1982, 6: 67-84. 1974, La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro. HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help Creole is the second most spoken language in the Province of Camagey, after Spanish. Additional file 1 lists the plant species cited by informants in alphabetical order according to their scientific name, along with their botanical families, vernacular Cuban and Haitian names (as reported by informants during the fieldwork), voucher specimen numbers, parts used, preparation of the remedies, medicinal use, and frequency of mention. Almost half of the plants reported in this study are not reported in Beyra et al. Ed. Esquivel M, Fuentes V, Martnez C, Martnez J, Hammer K: The African influence from an Ethnobotanical Point of View. Among the shared ethnobotanical practices is also the preparation of miel de gira with the pulp of the fruit of Crescentia cujete. Although medicinal uses of these plants are not absent from the Cuban pharmacopoeia, they may in some cases be restricted to Haitian descendants and to Cubans who have been influenced by the migrants' culture. 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). (PDF 182 KB). Weniger B, Haag-Berrurier M, Anton R: Plants of Haiti used as antifertility agents. Traveling Plants and Cultures The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Migrations. Also, cricket's (genus Acheta and Neoconocaephalus) legs are boiled in water and the decoction is then drunk by children and older people who have urination problems. 1988, Universidad de La Habana, Tesis de grado de Candidato a Doctor en Ciencias Biolgicas. Inventaire ethnopharmacologique. 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. Google Scholar. Knowledge, like slaves, was traded back and forth from slave to owner, owner to slave, Haiti to America, America to Haiti. But because of the recent wet weather, freshcerasee is practically everywhere wrapping itself around traffic signs near I-95 and across fences. Abstract. 2004, 58: 381-395. 105 e/ngel y Pobre, Camagey, Cuba, Daimy Godnez,Angela Beyra&Adelaida Barreto, You can also search for this author in The present investigation shows that Haitian migrants and their descendants living in the Province of Camagey (Cuba) have medicinal uses for 123 plant species belonging to 112 genera in 63 families. Parentesco, inmigracin y comunidad Una visin del caso haitiano. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Calle Cisneros No. Have a sore throat? GV drafted the manuscript. Given the availability of medicinal plants in the surrounding environment, for some species at least, the use of fresh plants may present the advantage of preserving more active compounds and consequently enhancing their absorption and effectiveness. Data also suggest that culturally relevant plants (those cited by more informants and with a greater number of uses) are often used in different qualitative ways by migrants and hosts. 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. The Origins of Human Diet and Medicine Chemical Ecology. Brutus TC, Pierre-Noel AV: Les plantes et legumes d'Haiti qui guerrissent. Shes 81. Datura is a powerful psychoactive plant, found in West Africa as well as other tropical areas and used there in ritual as well as criminal activities. When a person thinks of sarsaparilla, what most often comes to mind is probably an old-fashioned sudsy drink not unlike root beer. 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. In some Caribbean grocery stores and health food stores,cerasee is sold in tea bags or dried. But even cerasee devotees say some of the claims might just be old wives tales. The plant pops up all over South Florida, especially when it rains. In this context, traditional ethnobotanical practices are sometimes reconstituted as part of Haitian culture [14]. [21-25]. 10.1016/j.jep.2008.01.016. Often, a decoction of leaves and aerial parts is prepared, sometimes in combinations of different species, and left to cool, or otherwise these vegetal parts are smashed and directly added to the bath water. Freshly picked mint from the backyard will ease the pain. The authors declare that they have no competing interests. The plants cited were photographed, collected with the informants during the interviews, and identified by authors (D.G., A.B., A.B.) De Smet PAGM: Traditional pharmacology and medicine in Africa. 1957, La Habana: Contribuciones Ocasionales del Museo de Historia Natural Colegio La Salle 10, P. Fernndez and Ca, Alain H: Flora de Cuba. But in Haiti, the purifying qualities of sarsaparilla are held to be more important because of the emphasis Haitians place on the role of blood in the body. To the Haitian, these beliefs are inexorably woven in with Voodoo, serving the loa and reliance on the local docteur feille.. with Momordica charantia, Hamelia patens), as well as to treat skin infections such as carbuncles, to alleviate itching, and to fortify children who have 'fragile health'. GUID:FB7A69D3-5F4B-4A23-86B2-F73B140ADACB. The plants cited were photographed, collected with the informants during the interviews, and identified by authors (D.G., A.B., A.B.) Rituality based on 'sacred' numbers represents, in these cases, a simple way of memorizing the proper dose to be used, as well as a contribution to the efficacy of the remedy by calling upon supernatural forces and entities related to those numbers. Some people from the Caribbean believe theres almost nothing cerasee doesnt work for. 1988, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba: Editorial Oriente, James J, Millet J, Alarcn A: El Vod en Cuba. 1985, 497-509. Pieroni A, Mnz H, Akbulut M, Baser KHC, Durmuskahya C: Traditional phytotherapy and transcultural pharmacy among Turkish immigrants living in Cologne, Germany. I surmise that Quassia the Surinam had seen a plant similar to bitterwood in Africa. To locate the respondents, we first focused on the areas in the province where historical and oral records indicate the presence of Haitian communities (e.g. Besides single medicinal plants, 22 herbal mixtures, mostly prepared as a concoction of plants or plant parts, are reported. Chenopodium ambrosioides, Momordica charantia) are used to treat intestinal parasites. Au DT, Wu J, Jiang Z, Chen H, Lu G, Zhao Z. