantas Medicinales. The most frequently used species are Chenopodium ambrosioides, Cissus verticillata, Cocos nucifera, Crescentia cujete, Cymbopogon citratus, Lippia alba, Momordica charantia, Pimenta dioica, Portulaca oleracea, Psidium guajava, and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis. Baths are also prepared to rid people of the 'bad' and the 'evil eye', a practice known in Afro-Cuban religions as despojo [34, 35], mainly using species such as Vitex trifolia, Trichilia glabra, Alpinia speciosa, Allophyllus cominia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. The continuous ingestion of low doses of the allelochemicals in these species may be an effective means to prevent massive parasite infestations, especially in children [43]. Haiti is tropical and ginseng and goldenseal need cool, shady forest slopes to grow in. Edited by: Hammer K, Esquivel M, Knpffer H. 1992, Gatersleben, Germany: Institut fr Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung, 1: 110-137. Remedies shared between Haitian immigrants and their descendants and the Cuban population are mainly the result of the presence of shared ethnobotanical knowledge before migration took place, but as well reflect adoption by Haitian immigrants of plants and/or uses from the dominant Cuban pharmacopoeia and, to a lesser extent, vice versa. Exceptions to this are the works of Brutus and Pierre-Noel, Len, and Weniger et al. It is also known as the bitter gourd or bitter cucumber in Asia, South America and the Middle East. government site. He deduced that the bark and wood of the simarouba excelsa plant were an excellent tonic and febrifuge (that which acts to expel intestinal worms from the system). Creole is the second most spoken language in the Province of Camagey, after Spanish. DeSantis' appointed board approves a lawsuit against Disney, South Florida professor allegedly fired over racial justice unit files civil rights complaint, Gas prices across Florida are on the decline and could get even lower, Florida LGBTQ+ lawmaker tells the GOP: 'Im literally trying to exist', The Symphonia's climate change-themed concert series concludes with 'Water', Favorite Zip Odes: Poems about cafecito, heat, language and I-95 traffic, Bumping Lady Gaga off the charts? The resulting juice is then mixed with sugar and/or bee's honey and sometimes a small amount of rum, and drunk/eaten for problems of the respiratory system (asthma, catarrh), of the digestive system (stomach pains, intestinal parasites), and of the female reproductive apparatus (infertility) [19]. Traditional Haitian medicine retained an important role in healthcare and cultural practices soon after immigration, when Haitian livelihoods were based on work in the sugarcane fields, on the surrounding environment, and on their knowledge about that environment. 2. More than 50% of the mixtures are used to treat afflictions of the respiratory system. In: Hammer K, Esquivel M, Knpffer H, editor. Fieldwork was carried out from December 2002March 2003 and from FebruaryJuly 2004. Some of its benefits include antitumor effects, nerve cell protection, anxiety- and . The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the In this article we have presented the medicinal plants' knowledge of Haitians in Cuba as it is today, approximately 80 years after migration. Jordan confirms these abortifacient qualities in his work, Voodoo Medicine. Traveling cultures and plants The ethnobiology and ethnopharmacy of migrations. Red sage is an herb found in both locales and is known to be an emmenagogue, or that which promotes menstrual flow (Kloss, 308; Laguerre, 94; Colon, 161). Before Haiti is one of the leading producers of vetiver in the world. A tummy ache? 2. Haitian Plants Medicine. Received 2009 Feb 28; Accepted 2009 May 18. The Province is inhabited by some 780,000 people, or seven per cent of the Cuban population. Esquivel M, Fuentes V, Martnez C, Martnez J, Hammer K: The African influence from an Ethnobotanical Point of View. Inclusion in an NLM database does not imply endorsement of, or agreement with, FOIA I dont think theres a place that you would go in Haiti and say, I have a fever, I have a sickness, and one person wont tell you, Did you drink asosi?, she said. The Province of Camagey is located between 2031'01" and 2229'00" latitude North and 7657'00" longitude West from Greenwich. Exceptions to this are the works of Brutus and Pierre-Noel, Len, and Weniger et al. Haitian with a dried fruit of Abelmoschus esculentus from his homegarden (G. Volpato). 