Muti: Ritual Sacrifice as Medicine

Today when we think of medicine, we think of drug stores, pharmacies. Medicine comes in many forms, from cough syrup to painkillers and more. We don’t generally think about where it came from, how it was discovered, who first thought of it. I’d venture to guess that many people don’t know that penicillin was discovered by mistake, and began as a form of mold. If we go back even further, there are stories of people using mummies, grinding up their bodies for medicinal purposes. In South Africa, some forms of medicine, called muti, have utilized rituals consisting of dancing, chanting, playing drums, and sacrifice. These sacrifices over time, have come to be known as muti killings.

Muti, derived from umu thi, the Zulu word for tree, has become synonymous with traditional African medicine. Most commonly, it is made from herbs and plants to cure common ailments. Muti is also used in complex medical situations, as well as providing a sort of “magic,” delivering love spells, or curses. For example, a person could be given lion fat for courage. In fact, muti is part of a ritual with the South African Soccer team. 

So far, muti seems pretty harmless, unless you’re the animal being sacrificed. There is however, a darker side of muti. A side that believes the human body is extremely valuable – for its parts. 

Human sacrifice, while not common, is a part of muti. It is believed that up to 300 people are sacrificed each year so that their body parts may be used. The goal is not necessarily to kill, but rather harvest. Unfortunately, killing is almost always the end result. 

The harvest is ordered by a sangoma, or witch doctor, who was hired by a client with a specific need. If a client is looking to bring in more business to their shop, hands would be cut off, then buried palm up in front of their shop. Various body parts are buried on farms, in order to guarantee a good harvest. Blood is good for vitality. Genitals, breasts, and placentas are used for infertility and good luck with the genitalia of young boys and virgin girls is the most sought after. Brains are good for political power.

There is a belief that the body parts removed from a person, while that person is alive and screaming, are more valuable, their screams making their power stronger.

On September 21, 2001, a body was discovered floating in the River Thames. On average in London, approximately 40-45 bodies are recovered from the river, but this one was different. This one was a child.

The body was badly mutilated and found floating near Tower Bridge. He appeared to be about five to seven years old, and of Afro-Caribbean descent. His autopsy showed that his legs had been severed above the knees, his arms had been cut off at the shoulders, and his head was removed. His stomach contained traces of cough medicine. Cause of death – violent trauma to the neck, after which his limbs were skillfully removed. Unable to identify the boy, police began calling him Adam.

People began to speculate that Adam had been a muti sacrifice, a victim of a muti killing. Not only that, but his death opened their eyes to what may have been happening for a while. Had Adam been the latest in a long line of cult-like muti killings?

Police requested assistance from the Investigative Psychology Unit of the South African Police Service. They were put in contact with a sangoma called Credo Mutwa, who could provide his insights. Mutwa believed Adam’s death was a result of a ritual sacrifice that is common in West Africa. Unfortunately, Mutwa was widely considered a fraudster, and his belief could not be wholly trusted.

On January 29, 2002, Dr. Hendrik Scholtz traveled to London from South Africa to perform a second post-mortem examination. He believed Adam was a victim of a muti killing. “ It is my opinion that the nature of the discovery of the body, features of the external examination including the nature of the wounds, clothing and mechanism of death are consistent with those of a ritual homicide as practised in Africa.” According to Dr. Scholtz, Adam was likely beheaded while he was still alive.

The case of Adam remains unsolved. 

It is widely held that the easiest victims of a muti killing, will be trafficked children. According to UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund):

• 1,000 to 1,500 Guatemalan babies and children are trafficked each year for adoption by couples in North America and Europe.
• Girls as young as 13 (mainly from Asia and Eastern Europe) are trafficked as “mail-order brides.”  In most cases these girls and women are powerless and isolated and at great risk of violence.
• Large numbers of children are being trafficked in West and Central Africa, mainly for domestic work but also for sexual exploitation and to work in shops or on farms. Nearly 90 percent of these trafficked domestic workers are girls.
• Children from Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana are trafficked to Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Gabon. Children are trafficked both in and out of Benin and Nigeria. Some children are sent as far away as the Middle East and Europe.

While it may seem like traditional muti is a thing of the past, you can still visit a muti market today in Johannesburg, South Africa. You won’t find victims of muti killings here, but you will find people ready to share their knowledge of traditional African medicine.

Did you know that approximately 800,000 children are reported missing in America.