04/09/2013
Khat is used traditionally by peoples of Ethiopia, Yemen, and Somalia. However, recent popularization of the drug by East African and Yemenite immigrants to Europe and America have led politicians, scientists, and the immigrants, themselves, to question whether use of Khat is traditional to their culture or a symbol of a displaced connection to their countries of origin.
Khat refers to the leaves of the Catha edulis tree that grows naturally in the hills of Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, among indigenous peoples, like the Zay, Tigrey, and Shanqella (just to name a few of the many peoples indigenous to Ethiopia), traditional medicines are practiced with the natural flora and fauna of the region. There are many instances in Traditional Environmental Knowledge being passed among these people, although traditional knowledge systems are beginning to disappear due to Western influence and environmental degradation.
The traditional medicine systems are holistic so they encompass treatment of physical, mental, and spiritual ailments. Khat, is primarily used to treat mental ailments and works like an amphetamine. In fact, some modern amphetamines contain cathinone and cathine, the active compounds in Khat that produce the stimulant effects. Khat is used traditionally to help farmers work on their crops, help elders concentrate during judicial meetings, intensify religious prayers to Allah, cure obesity, and bring euphoria to social g*therings. In Yemenite culture especially, Khat is central to social g*therings and has been used recreationally since the 17th century. Khat is usually rolled up in banana leaves and chewed. The juices excreted are absorbed in the saliva while the resin is spit out, like chewing to***co. The individual begins feeling the effects about an hour later.
