ORISHA SELF-ASSESSMENT DIAGNOSTIC CHART

TARIQ SAWANDI, M.H.

The following Orisha Diagnostic Charts are designed to help you identify how the seven major Orishas act and interact within you.  According to the correspondence science, various conditions of distress and disease are linked with each Orisha mode.  This system of Orisha and Ajogun (negative energy ) relationships also describe the spiritual and emotional forces in the inner and outer world of the human mind.

According to the Ifa Corpus, all balances and imbalances in the mind, body and spirit are ordered according to the seven major Orisha modes of:

*Obatala

*Elegba

*Yemoja

*Oshun

*Ogun

*Shango

*Oyo

These Orishas represent attributes of transformation, energy, vibrations, sounds, and polarities and correspond with several planetary influences, anatomy, physiology, pathologies, and physical and mental afflictions.  Each Orisha internal performs a function in nature.  By deciphering their relationships, we may arrive at an understanding of the divine language, the will and intention they express, and the purpose of, or lesson in which the Creator has been trying to impress in us throughout our lives.

The Yoruba Philosophy of Disease

All disease, or negative energy, whether in the world, or in ourselves, is a message of the Orisha spirits bearing a gift.  To take a simple example, when our shoe doesn’t fit right we feel pain. That pain is simply a signal telling us to do something about our shoe.  It’s actually a beneficial message, signaling to us that some part of our body is hurting and that a change needs to be made.  That’s what pain is: Pain is pressure to change in some way.

All of life is continually changing in order to stay in accord with the cosmic and environmental forces. Otherwise, life and its environment would soon grow into chaos. Pain is the mechanism causing this continual adjustment so they fit together.  This is the Law of Duality set in motion throughout the Universe by The Self Existent Being.

Whenever pain or disease gets great enough, the Orisha internals turn our attention to it. That’s the general first step in dealing with our ailment, or negative energy — we turn our gaze upon it. Not with condemnation — that’s still not seeing it yet.  What allows us to see the pain clearly is a gaze of acceptance, a letting go of our resistance to experiencing it.

Second, we look at what our Orisha is trying to tell us.  Why is this pain, or disease here?  What is it signaling?  What is the gift it’s is trying to give me?  In the case of the tight shoe, for instance, the  pain is trying to tell us that something needs to be done.  Once we get the message, we act on it as best we can.  Maybe we go home and change shoes if we can.  If we can’t, maybe we learn about focusing in on pain with compassion.

Third, we redirect our attention back to a positive focus, incorporating the lesson of the disease.  We might make a mental note to be more careful about the size when we buy new shoes; in this way our life tends towards greater harmony.  If that message gets through, we’re more likely to have well-fitting shoes for the rest of our life.

Our heaven-sent angels will send us a gift in different things in different situations.  To one cancer patient, it might come as a call to a new type of diet and lifestyle; to another it might come as a message to let go of lifelong bitterness and heal old wounds, but our Orisha internals will make the message known if we earnestly look for it.

There are lots of ways to do this.  We might consult our inner intuitive guidance, the message of the heart.  Or we might seek advice from a Yoruba priest, or herbalist.  We can also chant a prayer to the spiritual forces to deliver the message.  We can pay attention to our dreams, which contain rich and symbolic messages normally blocked from our waking mind.

Orisha Diagnosis and Treatment Theory

One can be impressed by a definite feeling, or manifestation by the Orisha internals.  Each Orisha portrays a definite sequence of emotions, signs, and symptoms which can be felt in the body.  The Orisha internals are vibratory forces which can convey the attributes of the Orishas, as a poet does by words in evoking certain emotions and feelings in the body.  In this way, the Orisha reveal the impact of distress upon the whole person.

Various things can cause disruption of the Orisha intervals.  The primary causes are:

1. Wrong Diet
2. Negative Thoughts
3. Congestion, or blocked Chi (life force)
4. Lack of essential elements in the body. (You cannot successfully correct this cause until your diet has changed.)

The Yoruba healer when making an Orisha diagnosis, observes the patient and perceive “signs” and “symptoms” to determine the nature of the mis-alignment at hand.  He senses all impressions to make a diagnosis.

While it may be quite easy for a Yoruba priest to diagnose an individual based on the dominant Orisha imbalance in the body during a disease state and whether the symptoms characteristic to one or more Orisha internals are involved, it is by no means so easy for a novice to determine the particular Orisha herbals directives which will polarize, neutralize, or ameliorate physical symptoms.  For, as we have discussed in the previous article, there are extreme poles of any particular Orisha, attribute, vibration, or perhaps more than one involved in a mis-alignment.

One way of applying Orisha diagnosis has been simply to equate pathology with Orisha energy modes — “signs” and “symptoms” alone are then the basis of diagnosing a disease pattern.  Within this reasoning, the Orisha channels in which you have the most symptoms becomes synonymous with the Orisha out of balance.  For example, if your “signs” are Disturbances of Digestion, and your “symptoms” are Indigestion and Heartburn, all these problems are associated with Oshun-Orisha. So, you are considered to have a mis-alignment of Oshun.  You would then look under the “Orisha Therapy Chart” for the particular treatment of that Orisha mode.

Sometimes symptoms often appear not only in one Orisha mode, but in two or more, those in conflict with the dominant Orisha which is giving us trouble.  In this case, if you show symptoms in more than one Orisha mode, one should treat those Orishas as well.  Using the above example, if in addition to having “symptoms” of indigestion and heart burn, you also have “symptoms” of constipation (Shango-Orisha), you will teat both Orisha modes at once.

Harmony is restored when the appropriate therapeutic measures of tonifying, or purging, dispersing, or consolidating are applied to each conflict and correct inequities between the Orishas.

Reference: Yorubic Medicine -The Art Of Divine Herbology,Tariq Sawandi, M.H.

ORISHA CHARTS AND SELF-ASSESSMENT

Below is an Orisha Diagnostic Self-Assessment Chart which is designed to help you identify which Orisha internals are out of phase within you.  Read each Orisha column under “Signs” and “Symptoms”. If one or more Orisha columns strongly typifies you, make a note of them.  When you are finished and have determined the particular Orishas which fit your “signs” and “symptoms”, then go to the ORISHA THERAPY CHART and match the appropriate herbs and tonics under the Orisha diagnosis.  Do the Orisha diagnosis chart before you look at the therapy section so that you are not biased in your evaluation.

The charts are a starting point from which to acquire the means to preserve, or recover health.  It can also guide you in the use of therapies such as medicinal herb formulas and tonics which you will find throughout this web-site.

Self-treatment with Orisha Diagnostic charts is not intended as a substitute for qualified professional medical care.  This is especially true when attempting to treat serious life threatening diseases.  For information, contact your local health or natural foods store or write Tariq Sawandi, Master Herbalist at P.O. Box 3466, Bldg. 3B04-210, D47495, Corcoran, CA 93212.

HONEY – Nature’s Perfect Food

TARIQ SAWANDI, M.H.

The basic cause of disease is a lack of wholeness, which can also be described as lack of integration.  Another way of looking at it would be to identify separation of the human body as the cause of disease.  The various parts of our being are separated and hence we have the aim of bringing everything together in healing.  We could look at the cause of disease at the physical level and see that the body’s biochemistry is out of balance because of our various desires for the wrong foods and the lack of different nutrients, minerals and vitamins which are needed to sustain life.  It is important to follow the laws of health in terms of rest, exercise, the right foods, and healthy thoughts.  Hence the African holistic approach to medicine covers all these aspects and attempts to produce wholeness.

The basic tenet on which African holistic therapy rests is the promotion of vitality of the human body. The energy body (called the Sahu by the ancient Egyptians), or bio-plasmic body has three main functions: to receive energy from the sun; to assimilate and circulate it to all part of the body; and to act as the template or blueprint for all physical growth.  It also acts as the mediator, like the bridge between our higher states of consciousness and the physical brain and nervous system. Therefore, it’s extremely important that the Sahu body is maintained and augmented throughout life if we are to receive the right signals, or channels via our brain and nervous system.

