{UAH} Durban’s Muthi Market

Durban's Muthi Market

August 12, 2013 by Jessica Spiegel

Things To Do

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Durban's muthi market, with vendor goods spread out on the street. Creative commons photo by Blob79 via Flickr.

Shopping in local markets can be an interesting and fun way to simultaneously sightsee and learn something of a culture. Nowhere does that feel more true than in the muthi market of Durban, dedicated as it is to traditional Zulu medicine and healing.

Right in the heart of the busy city of Durban is one of the largest muthi markets in South Africa. "Muthi" (pronounced MOO-tee) is traditional Zulu medicine, so essentially the muthi market is a huge outdoor drugstore. As is the case in most pharmacies around the world, if you go in with a minor ailment, the people in a muthi market can help you figure out what combination of treatments will aid in healing. In many cases, however, customers at the muthi market have already consulted an "inyanga" (a Zulu medicine man/woman) or a "sangoma" (Zulu diviners) to be told exactly what's ailing them and what specific muthi will heal them. Then, the proper medicinal concoction can be acquired from one of the stalls in the muthi market.

Some of the muthi are said to cure familiar ailments – headaches or trouble sleeping – while others are for things like warding off evil spirits, making yourself more appealing to the opposite sex, bringing you success or respect in your work, or becoming more clever. What makes a visit to the muthi market so fascinating isn't the array of problems these medicines are said to cure, but the ingredients for the medicines themselves. Everywhere you look in the market there are rolls of tree bark, baskets of dried leaves and plants, animal skins, and whole dead animals on display. Muthi is made from various combinations of all of these things, depending on what it's meant to be treating. Each application is different, too – some are meant to be steeped in water to make a tea for drinking, some are meant to be bathed in, some are meant to be burned and inhaled.

Zulus of all ages and from all walks of life routinely visit inyangas and sangomas and then, armed with a diagnosis, stop at the muthi market for their medicine. It may seem like an utterly foreign world to outsiders, but this is very much a part of everyday Zulu life. Visiting the muthi market is one of the best things to do in Durban to get some cultural perspective on the melting pot that is South Africa. It's strongly advised that you visit with a local guide, however, as many of the people at the muthi market are adamant about not having their picture taken – a local guide will know when it's okay to take photographs, and will steer you toward the stalls where you can talk with an herbalist and ask questions.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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