Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies

Rating:
Summary: Lost voices heard again
Review: Dr. Mitchell reclaims the lost voices and gestures of African and Caribbean people who came to the US and made American life so rich. This description of their detailed local knowledge revitalises the past. We are grateful for Amazon.com's vast holdings which make such small-press treasures as Hoodoo Medicine available to researchers and lay people around the world.

Rating:
Summary: A unique guide, rich with illustration and explanation
Review: HOODOO MEDICINE offers a wonderful blend of a history of the Gullah people and their herbal medicines, explicit description of each herb including many wonderful illustrations by Naomi Steinfeld that makes it easy to identify several of the plants, with an amazing cover image by the talented artist, Jonathan Green. Carefully documented, this book is not just the usual guide of 'how to use this' or that herb, but includes historical background -- not only a chronological description of the way this special island culture developed over time, but fascinating ancedotes of how the Gullah people used (and managed to save) their knowledge so that it's now available to everyone thanks to this book and the efforts of Faith Mitchlell and Naomi Steininfeld...This is a model for how all should be written, presented, and preserved that shines light on the fact these remedies reflect not only the special understanding of the people who used these 'good' plants and the way they can help, but that there are plants unique to regional ecospheres, and how lucky we are whenever someone is still among us to point them out! Faith Mitchell includes a poem inspired during the time lived on the island that captures the real heart of the book for me -- the island itself speaking about why She shares these gifts with those there.

Rating:
Summary: Ground Breaking Study
Review: The healing traditions of African American herbalists have been largely overlooked, called backwards or adaptations of other traditions. Faith Mitchell systemically refutes these claims in her concise overview of our ways of working herbs. "Hoodoo Medicine" belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in African American healing or multicultural herbalism. Though written several years ago, Mitchell's lovely book remains a powerful and inspirational affirmation of African wisdom in the New World.

Rating:
Summary: Ground Breaking Study
Review: The healing traditions of African American herbalists have been largely overlooked, called backwards or adaptations of other traditions. Faith Mitchell systemically refutes these claims in her concise overview of our ways of working herbs. "Hoodoo Medicine" belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in African American healing or multicultural herbalism. Though written several years ago, Mitchell's lovely book remains a powerful and inspirational affirmation of African wisdom in the New World.