Uses of medicinal plants by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagüey, Cuba

Gabriele Volpato,Angela Beyra,Adelaida Barreto,Daimy Godínez

doi:10.1186/1746-4269-5-16

Abstract

BackgroundHaitian migrants played an important role shaping Cuban culture and traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. An ethnobotanical investigation was conducted to collect information on medicinal plant use by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagüey, Cuba.MethodsInformation was obtained from semi-structured interviews with Haitian immigrants and their descendants, direct observations, and by reviewing reports of traditional Haitian medicine in the literature.ResultsInformants reported using 123 plant species belonging to 112 genera in 63 families. Haitian immigrants and their descendants mainly decoct or infuse aerial parts and ingest them, but medicinal baths are also relevant. Some 22 herbal mixtures are reported, including formulas for a preparation obtained using the fruit of Crescentia cujete. 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.ConclusionThe rapid disappearance of Haitian migrants' traditional culture due to integration and urbanization suggests that unrecorded ethnomedicinal information may be lost forever. 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.

Highlights

The ethnic and cultural composition of contemporary Caribbean populations are the result of historical population movements through the slave trade and inter-island migration and of the legacy of the different ethnicities involved in the process of national identity formation
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
This paper focuses on traditional medicinal plant uses of Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagüey, Cuba

Summary

Introduction

The ethnic and cultural composition of contemporary Caribbean populations are the result of historical population movements through the slave trade and inter-island migration and of the legacy of the different ethnicities involved in the process of national identity formation. 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. Haitians were concentrated in the sugarcane and coffee areas of the former provinces of Oriente and Camagüey (Figure 1) In the latter province, they mainly settled in Haitian communities such as Caidije and Guanamaca, permitting the perpetuation of their own culture, including the voodoo religion and the creole language [9,10,11,12]. Most Haitians were illiterate, crowded into barracks (barracones), paid a miserable salary, and compelled to hand over their savings to reimburse the cost of their passage [7,9] They relied heavily on homegardens, wild plants, and on traditional ethnobotanical knowledge and practices in order to survive. An ethnobotanical investigation was conducted to collect information on medicinal plant use by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagüey, Cuba

Methods

Results

Conclusion