Page 41 - Local Voices, Local Choices Excerpt

The cycles of old and new 39
home I have planted many trees. I am still assisting many people who come for help. But at night, some people come and steal the medicinal plants. They don’t request it which means it will not work, but if they come and request the plants then it will be powerful. For those who steal, the plants become ineffective. When people steal or cut the trees, I would advise them about it. I would not like anyone to do anything destructive.”
Unfortunately, as is so often the case, the youth of the communities are gradually ignoring the teachings of their elders, dismissing their cul- tural heritage in favor of skeptical modern attitudes. As with many other facets of the culture, reliance on traditional ways of living has declined as the encroachment of the modern world offers alternatives that have undermined this knowledge.
Hamisi explains, “I used to add on to my knowledge of trees while I was in Gombe—there are things that I learned. There are plants that like to grow there and have a smell which long ago we used to call ‘Back of the River.’ I was taught, if you ingest poison in food and you crush this plant and drink it, the poison will be eliminated. I try to teach this while the children are still young. Others, if you tell them, they see it as non- sense. A long time ago we were taught that if you see this plant, it has a drug, and if someone poisons you, we could take it. If you died from the poison, taking this drug would mean that that person follows you, they would also die. Then they would know they have sinned.”
Culturally, this type of medicine is a component of traditional spiri- tual practices and is still a major aspect of culture in Tanzania and across Africa. It plays into almost all relationships, all considerations and deci- sions, and although the mechanisms for using either defensive or offen- sive spiritual practices have been somewhat modernized, this cultural way of knowing is one that NGOs need to consider. These variables, some- what obscure and invisible to outsiders, still play a very large part in local society.
Japhet takes up the story from Hamisi and explains that some of the older generation are trying to remind the communities about the value