All of the natural therapies, whether we are using acupuncture, herbal medicine, naturopathy, homeopathy, or certain vitamins and minerals, help to restore balance within the energy body.

Where does the honey come in?  Honey fills in any gaps that might occur in our daily food intake.  The ancient Africans of West Africa ate it daily for that reason.  West African healers had a great respect for the nutritional wisdom of the bee, which goes into the fields and selects the materials for the making of a perfect food. Honey carries within it the healing power of the divinity “Oshun”. She symbolizes clarity and flowing motion; she has power to heal with cool water; she is also the divinity of fertility and feminine essence. Women appeal to her for child-bearing and for the alleviation of female disorders; she is fond of babies and is sought if a baby becomes ill. She is known for her love of honey.

People who know the food value of honey are more likely to eat it regularly than those whose knowledge of it is vague.  A healer who familiarizes himself with what honey can accomplish in the human body is very apt to prescribe it when rearranging a patient’s daily food regimen.

It is no mere theory but has been proven that bacteria cannot live in the presence of honey because honey is an excellent source of potassium.  The potassium withdraws from the bacteria the moisture which is essential to their very existence.

For ages, honey made by the bees from flower nectars was the one food of pure sweetness available to humans.  In recent years, there have been many substitutes for honey, in the form of manufactured sugars, intended to replace honey on our tables.  Honey still remains the one sweet however, offering life-giving qualities not found in any other.

In light of the fact that the body has mineral requirements which must be met to establish and maintain good health, let us examine the mineral content of honey.  It is important because most of us have only just begun to realize that the diet of the average African-American is distinctly lacking in needed minerals.  We habitually eat too many foodstuffs (sweets, cakes, white sugars, white flour, salt, coffee, etc.) that have been robbed of their natural mineral content through processing and are therefore devitalized when we get them.  For this reason, we need to know what mineral shortages there are in the average daily food diet and how minerals can be restored.

Iron, copper, manganese, silica, chlorine, calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, aluminum, and magnesium are all present in honey.  They are all derived from the soil in which plants grow, and are passed through the plant to the nectar which is the base substance used by bees to make honey.  Therefore, honey will vary in mineral content according to the mineral resources in the soil where its evolution starts.

Years ago, Western nutritionists discounted the minerals in honey, on the assumption that their quantity was too small to make them important.  Now it is known, however, that numerous minerals are needed by the human body in very small amounts to keep the body in mineral balance.  Honey contains minerals, in about the right quantity, to serve the needs of the normal individual.

As we all know, melanin is the brown or black substance which is naturally found in the skin of humans and is also contained in the soil and earth.  Melanin gives life to the plants that grow in the soil and is a life giver to humans as well.  Melanin can bind and release most elements and minerals including calcium, iron, sodium and zinc, which are essential for body metabolism.  The essential minerals such as copper, iron and manganese seem to be in larger quantity in dark honeys than in light.  From a nutritional standpoint, iron is important because of its relation to the coloring matter of the blood, or oxidized hemoglobin, which is red.  We build hemoglobin out of our food, and it has a certain ability to carry oxygen to our body tissues. Were it not for its iron content, hemoglobin would not have this property of holding oxygen.

Copper seems to unlock the therapeutic powers of iron, in restoring the hemoglobin content of the blood in patients afflicted with anemia.  In other words, copper promotes the action of iron.

The mineral manganese is also a valuable supplement to the diet.  It functions more or less interchangeably with copper, or as a supplement to it, aiding the formation of hemoglobin in the blood.  There is also evidence that manganese has a very specific function of its own in nutrition.  Herbalists have used it for its ability to strengthen the kidneys, liver, spleen, pancreas, brain, heart, and lymph.

What is the vitamin content of honey?  Being a perfect food of nature, it may be expected by definition to contain vitamins.  The pollen of many flowers has a higher vitamin C content than almost any fruit or vegetable.  Honey contains pollen.  Obviously, honeys with the largest amount of pollen will have more vitamin C then others.

One of the most important facts established is somewhat surprising, namely that honey is an excellent medium for vitamins.  This is not equally true of vegetables and fruits.  For example, spinach will lose 50% of its vitamin C content within 24 hours after being picked.  Fruits lose their vitamin content to a degree during storage.  Like most foods high in sugar, honey is low in thiamine but fairly well supplied with riboflavin and nicotinic acid.  Nevertheless, honey contains all of the vitamins which nutritionists consider necessary to health.

Honey is a welcome variation and delicious addition to the diet, and it is a builder food, packed with the things the body needs to build and rebuild itself.  It gives a quick energy release, which makes it appealing as a breakfast complement as it quickly supplies the energy needed to start the day right.  Some of the advantages of honey over other sugars are:

1. It is non-irritating to the lining of the digestive tract.

2. It is easily and rapidly assimilated.

3. It quickly furnishes the demand for energy.

4. It enables athletes and others who expand energy heavily to recuperate rapidly from exertion.

5. It is, of all sugars, handled best by the kidneys.

6. It has a natural and gentle laxative effect.

7. It has sedative value, quieting the body.

8. It is easily obtainable.

9. It is inexpensive.

Yet for me the crowning glory of honey is its medicinal value.  Being an herbalist, I would naturally be interested in a substance, which experience, study and experimentation has convinced me, is a help in living this life literally, from the cradle to the grave.  As a medicinal, honey is good for:

1.  Calming down the nervous system.

2.  Producing sleep at night.

3.  Relieves annoying coughs.

4.  Has a laxative action which is effective, yet mild.

5.  Relieves pain in arthritis.

6.  It is antiseptic.

7.  Cures bed-wetting in children.

8.  Controls muscle cramps.

9.  Relieves burns.

10. Relieves stuffy nose.

11. Treats hay fever.

12. Relieves nasal sinusitis.

Very interesting medicinal results are obtained by honey.  Because of the lack of space, I will not go into honey’s many applications here, but will cover its healing use in future articles.

I have assembled here some examples of conditions which I have found to be benefited by treatment with honey.

Honey and Bed-Wetting

It may surprise some that African holistic medicine finds in honey a most efficient remedy for prevention of bed-wetting in children. When it continues after three years of age, bed-wetting at night becomes a problem.  Yet it is one of the most common conditions met with in children and is disturbing both to child and family.

For a very long time Western doctors, when asked what could be done to prevent bed-wetting at night, have replied  that time would take care of it, the child would outgrow it.  This indicated that no definite remedy was commonly known.

Symptoms of a habit of bed-wetting are clear-cut.  In the majority of cases there is a common characteristic of frequent passing of urine during the day.  As a rule these children are highly sensitive to stimuli such as excitement.  The majority of children are able to control their bladder during the day.  Bed-wetting generally occurs every night, usually once or twice a night.

In carrying out an active form of treatment, we seek a therapeutic agent which combines a marked ability to attract water and hold it, with a sedative effect upon the child’s body.  This treatment agent must be suitable for a long-range treatment program, and must be harmless to the child.  It must be adaptable for continual daily use, or for use when needed only at certain times. Most important of all, it must be acceptable to the child.  African holistic medicine finds these requirement are met in honey.

Supposing your child has the habit of bed-wetting at night, what would African holistic medicine have you do?

At bedtime give the child a teaspoonful of honey.  It will act in two ways.  First, it will act as a sedative to the nervous system.  Second, as has been said, it will attract and hold fluid during the hours of sleeping. In attracting and holding the fluid, it spares the kidneys.

As you continue using honey for this purpose you will learn when to use it.  You will recognize conditions that are conducive to the child’s pattern.  For example, attendance by the child at a children’s party, with the accompanying excitement and liquid refreshments, will suggest the wisdom of a teaspoonful of honey at bedtime.  Also, any increase in liquid intake, especially after five o’clock in the afternoon, will lend you to anticipate that an accident may occur during the night if nerves and kidneys are not protected.

When you have learned to control the situation with the honey at bedtime, begin to experiment by omitting it, to learn if it is possible to establish normal night bladder control.  You will soon learn the signs of the safe and unsafe nights.  Use your African wisdom..

