The Secret Of Snake Powers

Muti is the colloquial term for herbal medicine in South Africa. Sometimes Muti can cure you of ailments that aren't medical, such as not winning the lottery. The term Muti can have negative connotations because of the occurrence of Muti killings, where humans are killed for their body parts to be used as ingredients in Muti. I'm not sure how common Muti murders actually are in South Africa, but I do see them being reported in tabloids.

Is this any more dubious than official lottery advertising?

I walked through Wynberg yesterday and was somewhat astounded by the recent developments. It's been a few months since I was last there. I've always known the area as being a bit run down, with every third shop on the main road being unoccupied. I found yesterday that a large tract of land on the main road has been cleared for the construction of a new 'upmarket' housing development. A strange source of evidence of the area's gentrification can be found in the Herbalists.

The Herbalists now sell Aloe Vera products. The front of the shops are almost indistinguishable from upmarket Body Shops. The products are professionally packaged and I'm confident that many of the products can be found in stores in Cavendish Square (an upmarket shopping mall two suburbs down the main road). The products include dietary supplements and skin products.

There are some Herbalist stores on the main road that keep the backroom-clinic appearance that I was expecting. There are more Herbalists now and at least two are now selling professionally packaged health/cosmetic products. I'm sure this is a sign of something, something macro-economical.

I saw a shocking 3 minute video clip that I think was shot for a documentary on alternative medicines for AIDS. The fliers that I post will sometimes state upfront that they can't cure AIDS, but can help the symptoms. Other times vague wording is used that hints at treatment. I'm not sure if this is a deliberate or if it is the result of the advertiser not being a first language English speaker.

The people on this short clip were quite confident in their ability to cure AIDS. The clip had an interview with this man. The clip also shows a woman with HIV asking whether she should continue her use of anti-retrovirals if she wants to take Ubhejane. She is told that she shouldn't take them both as there are no studies on how safely the two medicines integrate. She is also told that the Ubhejane will cure her in a short period of time.

I've been told by friends who live in townships that there are a large number of herbalists there from other African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya (the fliers that I post are mainly for foreign herbalists). These herbalists are apparently often seen as being more powerful than local herbalists as they use more exotic herbs. The sense of exotic magic used is similar to the popular stereotypes that you would find in Hollywood films: Japanese/Chinese, Indian, Native American and Jamaican. The clients are told that consultation costs R30-R50, or sometimes a bit higher for AIDS consulation, a nominal fee in comparison to that of the actual herbs, which are shipped in from far away mystical locations. This may soud a bit cynical of me, but I think the actual prices of the herbs depend on how gullible you are and how convincingly they trick you. I heard that the costs are usually around R1000 a month, which in the case of most people living in the townships is if not the majority of their mothly wages, a very significant portion.

More info on the treatment of HIV/AIDS: Treatment Action Campaign

I'm pretty sure that the second figure's thought bubble says, "At Last Year's Prices!"