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by Hakka in Guangdong, China. 2005, 97: 337-350. An official website of the United States government. One that I ran across in my research that is very interesting and pertinent to this subject is quassia, or bitterwood. Remedies prepared by heating plant parts in fire (four per cent) are mostly used for topical applications (e.g. [25]). Respondents in the city of Camagey were located thanks to the local Haitian Association. Interviews were conducted in Spanish after first explaining the aims of the study. Goat feces are dried, powdered, mixed with olive oil and applied topically for burns, while packages made of urine and cotton are applied to the back of the heads of children with fever. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Migrants confront a different sociocultural context and new environments where specific plants may no longer be available and traditional practices may come under pressure and therefore may be progressively adapted or abandoned [46]. Dayana St. Fort was born in Haiti. 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. In this article we have presented the medicinal plants' knowledge of Haitians in Cuba as it is today, approximately 80 years after migration. [14]. 1998, 63: 1-179. My mom comes from a line of Haitian women herbalists from Gonaives, Haiti. Although they are also reported in Beyra et al. 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). My mom comes from a line of Haitian women herbalists from Gonaives, Haiti. People like St. Fort, who grew up in Haiti, know to keep an eye out for the trusted plant. Exceptions to this are the works of Brutus and Pierre-Noel, Len, and Weniger et al. Comisin Nacional de Nombres Geogrficos: Diccionario Geogrfico de Cuba. 1990, Tucson: The University of Arizona Press. 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. Given this, as well as the poor availability of ethnobotanical data relating to traditional Haitian medicine, there is an urgent need to record this knowledge. Scull R, Miranda M, Infante RS: Plantas medicinales de uso tradicional en Pinar del Ro. Haitian immigrants and their descendants mainly decoct or infuse aerial parts and ingest them, but medicinal baths are also relevant. (Laguerre, 68) In the Ozarks catnip tea administered to babies quiets colic and can even be used to stop convulsions. Volpato G, Godnez D. Medicinal foods in Cuba: Promoting health in the household. She uses many local herbs and plants, such as chamomile and thyme (left basket) and ginger root (center baskets), to alleviate afflictions that include coughs, other cold symptoms and menstruation . Trusted Source. In: Hammer K, Esquivel M, Knpffer H, editor. " Often this practice is associated with a ritual acknowledgement of the plant and its power, by leaving a coin in the place where leaves have been collected, or by adding a coin to the bath and later leaving it at road crossing. A tummy ache? [12], Nevet and de la Rosa [9], and Pedro [10]. 8600 Rockville Pike Uses of medicinal plants by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagey, Cuba, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, http://www.afrocubaweb.com/haiticuba.htm#creole, http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ethcode.htm, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0. All of the mints have the effect of soothing indigestion and quieting nausea. Respondents in the city of Camagey were located thanks to the local Haitian Association. About 40% of the total population of the province lives in the city of Camagey; almost 200,000 people live in rural areas. Haitian with a dried fruit of Abelmoschus esculentus from his homegarden (G. Volpato). Haitians believe that giving catnip tea to infants will clarify impurities in their blood. A few other remedies of non-vegetal origin were also reported. Some locals say that Voodoo succeeds where modern medicine can't, but that the religion is often misunderstood. Often performed during the new year and around holidays, voudou baths are designed to bestow various blessings from God: anything from better cash flow to improved health or a new baby. Revealing Latinos' plant-healing knowledge and practices in New York City. Vervain is a popular remedy due to its multiple plant-beneficial compounds. Momordica charantia, Solanum americanum and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis are among those species most cited by Haitians in this study. Haitian Plants Medicine. 