To Control muscle cramps, Use Honey

Cramps in the body muscles, which may appear from time to time, occur mostly in the legs and feet during the night.  This muscle cramping can generally be controlled by taking two teaspoonfuls of honey at each meal.  Generally it will disappear within a week and the honey should be continued indefinitely, for it is a way to prevent return of the difficulty.

Honey for Burns

In African medicine, honey has long been used as a very successful treatment for skin burns.  When applied, it relieves the painful smarting and prevents formation of blisters.  It produces rapid healing of the burned area.

© 2000 Tariq M. Sawandi. All rights reserved.

Tariq Sawandi is a Master herbalist, nutritionist, and consultant on holistic health.  Dr. Sawandi is renown for his in-depth knowledge of African holistic medicine, including Chinese and Japanese medicine, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, and North American Indian herbology.  He is also the pioneer of a new holistic health treatment called, “Herbal-neuro-immunology” which is used to treat infectious diseases such as the AIDS.  He also writes for the “Black Healer” newsletter, and is the author a of new book titled, “African Medicine: A Guide to Yoruba Divination and Herbal Medicine” (in press).  Dr. Sawandi welcomes your questions.  He can be reached at P.O. Box 3466, Bldg. 3B04-210, #D47495, Corcoran, CA 93212-3466.

From the Editor/Blackherbals.com

Note:  An excerpt from Consumer Beware: Your Food and What’s Been Done To It, by Beatrice Trum Hunter, Simon & Schuster.

“Honey is relatively unadulterated. Bees are highly sensitive to pesticides. Exposed to sprays, they usually die before returning to the hive.  Hence honey is one of the few foodstuffs low in pesticidal contamination.  Honey is also free of artificial flavors or colors.  It supersweetness, and possibly the presence of an enzyme (inhibine), prevents honey from molding.  Preservatives are unnecessary, and are not added.

The consumer has not been educated to accept the slight cloudiness and crystallized appearance of raw, unfiltered honey as a mark of quality. In a product that is clear, brilliant and easy-flowing, the fine flavor may be lost.

The conscientious beekeeper can remove the honey from the comb with mild heat, not exceeding 120 degrees F., and still retain nutrients in the product.  But even with heat as low as 150 degrees F., and by filtering out the “impurities,” analysis shows losses:

Percentage of Loss

thiamin                                27-30

riboflavin                             22-45

pantothenic acid                    8-22

niacin                                  15-27

ascorbic acid                         9-20

In addition, filtration removes valuable vitamin F and the Wulzen factor. Excessive heat makes ferments lose their character and destroys colloids and esters present in raw honey. Look for the label that reads “unheated,” or “no heat used,” or “raw and unfiltered.”  A crystallized state of honey should indicate quality, but unfortunately this appearance does not guarantee that the product has not been subjected to excessive heat.”

Yorubic Medicine: The Art of Divine Herbology

Tariq Sawandi

Yorubic medicine is indigenous to and widely practiced on the African continent. Yorubic medicine has its roots in the Ifa Corpus, a religious text revealed by the mystic prophet, Orunmila, over 4,000 years ago in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, now known as Yorubaland. Within the last 400 years, this healing system has also been practiced in the day-to-day lives of individuals in the Caribbean, and South America, in large part, because of the traditions brought over by African slaves arriving in the Americas.

Orunmila’s teachings were directed at the Yoruba people which centered around the topics of divination, prayer, dance, symbolic gestures, personal and communal elevation, spiritual baths, meditation, and herbal medicine. This ancient text, the Ifa Corpus, is the foundation for the art of divine herbology. Although Yorubic medicine has been practiced in Africa for over 4,000 years, its fundamental principles are little known to Westerners around the world. Among the various medical techniques for diagnosis and treatment, Yorubic medicine provides an important and valuable system worthy of study. The purpose of Yoruba is not merely to counteract the negative forces of disease in the human body, but also to achieve spiritual enlightenment and elevation which are the means of freeing the soul.

As with all ancient systems of medicine, the ideal of Yoruba herbology is to condition the body in its entirety so that disease will not attack it. (The term Osain is also used to describe Yorubic herbology. The word “Osain” means “the divine Orisha of plants”. I will also use this term throughout the essay.) Many Westerners take it for granted that “African medicine” is a vague term for a collection of medical “voo doo”. This myth about African medicine crept in over centuries of misunderstandings. What is left is the negative image of primitive “voo doo” witch-doctors. This “voo doo” mentality is devoid of the sacred realities born of African thought in respect to religion, philosophy, and medicine. Therefore, the reader must separate witch-doctor myths from the genuine article when considering African herbal medicine.

In order to understand the system of Yoruba medicine, it is important to have some knowledge of the historical conditions that gave birth to this African art of healing. Many factors and dynamics were involved which influenced the beginnings and the development of this indigenous medicine.

The Yoruba history begins with the migration of an East African population across the trans-African route leading from the mid-Nile river area to the mid-Niger.¹ Archaeologists, according to M. Omoleya, inform us that the Nigerian region was inhabited more than forty thousand years ago, or as far back as 65,000 B.C.² During this period, the Nok culture occupied the region. The Nok culture was visited. by the “Yoruba people”, between 2000 and 500 B.C. This group of people were led, according to Yoruba historical accounts, by King Oduduwa, who settled peacefully in the already established Ile-Ife, the sacred city of the indigenous Nok people. This time period is known as the Bronze Age, a time of high civilization of both of these groups.

According to Olumide J. Lucue, “the Yoruba, during antiquity, lived in ancient Egypt before migrating to the Atlantic coast.” He uses as demonstration the similarity of identity of languages, religious beliefs, customs, and names of persons, places and things.³ In addition, many ancient papyri discovered by archaeologists hint at an Egyptian origin.

Like almost everything else in the cultural life of Egypt, the development of science and medicine began with the priests, and dripped with evidences of its magical origins. Among the people, amulets and charms were more popular than pills as preventive or curatives of disease. Disease was considered to them as possession by evil devils, and was to be treated with incantations along with the roots of certain plants and mystical concoctions. A cold for instance, could be exorcised by such magic words as: “Depart, cold, son of a cold, thou who breakest the bones, destroyest the skull, makest ill the seven openings of the head!…Go out on the floor, stink, stink, stink!” In many ways, this provided an effective cure, known today by various contemporary medicine as psychosomatic. Along side the incantations that were used, the sick patient was given a foul tasting concoction to help ward off the demon housed in the body.

The Egyptian principles of magic and medicine

There was a tendency of Egyptian physician and priest to associate magic with medicine. From such origins, there rose in Egypt great physicians, surgeons, and specialists, who acknowledged an ethical code that passed down into the famous Hippocratic oath. The Greeks derived much of their medical knowledge from Egyptian physicians around 750 B.C. The influence of Egyptian medicine was so great on European culture that even to this day Egyptian concepts still have its signature in modern Western medicine. For example, when a medical Doctor writes a prescription he uses the Egyptian symbol for health Jupiter) with the symbol for retrograde= Rx This means, “I curse your health in retrograde” = death.

During the reign of King Menes, there developed a body of knowledge which centered around magic, medicine, philosophy and religion which is known as the Memphite Theology. Egyptian priest physicians saw the ideal of medicine as a magical principle: “that the qualities of animals or things are distributed throughout all their parts”. Consequently, within the universe contact is established between objects through emanations (radiation), the result might be sensation or cognition, healing or contagion.⁴

There is no doubt the Memphite Theology played a major role in evolving Egyptian medical theory. To them, magic and healing was “applied religion”. The Memphite Theology is an inscription on a stone, now kept in the British Museum. It contains theological, cosmological, and philosophical views of the Egyptians. It is dated 700 B.C. and bear the name of an Egyptian Pharaoh who stated that he had copied an inscription of his ancestors.

According to the Memphite Doctrine, “The primate God Ptah, conceived in his heart, everything that exist and by his utterance created them all. He first emerged from the primeval waters of Idun in the form of a primeval Hill. Closely following the Hill, the God (Atum) also emerged from the waters and set upon Ptah…out of the primeval chaos contained 10 principles: 4 pairs of opposite principles, together with two other gods: Ptah, Mind, Thought, and Creative utterance. While Atum joins himself to Ptah and acts as Demiurge and executes the work of creation.