1988, Universidad de La Habana, Tesis de grado de Candidato a Doctor en Ciencias Biolgicas. [25]). Chenopodium ambrosioides, Momordica charantia) are used to treat intestinal parasites. 2004, 90: 293-316. Fuentes V: Las plantas medicinales en Cuba. Volpato G, Godnez D: Ethnobotany of Pru, a traditional Cuban refreshment. I was fortunate to have three solid sources of information on herbs in Haiti: Laguerre's Afro-Caribbean Folk Medicine, Colon's Traditional Use of Medicinal Plants in the Province of Pedernales, Santo Domingo, and Jordan's Voodoo Medicine. Information was obtained from semi-structured interviews with Haitian immigrants and their descendants, direct observations, and by reviewing reports of traditional Haitian medicine in the literature. In these contexts, the main forces that drive change in the cultural domain of traditional medicinal knowledge are: (1) the adaptation of the original knowledge to the new (host) environment (through substitution of no longer accessible traditional remedies with locally available ones, and the incorporation of remedies from the host culture into migrants' own pharmacopoeia); and (2) the development of strategies to obtain the original remedies (through cultivation, gathering, or marketing of the original remedies, and the development of social networks that link migrants to relatives and friends in the place of origin) [47, 48]. But, says Davis, "there were a lot of problems with the Datura hypothesis. A few other remedies of non-vegetal origin were also reported. Williams. FURCY, HAITI - About an hour's drive from Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, residents of Furcy, a cool, lush, agricultural community high up in the mountains, say they are used to dealing with . Hernndez J: Uso popular de plantas con fines medicinales.
An Ethnobotanical survey of the uses forCitrus aurantium (Rutaceae) in Throughout the field study, the ethical guidelines adopted by the American Anthropological Association [27] were followed. More than half of the plant species reported in that study are also reported in the current study of Haitian immigrants and their descendants. Among the peoples of African origin who settled in Cuba throughout the centuries, Haitians played an important role shaping Cuban culture and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. Weniger B, Rouzier M, Daguilh R, Henrys D, Henrys JH, Anton R: La medecine populaire dans le Plateau Central d'Haiti. Two main stores are situated in North Montreal and offer a choice of several dozen Haitian medicinal plants, dried and packaged in small plastic bags (Fig. An ethnobotanical investigation was conducted to collect information on medicinal plant use by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. Anales del Jardn Botnico de Madrid. About 75% of the inhabitants live in urban areas, where Camagey, Florida and Nuevitas are the major cities. Scull R, Miranda M, Infante RS: Plantas medicinales de uso tradicional en Pinar del Ro. Calle Cisneros No. Revista Cubana de Alimentacin y Nutricin. Some Ozark women do not choose to either. Pieroni A, Mnz H, Akbulut M, Baser KHC, Durmuskahya C: Traditional phytotherapy and transcultural pharmacy among Turkish immigrants living in Cologne, Germany. An ethnobotanical investigation was conducted to collect information on medicinal plant use by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba. 1960, Port-au-Prince: Imprimerie de L'etat, Leon R: Phytotherapie Haitienne; Nos simple. The plants cited were photographed, collected with the informants during the interviews, and identified by authors (D.G., A.B., A.B.) Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Hernndez J, Volpato G. Herbal mixtures in the traditional medicine of eastern Cuba. ). Among these, a mixture prepared with the fruit of Crescentia cujete as a main ingredient is highly regarded by Haitians and is considered as a panacea. 1.
The Coolness of Cleansing | ReVista Traditional and ritual plant posology should be investigated in more depth in ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies in order to understand their relation with medicinal plant efficacy and toxicity.
Cerasee Or Asosi: The Cure-All Plant For South Florida's Caribbean Five formulas have been reported as miel de gira (siw kalbaz in Creole), whose main ingredient is the fruit of Crescentia cujete. Those who arrived in the 1940s came either by plane or boat, although they were migrating mostly for the same reasons. I have chosen eight that are used both in Haiti and the Ozarks to describe and comment on.