Ethnomedicinal exploration of haanquu fruit among the oromo of Ethiopia

Abstract

The study of ethnomedicine has remained part of anthropological research practice since time immemorial. Ethnomedicine as a domain of knowledge refers to the study of traditional knowledge used for medical purposes. This paper presents a study on haanquu plant (Embelia schimperi), one of the most widely known ethnomedicinal plant among the Oromo of Ethiopia. The study was conducted from January to June 2011 to explore and document the medicinal plant knowledge and use by the people. After several revisions, the study has taken its present shape in June 2013. Data were generated through in-depth interviews and analysis of observations and relevant archives. The Oromo traditionally use several ethnomedicinal plant species to manage different human ailments like tapeworm. The people predominantly use haanquu plant species to curb tapeworm menace. Results indicate that traditional healers‘ indigenous knowledge was not necessarily correlated with their reported social status such as age and educational level. High degree of consensus was observed among traditional healers in treating tapeworm (minnii) with minced haanquu plant beans. The use of this plant species was significantly established for remedy measures. There is report of widespread practice of this ethnomedicinal plant species. But this pervasive practice does not show significant variation with respect to the presence of multiple users of the reported species. The results also show that ethnomedicinal plant species used by the Oromo are under serious threat due to several factors. This indicates the need for attention towards their conservation.