1. Water is the source of all things
2. creation was accomplished by the unity of two creative principles: Ptah and Alum, the unity of Mind (Nous) with Logos (creative utterance).
3. Atum was Sun-God or fire-God
4. Opposite Principles control the life of the universe.
5. the elements in creation were fire (Atum), water (Nun), Earth (Ptah) and Air.

The gods whom Atum projected from his body were:

1. Shu (Air)
2. Tefnut (moisture)
3. Geb (earth)
4. Nut (sky)

Who are said to have given birth to four other Gods:

1. Osiris
2. Isis
3. Seth (opposite of good)
4. Nephthys (unseen world)

The Egyptian concept of cosmology, like the Chinese doctrine of Yin and Yang, and the East Indian system of Tridosha (Pitta, Vata, and Kapha), offered a comprehensive explanation of the natural forces of the universe. There were other ideals which the Egyptians developed such as the Doctrine of the Soul. They believed that the soul and body were not two distinct things, but one in two different aspects, just as form related to matter. The soul is the power which a living body possesses, and it is the end for which the body exist, the final cause of its existence. By the time the Third Dynasty arrived during the reign of King Zoser, Imhotep, the great African physician had expanded on much of the earlier theories of medicine. Imhotep is regarded as the “real Father of Medicine”. He diagnosed and treated more than two hundred diseases. Imhotep and his students knew how to detect diseases by the shape, color, or position of the visual parts of the body; they also practiced surgery, and extraction of medicine from plants. Imhotep also knew of the circulation of the blood, four thousand years before it was known in Europe. His sayings and proverbs, which embodied his philosophy of life, were handed down from generation to generation. He is best known for his saying, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall die.”

Imhotep also promoted health by public sanitation, by circumcision of males, and by teaching the people the frequent ipse of the enema. Diodorus Siculus, the historian tells us: “In order to prevent sicknesses they look after the health of their body by means of drenches, fastings and emetics, sometimes everyday, and sometimes at intervals of three or four days. For they say that the larger part of the food taken into the body is superfluous, and that it is from this superfluous part that diseases are engendered.”

The habit of taking enemas was learned by the Egyptians from observing the “ibis”, a bird. that counteracts the constipating character of its food by using its long bill as a rectal syringe. Herodotus, the Jewish historian reports that the Egyptians, “purge themselves every month, three days successively, seeking to preserve health by emetics and enemas; for they suppose that all diseases to which men are subject proceed from the food they use.”

We can see that the Egyptians recognized the connection between food (disease) and the cause of certain pathological diseases. In Africentric science, all life (i.e. elements) is created by harmony and recreates harmony. A disease is viewed as harmonizing healing crisis of the body. When a person gets overloaded with waste, toxins from constipating junk foods, drugs, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, sodas, fried foods, bleach white flour, enriched flour, white rice, dairy products, cooked pig and blood in meat, salt, white sugar, incorrect food combinations (i.e. protein and carbohydrates=meat and bread or potatoes) the body reacts with a healing crisis (cleansing reaction). This cleansing is called a disease by Western medicine. Actually, the disease is the “food itself”. Western medicine tries to cure the body from curing (cleansing) itself with a cure (drugs) and/or surgical mutilations. Oddly enough, Western doctors blame the cleansing reaction.

The concept of universal harmony is characteristic to African thought. Africans believe there is a harmony in the universe – the circling of the planets, the tides of the earth, the growth of vegetation, the lives of animals and people all are related. All that is in the universe emanated from the same source, one universal Mind.

The ancient Egyptian priest looked out at the universe, and noted the ratios of the different planetary cycles, and counted the rhythmic periods in nature. They also calculated the ratios of the human body. They put together a “sacred” geometry which were a set of mathematical ratios and proportions. They believed that these ratios, if used in the sound of music and the architecture of buildings (pyramids), would resonate with the life forces of the universe and thus enhance life. The ancient physician/priests of the Nile Valley were said to have been instructed in temples which were called “Per Ankh”. In today’s language they would be called the “House of Life”.

Of the thousands of medical papyri originally written, less then a dozen have been discovered, and of that number, the Ebers Papyrus and the Edwin Smith Papyrus are deemed the most profound. The Edwin Smith Papyrus was published in 1930 by James Henry Breasted, who had spent ten years translating the document. This papyrus describes 48 different injuries to the head, face, neck, thorax and spinal column and the appropriate surgical methods for attending to them. It is suspected that the Eighteenth Dynasty scribe who was responsible for copying the original text only wrote the first 48 cases dealing with the upper third of the body. There are more than 90 anatomical terms referenced in the Edwin Smith Papyrus, and there are more than 200 terms listed in various Nile Valley medical literature.

This papyrus is also of great importance because of its use of the word “brain” and references to the neurological relationship between the brain (spinal cord and nervous system) and the body. The Ebers Papyrus (ca. 1500 B.C.) explores a broad range of medical science and includes chapters on the pulse and cardio-vascular system, dermatology, gynecology, ophthalmology, obstetrics, tumors, burns, fractures, intestinal disorders and much more. There is also considerable evidence that physicians in Egypt (also Kemet) practiced circumcision, brain surgery and were extremely well versed in gynecology and obstetrics. By 2000 B.C. physicians in Egypt had already created an effective organic chemical contraceptive. This formula consisted of acacia spikes, honey and dates, which were mixed in a specific ratio and inserted into the vagina. Modern science has since discovered that acacia spikes contain lactic acid, which is a natural chemical spermicide.

Pregnancy and fetal sex tests were conducted by Egyptian herbalist who soaked bags of wheat and barley in a sample of a woman’s urine. Urine from a pregnant woman was known to accelerate the growth of certain plants; if the barley sprouted, it meant that the woman was pregnant and was going to give birth to a female child, and if the wheat sprouted it meant that she would give birth to a male child. The urine pregnancy test was not rediscovered by modern science until 1926 and the wheat/barley sex determination test was not developed until 1933.

In 1987, the National Academy of Sciences published a report by the National Academy of Engineers entitled “Lasers: Invention to Application”. In a chapter titled “Lasers in Medicine”, the author, Rodney Perkins, M.D., suggests that a form of laser therapy was actually used in Egypt. Dr. Perkins states that: “The use of the laser in medicine and surgery has a relatively short pedigree of less than two decades. Although the range of laser radiation extends both below and above the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, that radiation is, in a sense, only a special form of light. The use of other forms of light in medicine has a longer history. There is documentation that the ancient Egyptians recognized and used the therapeutic power of light as long as 6,000 years ago. Patches of depigmented skin, now referred to as vitiligo, were cosmetically undesirable. Egyptian healers reportedly crushed a plant similar to present day parsley and rubbed the affected areas with the crushed leaves. Exposure to the sun’s radiation produced a severe form of sunburn only in the treated areas. The erythema subsided, leaving hyperpigmentation in the previously depigmented areas.”⁵

When looking at Nile Valley Egypt and its contributions to natural and herbal medicine, it must be understood that we are not just talking about Egypt alone. We must consider the whole continent which extends over 4,000 miles into the geography of Africa. Many tribes and African nations contributed their share of herbal and medical wisdom. This would include the Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mali, Libya, and dozens of other African nations. The Nile Valley, however, became something of a cultural highway which made it a great historical stopping place for wisdom and knowledge.

Out of Africa came the world’s first organized system of herbal and medical science. This knowledge was so profound, much of it passed from the Egyptians to the Phoenicians, the Yorubas, to India, Syria, Babylon, the Middle East, to the Greeks, the Romans and from the Romans to Western Europe. The three major herbal systems, Ayurveda, Chinese Traditional Medicine, and Western herbology were extracted from the knowledge created by the priests and wise men in the Nile Valley. When this gigantic work is completed, I believe the evidence will reveal information that will amaze humanity.

