Muti 80342 224873983 2008-07-10T20:07:33Z Dustychicken 7456182 /* See also */ :''This article is about southern African traditional medicine. For other uses including the family name 'Muti', please see [[Muti (disambiguation)]].'' '''Muti''' is a term for [[traditional medicine]] in [[Southern Africa]] as far north as [[Lake Tanganyika]]. The word muti is derived from the [[Zulu]] word for tree, of which the root is -thi. African [[Traditional medicine]] makes use of various natural products, many of which are derived from trees. For this reason, medicine generally is known as muti, but it is also applied to formulations used in traditional medical dispensing. In Southern Africa, the word muti is in widespread use in most indigenous African languages, as well as in [[South African English]] and [[Afrikaans]] where it is sometimes used as a slang word for medicine in general. ==Correct form of the word== This noun is of the umu / imi class, consequently the singular (tree) is rendered Umuthi and plural (trees) is Imithi. Since the pronunciation of the initial vowel of this umu / imi class of Zulu noun, is unstressed, the singular Umuthi is sometimes heard as 'Muthi'. The word is rendered as muti due to the historical effects of [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Colonial]] spelling. ==Colloquial use== In colloquial English and Afrikaans the word may be used as per the following example: * "My doctor gave me some ''muti'' for my sore throat" * "My dokter het vir my ''muti'' verskaf vir my seer keel" ==Mutilation== Occasions of [[murder]] and [[mutilation]] associated with some traditional [[culture|cultural]] practices, in [[Southern Africa]] are also termed '''Muti killings'''. '''Muti killings''', more correctly known as [[medicine murder]] are not [[human sacrifice]] in a religious sense, but rather involve the murder of someone in order to excise [[body parts]] for incorporation as ingredients into medicine and concoctions used in witchcraft. ==See also== *[[Medicine murder]] *[[Sangoma]] *[[Traditional medicine]] Muti murders are not part of history. They are an on going fact of life in Southern Africa, and a search of the popular online media in South Africa for example, will pop-up a great deal of current muti slaying, many involving the murder and mutilation of children. Take for example: "Muti killings on the rise in KZN - October 31 2007" [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=79&art_id=vn20071031102926188C698113&newslett=1&em=53829a6a20071031ah] and also "Police find body parts in walls of hair salon - December 13 2006" [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20061213064549779C456245] it is seen as necessary to butcher the victim whilst they are still alive, and remove the body parts before death in order to recieve their potency. ==External links== * http://www.factnet.org/cults/Sangoma/?FACTNet * http://www.bbc.co.uk/choice/60seconds/features/news/190402/muti.shtml * http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1899609.stm * http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1683259.stm [[Category:Zulu culture]] [[Category:Southern Africa]] [[Category:Alternative medicine]] {{treatment-stub}} {{alt-med-stub}} [[pt:Muti]]