T RADI T I ONAL

ME DI CI NE I N
S I E RRA L E ONE

BY DEBORAH MCCOY

LOCAL NAMES:
TEABUSH (KRIO)
KUMUI (MENDE)
family: lamiaceae
botanical name: ocimum viride Willd. 

Medicinal Use (1): Convulsion or seizure
Location collected: Pujehun district
Preparation and Treatment (1): Crushed
leaves are placed in the anus of babies; in
addition, the juice from the crushed leaves
is applied by drops to the head, eyes and
mouth.
Medicinal Use (2): Laxative
Location collected: Pujehun district
Preparation and Treatment (2): A decoction
of the leaves is drunk.
Medicinal Use (3): Stomach Pains
Location collected: Hastings Village
Preparation and Treatment (3): Pounded
leaves are placed in lukewarm saline
solution and filtered. The filtrate is the
drug.
Medicinal Use (4): Vaginal Infection
Location collected: Hastings Village
Preparation and Treatment (4): The
macerated leaves are placed between the
vagina labia. Also, salt, nut oil, and water
can be added and heated in a fireplace
before applying.
TEABUSH
hot beverage of sierra leone
A native plant of West Africa, in addition to
its medicinal uses, Teabush is commonly
enjoyed as hot beverage of choice. It is to a
Sierra Leonean as Chamomile is to an
American. The leaves are harvested, dried
and brewed into tea served with milk and
honey. As such, some locals are completely
unaware of its medicinal benefits while a
learned herbalist prescribes it as an
allopathic doctor would cough syrup.
On average, herbal medicines are similarly
prepared as in most other places, but local
solvents like "omole" or Krio gin, goat fat,
palm oil, and palm wine are used to
increase potency. 
GOLA RAINFOREST IS THE ONLY REMNANT OF
PRIMARY FOREST REMAINING IN SIERRA LEONE.
Mende herbalists called "halei" and secret
medicine societies combine herbs with
divinity and will consult the oracle if cause
of disease is believed to have spiritual
origins because it is believed the cure will
as well. In this way, the physical and
spiritual well being of a person is
combined.
Because this aspect of traditional medicine
is least understood, natural healers can be
reluctant to share their methods. In other
cases, secrecy is maintained because
herbal knowledge is regarded as legacy
and held in high regard.
One herbalist shared how his knowledge
had been passed down to him in a dream
from his late father, so he would do the
same with his son.
90 % of medicinal plants are collected in
the wild due to both access and spiritual
implications, but are sometimes cultivated
at the homes.
Traditional practitioners in Sierra Leone use
a variety of treatments in addition to
herbal therapy ranging from magic to
biomedical methods like fasting, bathing,
massage, and surgical procedures. Some
traditional non-herbal preparations can
include animal or insect parts from frogs,
bees, snakes, goats etc.
Herbalists also acquire their knowledge
through personal experience and doctrine
of signature. They will also perform rituals
that foretell of cures for particular herbs for
particular people. If the ritual proves
negative, the patient may be rejected or
referred to another healer.
Sierra Leonean people have been using
plants from as early as anyone could
remember. Historical evidence shows
knowledge of herbal medicine well
documented from Mesopotamia (Iraq)
(2900 BC) and Egypt (1500 BC), predating
other cultures. Even during the slave trade,
this knowledge was carried over to the
West Indies and Americas (Brazil and
South Carolina). In the new world, they
located similar species and practiced as
usual.
 What is now Sierra Leone was probably first
occupied by a group called the Limbas when the
first Portuguese traders arrived in 1462. The Mende
are the largest ethnic group at about 36% of the
population and their local name for Ocimum Viride
is Kumui. As a Muslim majority group, they
incorporate aspects of Islamic spirituality into their
practice.

While the Krio (Creole), a majority Christian group,

typically assert God's will makes the final decision on
healing methods. At only 3% of the population, they
are descendants of an integration of freed enslaved
Africans brought back to the continent from Britain
(black poor), South Carolina by way of Nova Scotia in
America (freed slaves), Jamaica (escaped slaves
called Maroons) and Recaptives or those ships
seized from the oceans by anti-slave patrols after
1808. Together, they established the community of
Freetown and the de facto language, Krio, which is
derivative of English and the reason Ocimum Viride
is locally called Teabush.

Consequently, you'll find direct connections

between customs of the Gullah people of South
Carolina, Jamaicans and Krio of Sierra Leone
including language, food preparations and so on.

This unique relationship with the western world also

led to unique study of traditional medicine at Sierra
Leone's Fourah Bay College where a full research
project was carried out to document unrecorded
information as deforestation adds to loss of plant
species, older residents die without passing the
knowledge along and authenticate claims of
herbalists.

Currently, traditional medicine forms part of the

primary healthcare system in Sierra Leone as it is the
only financially feasible way. To a degree, doctors
who have been trained in the West and local healers
work together. For example, birth attendants are
HASTINGS
now trained by the Ministry of Health to recognize
warning signs of complications of childbirth and
FREETOWN when to refer to a local clinic to reduce mortality
rates. Also, western trained doctors  will, as a last
resort, defer a traditional healer when they can't
solve problems on their own. At one time, an
herbalist for broken bones worked directly with a
local Catholic hospital.

Unique partnerships have been setup between

traditional healers associations, academic research
institutions, and local communities to protect
biodiversity where indigenous cultural and ritual
practices are held in sacred groves or forest patches
like the Gola Rainforest and those local people will
serve as overseers.

In 2015, the local Ministry of Health stated as one of

PUJEHUN its objectives development of a traditional medicine
policy, including training programs, healing centers,
and a Bill and Code of Ethics where only those
certified will be able to practice. This program gets
support from the World Health Organization.