Methods of Processing Medicinal Plants: A Semantic Study of the Use of Verbs in Sesotho Sa Leboa

Abstract

From time immemorial, medicinal plants have been common traditional medicines for treating diseases and ailments in most households. Even today, plants are used for treating ailments and diseases such as the flu and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This article investigates the semantic use of verbs for collection, preparation and administration as methods of processing medicinal plants in Sesotho sa Leboa. Most of the medicinal plants, like folktales, are extinct, so by writing this study the ethnobotanical knowledge of the communities will be promoted and preserved. Medicine from medicinal plants is mostly used in a traditional medical healthcare system. Recent studies have indicated how the medicinal plants form the foundation of traditional medicine and how these are sometimes incorporated into allopathic or biomedical medicine. For the medicinal plant to attain its medicinal value, several processes take place and verbs are used to describe them (processes). Specific meaning is attached to the verbs of methods used during the collection, preparation and administration of medicinal plants. Ethnobotanical theory forms the framework of this article, supported by the theory of linguistics. A qualitative approach is used to explain concepts in the collection, interpretation and analysis of data. Data is collected from existing documents and auto-ethnography. The study found that verbs used in the methods of processing medicinal plants are semantically used in relation to specific parts of the plant.