715-738, 1975. Besides Haitians, other ethnic groups in the Province include Jamaicans and Chinese. Among Haitians, these practices are often related to cosmological/ritual numbers, and plant quantities used in the preparation of the remedies and the timing of administration follow these numbers (mainly three and seven; see also Weniger et al. They observe nuances in the condition of their blood that are almost unheard of in white Anglo folk pharmacopoeia. GV and DG conceived and designed the research. Moreover, to date only limited data about Haitian traditional medicine has been collected in Haiti, mostly due to the fact that the religious, cultural, and political situation in Haiti has made the study of Haitian ethnomedicine difficult [20]. 19001931. 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]. Richard Allen Nez N, Gonzlez E: Antecedentes etnohistricos de la alimentacin tradicional en Cuba. Although in the recent past there has been an increase in ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal investigations in Cuba [15-19], these have generally not paid attention to the specific ethnic knowledge that immigrants have contributed to traditional Cuban medicine. Johns T: The Origins of Human Diet and Medicine. It is located between the Canal Viejo de Bahamas in the North, the Caribbean Ocean in the South, the Province of Las Tunas in the East, and the Province of Ciego de vila in the West. Haitian's knowledge about plants seems to comprehend and deal with toxic allelochemicals through specific posological practices. Some touristic infrastructures (notably in Camagey city and Santa Luca beach) have been developed in the last decade [26]. About 10% each of the remedies are prepared by means of juice extraction and infusion. (Jordan, 726) Nonetheless, catnip is such a good all-purpose herb it is no surprise that it shares equal popularity in Haiti as it does in the hill country of Missouri and Arkansas. only with the new moon [42]), where the remedy is ingested periodically throughout the year. Of these, about three quarters were reported with the same medicinal uses, and the remaining quarter with different uses. Audrey Rowe is Jamaican. Its not even like cod liver oil. 10.1016/0378-8741(86)90070-X. 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. 1995, 49: 249-256. 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. Paul A, Cox PA. An ethnobotanical survey of the uses for. This figure is based on a comparison with data from another province that also absorbed much Haitian migration to Cuba, the Province of Guantanamo [13]. Haiti is tropical and ginseng and goldenseal need cool, shady forest slopes to grow in. Seabrook claimed it was called "pains cutter" in rural Haiti.. Douching with a decoction made from oak bark is another female remedy found in both Haiti and the Ozarks (Jordan, 735; Kloss, 171). Estudio etnobotnico I. Revista Cubana de Farmacia. About 75% of the inhabitants live in urban areas, where Camagey, Florida and Nuevitas are the major cities. Herbal baths are important in Haitian culture in both spiritual and medicinal practices, and represent the second most important category of administration, after ingestion. The final question that I wanted to probe was some sort of linkage between the two cultures of Haiti and America that might account for the similarities I found in treatment methods. The data presented in this paper are derived from a wider study that was conducted on the ethnobiological knowledge of Haitian people living in the Province of Camagey. Volpato G, Godnez D, Beyra A: Migration and ethnobotanical practices: The case of tifey among Haitian immigrants in Cuba. Conversely, Justicia pectoralis, reported by Haitians only as a component of one mixture, is widely used and reported by Cubans for its sedative effects [15,19]. Esquivel M, Fuentes V, Martnez C, Martnez J, Hammer K. The African influence from an Ethnobotanical Point of View. 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. religious and traditional practices have merged with medicine. Cultural aspects related to traditional plant posology are addressed, as well as changes and adaptation of Haitian medicinal knowledge with emigration and integration over time. volume5, Articlenumber:16 (2009) Five formulas have been reported as miel de gira (siw kalbaz in Creole), whose main ingredient is the fruit of Crescentia cujete. The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Migrations. 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]. GV, DG, AB, and AB carried out interviews and collected data in the field. They knew the use of cure-to-all medicinal plant Asosi or cerasee or corailee in English which grows all over South Florida, especially in abundance during the rainy season. 2. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies 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. Traveling Plants and Cultures The Ethnobiology and Ethnopharmacy of Migrations. Among Haitians, these practices are often related to cosmological/ritual numbers, and plant quantities used in the preparation of the remedies and the timing of administration follow these numbers (mainly three and seven; see also Weniger et al. 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. Some of its benefits include antitumor effects, nerve cell protection, anxiety- and . Different plant species are added to the basic preparation according to the specific medicinal purpose for which it is prepared: for example, Cissus spp. Manage cookies/Do not sell my data we use in the preference centre. The Province of Camagey is located between 2031'01" and 2229'00" latitude North and 7657'00" longitude West from Greenwich. