Herbal Medicine And African Survivals In America
Herbalist at work circa 1800, Courtesy of The New York Public Library
Esteban Montejo (1860-1973) had been enslaved in Cuba and also lived free as a maroon or runaway. Spain abolished slavery in Cuba in 1886. He called herbs “the mother of medicines” and members of his community used them to cure “diseases the doctors didn’t understand.” He goes on to say his African ancestors didn’t get sick because they “had all the herbs within reach.” They to came to the Americas from tribes whose elders put a premium on teaching children about plants with medicinal properties and took toddlers with them into the forest to gather medicinal plants. What those children learned about how to identify different species and their healing properties survived the Atlantic slave trade and they taught to their children and grand children. Thus, at a young age, children in Africa and the Americas acquired a knowledge of how to forage for leaves, roots, and berries and how to prepare them for healing the body. Dr. Alvenia Fulton’s education as a naturopath and entrepreneur began growing up on her parent’s family farm in Pulaski, Tennessee. Her mother (Mahalia Woodruff Moody 1872-1973) successfully treated ailments with roots, herbs, barks, leaves, molasses, onions, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar.