Early in its history and its development, Nile Valley civilization created a basic way of life that attracted teachers, and priests from other parts of Africa, always enriching the original composite  of the Nile Valley. By the time the Yoruba people made their journey to the Nile Valley, led by the mystic prophet Orunmila, Egyptian priests had accumulated centuries of herbal and medical knowledge. The Yorubas drew from this treasure chest of wisdom, and incorporated it into their own religious and cultural customs. The key point, in respect to the evolution of Yoruba medicine, is that Egyptian knowledge, coupled with the earlier Nok people, produced the outcome of Yoruba herbal practices.

From a conceptual standpoint, Osain herbalism is a religion, a philosophy, and a science. Born from this concept is the idea that oneness with the Creative Essence brings about a wholeness in the human essence. Seekers, or aspirants of the system of Osain, or Yoruba, seek to bring themselves into alignment (balanced health) with his spiritual being (immortal reality) and his relationship with the Divine Cause. This is achieved through herbs, spiritual baths, right living, diet, rituals and self-development which are meant to maintain a healthy and happy life. Thus, Osain is a divine journey to the inner self which encompasses all aspects of life.

As envisioned by the ancient prophet, Orunmila, of Yoruba, the Ifa Corpus (Cosmic Intelligence) is the text of Osain herbalism. Orunmila saw that dual levels of potentiality existed in the human body. Through him, we understand that the study of animate and inanimate, manifest and unmanifest, visible and invisible worlds leads to fundamental understandings of the processes of growth and life cycles of trees and plants, the lives of insects, animals, and. human nature. Through the guidance of Orunmila, the principles of Yoruba Cosmology evolved: “The Self-Existent Being (Oludumare), or the One Source, who is believed to be responsible for creation and maintenance of heaven and earth, of man and women, and who also brought into being divinities and spirits (Orisha) who are believed to be his functionaries and intermediaries between mankind and the Self-Existent Being (Oludumare)”.⁶

It was through the Ashe (Nature) that matter and forces of creation evolved from. This was created by Oludumare for a divine purpose. The union of the Orisha (angelic forces) and Aba, (human development) gave birth to the dual potentiality of the human spirit. It is the goal of man to align his earthly consciousness with Ori (the physical and spiritual head) in order to connect with his divinity.

The Orisha, which are the angelic forces of Yoruba context: Elegba, Obatala, Oshun, Ogun, Yemoja, Shango, Oya, and others too numerous to mention. In the herbal context, each require special herbs and foods to bring out the life force energy that bring about their qualities. This “bringing about” is a dual endeavor as the herbalist need follow certain guidelines and practices to efficaciously heal or correct imbalance of physical health.

“Orisha” as a term, is actually the combination of two Yoruba words (I discovered that the root word is from the Egyptian god Osiris who had other qualities, “Osh”, meaning many, and “iri”, meaning to do or many eyed. Osiris came to mean Omniscient). “Ori” which is the reflective spark of human consciousness embedded in human essence, and “sha” which is the ultimate potentiality of that consciousness to enter into or assimilate itself into the divine consciousness.⁷ From this idea, we can see that given the right encouragement of the human consciousness, man can heal himself along with the use of herbs and foods as special inducements. From this standpoint, the Orisha assist in the development of (iwa-pele) or balanced character. This is the premise of true Yoruba medicine. The connection between one’s consciousness (Ori) and one’s behavior (iwa-pele) is clearly seen as a way of maintaining a correct attitude towards nutrition and lifestyles in order to ward off sickness (negative spirits) and disease.

Disease according to the theory of the Ifa Corpus, is caused by oppressive forces known as “ajogun”. The Orisha are spirits of heaven-sent, to continually wrestle with the human nature in order to uplift it — to purify it. The “ajogun” are the “demonic” beings. They are all earthly and heavenly forces whose destructive intent is to off-set the human body. It is the job of the Oloogun (medicine healer) to help the patient overcome the opposing forces that disrupt their health.

When understanding the African’s use of demonic and spiritual agencies in medicine, it is important to understand that this concept is used merely as a cosmic-tool to explain physical phenomena in nature which is unique to African thought. When the Europeans came into Africa and saw the African dancing in a frenzy with their bodies covered in ashe, they did not understand or comprehend, so they labeled it primitive, savage and backward. They hadn’t made the connection between the Creator, spirits and their manifestation in nature as the African had done. The Western mentality couldn’t understand because of their materialistic way of seeing.

Because the Osain system have many Orisha which serve different purposes, we will only focus on Erinle-Orisha, the Orisha of medicine. The seven major Orisha are examined in table one. (The Yoruba’s were obviously inspired with the seven Orishas by the ancient Egyptian’s concept of the seven openings in the head.)

Table 1: The Seven Major Orisha

In the body, the Erinle-Orisha can be understood in terms of metabolic energy which activates, or stimulates the other Orisha. Each Orisha is characterized by certain attributes and is in charge of specific organ functions. Each has its dual force of ajogun (demonic force) and Orisha (positive force). The Orishas also have special places or main locations in the body where they can accumulate, or cause havoc and disease. Therefore, it is important to use the corresponding herbal treatment to correct the derangement.

Table 2: Physical Correspondences

EWE (Herbs)

The use of herbs and plants, called ewe in Yoruba, is of great importance. Herbs are picked for medicinal, and the spiritual powers they possess. In Yorubaland, herbs are gathered by the Oloogun, or by the various types of herbalists who inhabit the regions where Osain is practiced. The population can usually obtain herbs either by private practice or from the marketplace in town. In the Americas and the Caribbeans, Osain based practitioners are also directed to use herbs as medicine. Here the Oloogun or priests, as well as devotees alike gather herbs for medicine, baths, and religious artifacts. Because of the wide-spread practice of Osain in the New World, Nigerians and people from other African countries have begun to set up herbal businesses in increasing numbers. More and more indigenous herbs are now being made accessible to devotees here in the Americas. It is said that ewe (herbs) are for the “healing of Nations” and many health food stores provide them in powder, leaf, and capsule form. Adherents to the traditional practices of Osain are usually advised to use herbs as medicine before going to Western allopathic drugs for healing. There are many books written on the subject of herbology. Therefore, researching the possibilities of herbal use is recommended. Table 3 below shows herbal directives. They provide examples of the ewe based on the presiding Orisha correspondence. It is best that novices seek out divination before attempting to get and prepare herbal formulas. It is also advisable to rely on priests and qualified herbalists to begin the healing process before getting involved with the properties and powers of herbs yourself.

Table 3: The Ewe and Presiding Orisha Correspondences

The following is a recommended way to prepare these herbs: The herbs can be used along or in combination with other herbs. Add the herbs to a pot of mildly boiling water (to prepare a decoction). Let the herbs steep for about thirty minutes before straining. The remaining herbal solution is then prepared as a tea. In some instances the herbal solutions are used in diluted form for enemas. Enemas are among one of the most effective treatments in cleaning out the colon which is the seat of many diseases. In Osain, sugar should never be added to herbal solutions. Honey may be used, however, along with some lemon.

Diagnosis and Treatment

As one can see, we have a useful system of categorization which applies to all levels of disease and treatment. To understand the application of Osain herbology, lets’s take as an example a person suffering from a bronchial-pulmonary condition including cough, and spitting of white mucus. The approach of Osain herbology would be to determine which of the Orishas are out of alignment. Osain would do this by taking into account the patient’s manifest symptoms along with locating the main areas in the body where the mis-alignment (disease) occurs. Our patient would be considered to have a mis-alignment in the “Oya” and “Obatala” Orishas. Oya Orisha predominates in the lungs, bronchial passages, and the mucous membranes. The Obatala Orisha is responsible for white fluids of the body which is located in the throat region of Orisha/Obatala (also known in Yaga as the 5th Chakra, see diagram 3). The condition can be corrected by prescribing the patient with Comfrey and Sage, as an herbal tea, or applied externally by a spiritual bath.

From this example, one can get an idea of the wholistic treatment approach of Osain Herbology. However, the emotional and spiritual causes of disease would be taken into account in order to appease the negative forces of ajogun to make the cure complete according to traditional Yoruba religious practices. This would include herbs, spiritual baths, symbolic sacrifice, song, dance, ani prayer, as well as a change of diet.