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, http://www.afrocubaweb.com/haiticuba.htm#creole, http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ethcode.htm, decoction of three shoots and three roots. The study of Haitian immigrants' traditional medicine in this context not only represents an interesting case about medicinal plant use, but also records knowledge that is rapidly disappearing with the death of older Haitian migrants. In Michel Laguerre's book he tells of a Haitian woman who makes herself ill by eating the head of a turkey. Original music by Dan Powell and . Consequently, there is little data in the literature about the ethnobotanical knowledge and practices of Haitians in Cuba, with the exception of Volpato et al. DG, AB, and AB performed botanical analysis and species identification. Comisin Nacional de Nombres Geogrficos . A list of medicinal plants was published by Brutus and Pierre-Noel (1960). The Province is inhabited by some 780,000 people, or seven per cent of the Cuban population. To gain further insights, we qualitatively compared our results with those reported in other Cuban ethnobotanical studies [18, 19, 42, 49] and especially with the work of Beyra et al. Of concern to Haitians are the coloration, volume, quantity, directionality, temperature and purity of their blood. But in Haiti, where worms are a more prevalent problem among the population, senna is gathered and used for its febrifuge properties. Some plant uses have a common origin in the ethnobotanical practices of Caribbean people of African cultural heritage, the so-called Afro-Caribbean pharmacopoeia: examples include the use of the aerial parts of Lippia alba and Cymbopogon citratus, as well as the use of roots and ligneous parts of Allophylus cominia, Caesalpinia bahamensis, Erythroxylum havanense, and Chiococca alba. About 40% of the total population of the province lives in the city of Camagey; almost 200,000 people live in rural areas. Among the shared ethnobotanical practices is also the preparation of miel de gira with the pulp of the fruit of Crescentia cujete. 1992, 39: 9-22. The complexity of practices related to traditional posology is rarely investigated in ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies. Volpato G, Godnez D: Ethnobotany of Pru, a traditional Cuban refreshment. Fieldwork was carried out from December 2002March 2003 and from FebruaryJuly 2004. 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]. She said, Once you see this crazy woman on the side of the street picking up bush, you can say, Oh, shes from the island. In contrast, the use of the same species with different medicinal purposes may be the result of migrant's adoption of some species through experimentation with plants found in the new environment (e.g. Seoane J: El Folclor Mdico de Cuba. the contents by NLM or the National Institutes of Health. I was born and raised in Miami, but my very Haitian mom always kept true to her roots especially whenever I didnt feel well. Santillo, Humbart. [15]. 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. People who migrated in the 1920s generally sailed to eastern Cuba looking for jobs on the sugarcane plantations to improve their living conditions and support their families in Haiti. Conversely, Justicia pectoralis, reported by Haitians only as a component of one mixture, is widely used and reported by Cubans for its sedative effects [15, 19]. Economic Botany. most plants used in Haiti were also available in Cuba), and to the cultivation of medicinal plants in the new environment. 10.1007/s10745-008-9211-4. 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. I think the reason I was unable to find any mention of them in Haiti was because of the complete dissimilarity in climate. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. 1960, Port-au-Prince: Imprimerie de L'etat, Leon R: Phytotherapie Haitienne; Nos simple. With Nina Feldman. 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]. [http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ethcode.htm], Len H: Flora de Cuba. She learned from her mother, who learned from her mother, who learned from her mother and so on. Afro-Caribbean pharmacopoeia is that body of knowledge and practices around medicinal plants which finds its origins in the cultures of African slaves brought to the Caribbean [50]. Interviews were conducted in Spanish after first explaining the aims of the study. Boletn de Resea de Plantas Medicinales. y tienen faxones y fabas muy diversos de los nuestros " Origin, Evolution and Diversity of Cuban Plant Genetic Resources. Almost five per cent of the remedies are used without processing, which is especially the case for fruits eaten as medicinal foods (e.g. Vetiver, Chrysopogon zizanioides, is a perennial grass native to India, where it is known as khus or the oil of tranquility, but it is produced mainly in Haiti, Java, and Runion. All of the slaves traded their expertise in healing because of the plantation milieu and dire necessity in staying alive. In the Caribbean, however, the herbal bath carries an even holier association as a major component of Haitian Voudou (frequently westernized as "Voodoo"). This use of cricket's legs has been also reported by Hernndez and Volpato [19] in their article about the medicinal mixtures of Eastern Cuba, as well as by Seoane [16] in his treatise on Cuban medical folklore. The Province is inhabited by some 780,000 people, or seven per cent of the Cuban population. But, says Davis, "there were a lot of problems with the Datura hypothesis. leaves applied to the forehead to treat headache). GV drafted the manuscript. 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]. 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.