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Abstract

Traditional medicine plays an important role in the primary health care practices of Maroons living in the interior of Suriname. Large numbers of medicinal plants are employed to maintain general health and cure illnesses. Little is known, however, on how knowledge of herbal medicine varies within the community and whether plant use remains important when modern health care becomes available. This paper addresses the diversity in medicinal plant knowledge and use in a remote Saramaccan Maroon community and the importance of medicinal plants vis-a-vis locally available modern healthcare. Ethnobotanical data were collected in a remote Maroon village in Suriname by means of participant observations, semi-structured interviews and plants voucher collections. The paper shows that their plant use reflects actual health concerns, but as modern medicines are available for most of these concerns, the use of herbal medicines seems to be a deep rooted cultural preference, especially when concerned with cultural illnesses and health promotion.

Biography