Some may argue that there is a fine line between “medicine” and “superstition” in the rituals of Yorubic healing arts. The art of medicine, as Yorubic practitioners understand it, involves practices by which human beings hoped to be able to understand and control the forces of the universe. Myth, legend, drama, ritual, dance, in addition to whatever it may be, are vehicles for carrying profound knowledge about the human experience. Every culture has its roots in esoteric concepts, philosophies, and religious practices. Constructively using spiritual archetypes allows man to energize and intensify life to a surprising degree. A careful study of history will show that Europeans developed from a background of taboos, and superstitions, as well as mythical beliefs. The Chinese thought Westerners barbarians and made no attempt to learn from them until recently.

The Yorubas believed that the Orishas of the celestial world were emanations of Oludumare (The One Source) who conceived the universe by a series of emanations, and in this way it is possible to reconcile the unity of God with multiplicity. The One Source was the First Cause or Creator, the necessary Being in whom essence and existence were one. It is through incantations, drums and dance, and special herbs that one can communicate to the human body by awakening the internal Orishas, and thus return to unity, spiritual light, and health.

Western medicine deals in the area of eliminating the symptoms that have manifested in the physical body, while Yorubic healing deals with the elimination of the root source of the problem. All illness is the result of imbalance of the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects in the body. The Yorubic healer who cures the person of the symptoms has to dissipate the negative energies. Unless he addresses the cause of the disease, the sickness will eventually come back.

The only complete healing for a ailment must include a change of “consciousness” (Ori) where the individual recognizes the root cause and does not wish, or feel compelled to violate its pain. So the Western doctor, by removing the discomfort through drugs, has temporarily taken away the motivation (iwa-pele) for their patient to look for the true healing. However, as the patient’s state of consciousness asserts itself, they will again violate the same natural law and eventually have another opportunity to receive motivation in the form of a new ailment to learn what they are doing wrong. Whenever we listen to our bodies, it moves to provide us with the training and the appropriate knowledge that we need to regain our balance.

The Integration of Yoruba medicine into Planetary Herbology

I have tried in this essay to accomplish the first part of a pleasant assignment which I rashly laid upon myself about two years ago: to integrate African medicine into the scheme of Planetary Herbology. It is no exaggeration to say that this work would not have been possible without the pioneering work of Dr. Michael Tierra. My goal was to add to the tremendous work Dr. Tierra laid out in integrating Eastern and Western philosophies and the principles of Chinese, Japanese, Ayurvedic, and North American Indian herbal medicine.

After close study of the herbal principles applied in African medicine, I noticed the fundamental unity and similarities within and between other herbal systems. Namely, Ayurvedic, North American Indian herbology, Western, and Chinese herbology. This was due partly because of the historical and cultural links of each of these systems. Yet, it is well to remember that the meeting of cultures have also triggered tremendous creative explosions in medicine and philosophy. East Indian medicine was born in a meeting of the Black Dalilia (the Black Untouchables) and Indo-Europeans. Chinese herbology adopted some of its principles with the meeting of Egypt. Japanese medicine was born in a meeting with Chinese culture, and Western herbology sprang from a meeting of the ancient Greek and Egyptian priests. These are only a few illustrations; much of what I find exciting and interesting.

Let us look at the correspondance between Western herbology and the Egyptian system. The Hypocritic humoural theory was taken from Egyptian Magical Principles (see diagram 1). The basis of this theory was the belief that the human body was made up of the four elements of which the whole material world was composed: fire, air, earth and water. It was also believed that each element possessed certain qualities: hot, dry, wet, and cold. These elements could be mixed in more ways than one, and the various mixtures gave rise to different temperaments and “humours”. The proper balance of elements preserved the health of the body, and a lack of balance led to illness which called for the doctor’s healing magic. The Yoruba priests adopted this same system with sleight modifications. In the Yorubic system, the four elements became: Shango (the fire element), Oya (the air element), Yemoja (the water element), and Elegba (the Ashe, or earth element).

Traditional Chinese Medicine places primary emphasis on the balance of qi, or vital energy. There are 12 major meridians, or pathways, for qi, and each is associated with a major vital organ or vital function. These meridians form an invisible network that carries qi to every tissue in the body. Under the Yoruba system, the major meridians are the 7 Orishas. The flow of vital energy is represented by Ogun, which is the divinity of clearing paths, specifically in respect to blockages, or interruption of the vital energy at various points in the body (see table 1). Upon close study, it becomes evident that the Orisha modes correspond very easily to the Chinese concept of qi. Also in Traditional Chinese medicine, the vital energy comprises two parts: Yin and Yang. They are considered opposites masculine and feminine, heavenly and earthly. The theoretical equivalent of Yin and Yang in Yoruba is represented by Oshun (the divinity of feminine essence), and Shango (the divinity of virility, and masculinity). It is interesting to note that just as Yin represents the quality of cool and Yang the quality of hot, Oshun represents the power to heal with cool water, and Shango is represented by fire (heat).

Physical and spiritual balance in Yorubic medicine is best described by the concept of “Aba”, or human development. Aba is a circle in the center which is aligned with the seven Orishas, each of which is represented by smaller circles of the opposite colors of black and white. The smaller circles represents the ever changing nature of Orisha (spirit) and ajogun (demon), and each Orisha demonstrate that each contains the potential to transform into its corresponding demon (or disease). (see diagram 4) It is the job of the African healer to bring the internal Orishas into alignment. This coincides with the Chinese belief that the universe is forever changing through Yin and Yang.

In the Yoruba system, the seven Orisha’s have many counterparts, or partners that bring about various qualities or spiritual forces. This reciprocal relationship, in turn, gives rise to the four elements, and other attributes which influence the physical world. (see diagram 5)

As in Western and Chinese herbology, the Yoruba system incorporates environmental and emotional states. Yoruba priests believe that the Orishas govern a law of human passions and desires which, if improperly indulged, or violated, will prevent a person from gaining spiritual benefit from the external acts of rituals. Demons, or negative spirits enters the body through the five senses, the imagination and the carnal appetites. The Chinese also recognize the “seven emotions” as causes to disease. The “seven emotions”, or “evil vices” approximates “the law of human passions and desires” in Yoruba medicine. For example, under the Yoruba system, someone suffering from guilt can bring on a multitude of evil spirits, or illnesses, The Elegba Orisha, is the primary negotiator between negative and positive forces in the body. The emotion of guilt can put Elegba into a negative disposition, which in turn, can effect the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Physically, the negative disposition can cause chronic digestion problems, and a weakening of the immune system.

• Shango Orisha represents the fire element and is hot and dry in nature. It is considered to be the Protector/Warrior, and possesses the ability to transform base substance into that which is pure and valuable. It is associated with the color red. It’s season is summer.
• Elegba Orisha represents the earth element and is dry and cold in nature. It is the Messenger of the Orisha, Holder of Ashe among the Orisha, and is associated with the colors red, black, and white,
• Yemoja Orisha represents the water element and it is cold and wet in nature. It is the Mother of Waters, and is associated with the color blue and crystal. It’s season is winter.
• Oya Orisha represents the wind, or air element and is hot and wet in nature. It is responsible for the winds of change, and is associated with the color reddish-brown. It’s season is spring.

The Oloogun (priest) may prescribe the patient various herbal combinations to be included in a spiritual bath to cleanse the person of negative influences which have impacted upon their aura essence. The spiritual bath is given along with prayers and incantations especially designed to help ward off the negative spirits. As in Tradition Chinese Medicine, the Yorubic priests help to cure physical symptoms by treating the emotional vice that lead to the ailment in the first place. Like other traditional medicines with a long history, Yorubic medicine focuses on the individual and what imbalances may be contributing to or causing illness or disease.

