There's Still Pride In Traditional African Medicine

By Nontobeko Sibiya

When thinking about the most vibrant city in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, it is often associated with the glitz and glam of the beautiful city lights, the forever long sandy shores that can be overlooked from grandly designed hotels. But Durban is also home to one the biggest traditional medicine markets in the province.

Formerly operating as train station terminals, the conserved spaces have been home to a variety of traditional healers and traditional stores. The practicing of traditional medicine dates back to before colonisation and western methods. The Durban station market place pays homage to the sacred practices of traditional healing. These traditional medicine methods are based on culture, religious knowledge backgrounds, knowledge and certain attitudes that are prevalent to this community.

Enemy's fighter (udeda zitha)
Traditional medicine and healing exists in a believer’s system that covers three important spectrums, spiritualism; herbalism and indigenous knowledge. Traditional medicine has evolved over the years and been adopted into scientific medicine simply because tradition medicine only makes use of naturally grown plants, specifically identified animal parts or fats and other earthly minerals.The scenery of traditional medicine available at the Durban station marketplace can range from removing rashes to removing a spiritual presence in the afterlife.

Simphiwe Gumede, who is the deputy representative of the traditional practitioners at the marketplace explained the importance of recognition of African medicine in everyday life.

“when people come to see us and use our services for their problems we guide them on their own behaviours that may have led to the problems that they may have now. What our way of healing requires is discipline and respect because most of the people here don’t study for this but rather they get a spiritual calling to be traditional healers, so what we do here is very important,” stated Gumede.

Situated right in Durban central, this marketplace commands a certain type of respect for the work that’s being done there. The understanding of traditional medicine and healing is something that most Africans grew up to and the variety of services offered here are mostly available in rural areas, but having a place like this in the middle of such a prominent city shows the importance of traditional practises.

Mthobisi Mngadi, a traditional healer known natively as Inyanga, stated that there are distinct levels of traditional practitioners, what type of healing they can do and which medicine they have access to. He explained that some people are just sellers of traditional medicine, while others like him have a special calling and the most powerful is the Sangoma.

“I can do spiritual cleansing of a passed on person, clear your own spiritual aura, give you luck for jobs or a partner, get children and marriage, cleanse your body of bad omens and much more that include the spirit and your ancestors, that’s just my line of services,” commented Mngadi.

Bad omen cleanser( isiwasho)

As the world is getting more modernised and indigenous knowledge seems to fade with the past, the existence of the marketplace still sits as a reminder that Africans have roots that they still conform to. Everyday, the traditional practitioners carry their bags filled with generational knowledge, the power to heal and they instil the pride that exists within traditional medicine.

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