Now let’s look at Ayurveda in light of Yorubic herbal principles. I found that there were many comparisons between the two systems. As I mentioned earlier, racially and linguistically, the East Indians and Africans have a common origin, going back to the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Dravidians. Ayurveda developed in contemporary contact and mutual influence from these ancient societies. Note the startling resemblance between the linguistic terminology of Yoruba and Ayurveda, very often the same sounding words, meanings, and similar spellings. These similarities in names can hardly be coincidental:

Ayurveda holds that the body is governed by three basic biological principles, or doshas, that control the body’s functions. These doshas and the functions they govern are:

• vata — movement
• pitta — heat, metabolism
• kapha — physical structure

The Indians believe that each individual has a combination of doshas. Imbalance of these doshas is the cause of disease. A Vaidya (Ayurveda doctor) seeks to achieve health through the balancing of the three doshas. The Oloogun’s under the Osain system utilize a similar concept. They believe that the body is composed of seven Orishas which exist in focal points of the body. These Orishas are in harmony when in perfect alignment, and the result is balanced health. They believe that when a person is in spiritual alignment, demons cannot produce illness. At the very foundation, both systems draw from religious and philosophical view points, which brings a mind/body approach to medicine and life. Ultimately, the beliefs of Indians are similar to those of the Africans. Both are also rooted in the belief of supernatural forces for the minor ills of life. Oblations, charms, exorcisms, astrology, oracles, incantations, vows, divination, priests, fortune-tellers, and demonic spirits are a part of the historic picture of Africa and India. It should come as no surprise, then, that in Osain and Ayurveda, symptoms and diseases that could be viewed as mental thoughts, or feelings are just as important as symptoms and disease of the physical body.

In terms of therapeutic approaches, both systems have many comparisons. Ayurveda uses the Panchakarma for purification and removal of toxins in the body. Osain utilizes the spiritual bath for this same purpose. Ayurveda and Osain saw purification as a means of purging the body of possible infections and impurities, a practice which has proven to have a rational basis. It is recorded that the ancient Hindus used ritual purification in minor cases by such simple ceremonies as being sprinkled with holy water, and in major cases by more complicated methods, culminating in the Panchakarma. This purification consisted in drinking a substance called ghee, or clarified butter. A little more to the taste of Africans was the religious precept to use the spiritual bath; here again a hygienic and spiritual measure, highly desirable in Osain medicine, clothed in a religious form to expel the evil spirits that might have entered the body.

According to Osain herbology, medicinal herbs, spiritual baths, prayers, and meditation is the cornerstone of health. Many of the herbs users in Osain are specifically selected to effect a particular Orisha in the body, including the energies and therapeutic properties inherent in the nature of the herb. The herbal properties are absorbed into the human dimensions and assist in the dissipation of negative influences. The ewe (herbs) are also classified and used in order to enhance one’s Ashe. This is essential in Yoruba medicine in order to bring one’s nature back in contact with the inherent force of all creation. This “contact” with the inherent force involves a tri-lateral process which includes:

1. Nature (Ashe)
2. Angelic forces (Orisha) —————— ewe (herbs)
3. Humans (Physical forms)

By enhancing the ashe in the human form, the spiritual channels are increased in power in order to allow the internal Orishas to gain leverage over the oppressive negative forces which are upsetting the balance of the body. Now let us compare the Western system of classification with the herbal properties of the presiding Orisha correspondence:

• Obatala: Antispasmodic, stimulants, nervine, diaphoretic
• Elegba: All herbs (herbs used for harmonizing)
• Oshun: Alteratives, blood tonics, cholagogues, emmenagogues, antipyretics, expectorants, carminatives
• Yemoja: Perturient, tonics, diuretics, cholagogues
• Shango: emmenagogues, astringents
• Ogun: Rubefacients, antianemics, antihemorrhagics, nutritive tonics, cardiac tonics, diuretics
• Oya: Antituesives, demulcents, expectorants, antiphlegmatics. Bladder infections, prostate planets, impotence, wasting diseases.

The Planetary system of herbology also recognizes environmental energies at the core of its principles. Environmental energy is also categorized in herbs using the Osain system of herbology. Furthermore, herbs are categorized. according to numbers, colors, and directions.

Table 4: Color, Number, and Natural Environment

It is believed by Africans that where a plant grows also affects its spiritual powers (energy) to heal. For instance, the Oya Orisha is considered the Guardian of the Cemetery. Any plants that are found growing in cemeteries, are said to have the enhancing powers of Oya. More specifically, the Oloogun priest will search for cemetery plants growing in brownish-rusty areas which is believed that Oya Orisha hides its spiritual powers. The number nine is associated with the number of Orisha counterparts which also accompany Oya Orisha. Yemoja Orisha, the Mother of Waters, is said to contain her powers in Lakes, and oceans (salt water). Plants in these areas are used to help protect energies of the feminine force. Examples of some of the herbs used under this classification is kelp, aloe, and Squawvine which have traditionally been used to treat female imbalances in the amniotic fluids in the womb of pregnant women. The direction that a plant is picked in a particular area is also important under Yorubic medicine. The Orishas are said to concentrate their spiritual energies in particular directions just as the internal Orishas reside in different parts of the body. After comparing the Yoruba system of direction with the “four directions of herbs” classified in the North American Indian medicine wheel, I discovered striking similarities.

• Oshun, is represented by the color yellow. This Orisha indicates medicines which effect the circulatory system, digestive organs, and the elimination system. Its direction is East.
• Ogun, is represented by the color green. This Orisha indicates medicines which tone the tendons, and sinews. Its direction is south.
• Elegba, is represented by the color black. Medicines indicated are herbs which effect the Brain and nervous system. Its direction is West.
• Obatala, is represented by the color white. This Orisha indicates white purity, and herbs that cure human deformities. Its direction is North.

The four directional energies that correspond perfectly with the wisdom of the Native Americans were: 1) Oshun; 2) Ogun; 3) Elegba; and 4) Obatala. Again, Yoruba medical principles give us a system which harmonizes with the directional energies given in Planetary Herbology. One can perceive a universal wisdom that is common in every culture and system of herbal medicine. If the universal energy is One, then the foundation on which the four energies rest is Universal Energy. In other words, if the universal center is the source of all great herbal inspirations, then these four directional energies are the vehicles through which the inspiration becomes manifest. There is no other explanation for the similarities between herbal systems around the world. Every ancient culture taught the “sacred four”. They indicated that we must pass through all four aspects, or directions, if we are to be complete and balanced human beings.

In earlier times, working these herbal principles into universal energies was something that was done by the great medicine men. Today, we are left to work these things out on our own. This can be an illuminating process. The essay I have given is by no means complete. It is merely a basis to establish the integration of African Medicine into the family of Planetary herbology. I invite your questions and suggestions for the topics given. I look forward to our dialogue.

References:

1. The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts by Baba Ifa Karade (Samuel Weiser, Inc.; York Beech, Maine; 1994), p. l
2. Michael Omoleya, Certificate History of Nigeria (London & Lagos: Longman Group, 1986), p. 15
3. Cheikh Anta Diop, Precolonial Black Africa (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, co-published with Lawrence Hill, 1992), p. 216
4. Stolen Legacy by George James (Julian Richardson Assoc.)
5. Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization by Anthony T. Browder (The Institute of Karmic Guidance, Inc; 1992)
6. Omosade Awolalu, Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites (White Plains, NY: Longman Groups, 1979) p. 3
7. The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concept , ibid., p. 23

THE AFRICAN ROOTS OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

TARIQ SAWANDI, M.H.

Before discussing the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I think it would be interesting to the readers and students of African holistic medicine to know of the African influence of ancient Chinese healing theory.

The African role in early Asian civilization has been submerged and distorted for centuries.  Asia’s African roots are well summarized in “African Presence in Early Asia” by Ivan Van Sertima/Runoko Rashidi, and “African Presence in Early China” by James Brunson.  The original oriental people were Black and many of them still are Black – in southern China and Asia.  The earliest occupants of Asia were “small black (pygmies)” who came to the region as early as 50,000 years ago.  In “The Children of the Sun”, George Parker writes “….it appears that the entire continent of Asia was originally the home of many black races and that theses races were the pioneers in establishing the wonderful civilizations that have flourished throughout this vast continent.”  Reports of major kingdoms ruled by Blacks are frequent in Chinese documents.  Chinese historians described the Fou Nanese people of China as “small and black”.  The Ainus, Japan’s oldest known inhabitants have traditions which tell of a race of dark dwarfs which inhabited Japan before they did.  Historians Cheikh Anta Diop and Albert Churchward saw the Ainus as originating in Egypt!  There is archaeological support for this.  In addition, ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia records the “Anu” (Ainu).  The Anu are the same people who occupied Egypt for thousands of years.  These same people are recorded to have made large migrations to the Asian continent taking with them thousands of years of African-Egyptian knowledge and influence.

This explains the existence of man-made pyramids in China and Japan! China’s pyramids are located near Siang Fu city in the Shensi province. The Chinese do not know how they got there, but it is believed that Africans of the Nile Valley were the builders. (J. Perry: The Growth of Civilization, p. 106, 107).

African Development of Ancient Chinese Medicine

Ancient Chinese medicine dates back to the Shang Dynasty founded by the African-Mongolian King T’ang, or Ta. (1500-1000 B.C.).  The Shang (or Chiang) and Chou dynasties were credited with bringing together the elements of Chinese medical theory. The Shang were given the name of Nakhi (Na-Black, Khi-man).  Under this Black dynasty, the Chinese established the basic forms of a graceful calligraphy that has lasted to the present day.  The first Chinese emperor, the legendary Fu-Hsi (2953-2838 B.C.) was a woolly haired Black man. He is said to have originated the I Ching, or The Book of Change, which is the oldest most revered system of prophecy. It is known to have influenced the most distinguished philosophers of Chinese medicine and thought.

Many of the great concepts of Chinese medical science which was compiled during the Shang period were later developed during the Han Dynasty (168 B.C. to 8 A.D.).  During this period, medicine reflected the philosophical ideas associated in the earlier Chou and Shang period.  The Han began to fuse Shang medical concepts with outlooks from the philosophical ideas of Confucius (551-479 B.C.).  Toward that end, they generated a scheme which explained all phenomena in relation to the whole.  Under this system, all natural phenomena including the human body and the organs were organized within the system of “Yin” and Yang” and the “five elements”, or what is also called the “five phases” theory.

Han Dynasty physicians created great classic works, such as the Pen-ts’ao and the Nei Ching, or Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (3rd Century B.C.), drawing its inspiration from more ancient sources rooted in Afro-centric thought. (See Diagram 1.)

DIAGRAM 1.

The Nei Ching, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, a medical book reportedly written in the second century, B.C. before the birth of Hippocrates, the co-called father of Western medicine.  According to Chinese legend, the Nei Ching was created through a dialogue between the legendary ruler Huang-Ti and his court physician, Chi Po.  From the Nei Ching, thousands of books have been written about Chinese medicine.

Given these considerations, Chinese medicine echoes the logic of the Ancient Egyptians, which viewed the universe as process-oriented in which there are no boundaries between rest and motion, time and space, mind and matter, sickness and health.  The Chinese looked at reality as a unified field, an interwoven pattern of inseparable links in a circular chain called the Tao.  From the Tao flowed all things and events in nature: seasons, color, sound, organs, tissue, emotion, climate, matter and energy. (See Diagram 2.)

DIAGRAM 2

According to the Tao Te Ching, out of the One came the duality of Yin and Yang, and the immaterial breath (Chi), from which all physical matter and energy was created.  This idea by Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu was borrowed from the earlier ancient Egyptian concept of “Nu” (formless water)”, the duality of Shu and Tefnut, and the Nahab Kau (Tree of Life).

Yin/Yang Theory and the Concept of Chi

Chinese medicine places primary emphasis on the balance of “Chi” (Qi, or Ki), or Life energy constantly flowing throughout the body.  There are 12 major meridians, or pathways for chi, and each is associated with a major vital organ or vital function.  These meridians form an invisible network that carries chi to every tissue in the body.  In health, it is properly balanced, but if it becomes unbalanced, the result is disease.  It is the job of the Chinese doctor to restore the balance using diet, acupuncture, and herbal formulas.

The Life energy comes in two, but complementary parts: Yin and Yang.  The Yin nature includes the earth, moon, night, fall and winter, cold, wetness, the feet, the female sex, tissue growth and a passive temperament. The Yang counterparts are the heavens, the sun, day, spring and summer, heat, dryness, light, the head, the male sex, tissue breakdown, and an aggressive temperament. All individuals have both male and female polarities which consist of the combinations of Yin and Yang, requiring the Chinese doctor to tailor treatments to the individual’s needs. (See Diagram 3.)

DIAGRAM 3.

The Chinese Five-element system was heavily influenced by the ancient Egyptian’s four-element conception.  Each element relates to one season, one color and two organ systems, and they interact in subtle, and complicated ways through the energy of chi.

An important part of the Chinese doctor’s evaluation is the overall relationship between the Yin and Yang balance in the patient’s body.  This is “Chi”.  Furthermore, we must bear in mind that Yin and Yang are complementary and not contradictory.  There is no such thing as “good” and the other “bad”.  Rather, one seeks to find a harmony between the two energies.  The ancient Egyptians first  put forward this idea, explained in terms of “Shu” and “Tefnut”, the dual complementary energy that flows in the universe.  It was later adopted by the founders of Chinese medicine to distinguish between the Yin and Yang qualities of a person’s character, or the constitution of one’s illness.

The application of Yin and Yang is an important step in the process of making a traditional diagnosis and treatment.

Treating Conditions Through Chinese Medicine

Based on the assessment of Yin and Yang energy imbalance, the Chinese herbalist looks for patterns of distress in the patient’s pulse, as well as tongue, face, and physical characteristics.  The pulse system is highly developed in Chinese medicine, and consist of six positions on each wrist, and various pulse beats can be determined by the trained practitioner.  According to Traditional Chinese medical text, the pulse corresponds to different organ networks, areas of the body, meridians or energy channels, and physiological processes like breathing, digestion and elimination.  These are thought to function in phase with Yin and Yang principles and also the energies represented by the five elements: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire. Some general diagnostic correspondence are:

In general, the basic treatment principles are to tonify or stimulate in a case of deficient Yin or Yang energy, and to sedate or disperse when the energy pattern is one of excess.  Herbal formulas are then tailored to fit the individual’s need, or designed to fit the overall condition of the patient.

Special herbal formulas have been traditionally used for thousands of years by Chinese herbalists for such ailments as fever, colds and flu, headaches, infections, menstrual problems, ulcers, high blood pressure, cancer, infertility, and diabetes to name a few.

For example, “Gan Mao Ling”, a two thousand year old formula, has been traditionally used for symptoms such as runny nose and scratchy throat.  By taking six tablets of this formula every three hours, one can stop a cold in its tracts before it can take root.  Chinese remedies are very effective and versatile.  You can purchase Chinese herb formulas in many forms such as pills, tablets, extracts, or bulk to overcome numerous conditions and diseases.

Today more than ever, Western doctors are bearing witness to the effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine and are just beginning to realize that the Chinese masters understood profound aspects of the human mind and body without the aid of technology or sophisticated medical devices.  China is heir to the secret healing arts which has been passed down by ancient Khemit.  I feel that it is time that the Afrocentric roots of Chinese medicine be made public which has been ignored for too long.  This and future articles seek to correct this oversight.

References

1.  The Destruction of Black Civilizations, Chancellor Williams.

2.  The Missing Pages of History, Indus Khamit Kush

3.  The Five Lost Books of Africa, Dr. Khallid Al-Mansour.

4.  The Children of the Sun, George Parker.

5.  African Presence in Early Asia, Ivan Van Sertima/Runoko Rashidi

6.  The Way of Herbs, Michael Tierra

7.  Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, Dan Bensky and Randall Barolet.

8.  African Medicine: A guide to Yoruba divination and Herbal Medicine:, Tariq M. Sawandi

(in press).

9.  Chinese-Planetary Herbal Diagnosis, Michael and Lesley Tierra.