56 REV. ALFRED T. liUYANT. 



esihomvu sehlathi (Pup alia sp.) which, after bruising, are 

 rolled into a couple of small paste-balls, one of which is 

 swallowed by the man, the other inserted into the womb, with 

 the result that in due time conception takes place. Or, the 

 roots of the vNyihonisele climber may be boiled, a portion of 

 the decoction being drunk and the remainder injected into the 

 Avomb. Another favoured remedy is a mixture of the roots of 

 the IBhuma rush (Cyperus sp.) and the root-bark of the 

 nmTlmma (Solanum sodomoeum). The iLahatheka (Hy- 

 poxis latifolia) is also sometimes used. 



Should a painful menstruation be an accompaniment of the 

 inability to conceive (as might happen in the case of 

 fibroid tumours), the roots of the uMpondonde (a species of 

 aloe) are employed in the same way as those of the uNgibo- 

 nisele above. 



In some females there is a disposition to deliver prematurely 

 or miscarry. This misadventure may be prevented by the 

 administration of any iimSelielo (a generic name for any 

 medicine of this class), for instance, a certain bush climber 

 (P y r e n a c a n t h a s c a n d e n s ) . Of this th e roots are selected, 

 pounded, steeped in cold water and the infusion drunk in 

 cupfuls from time to time. 



To facilitate delivery, or to procure it when retarded — 

 medicines generally called an iNemhhe — several plants are 

 indicated. Of these one of the chief is. the iNothwane or 

 inDola encane (Triumfetta rhomboidea). A bundle, such 

 as one can easily grasp in the hand, of the six-inch roots is 

 pounded, a hot infusion prepared with a cupful of boiling- 

 water, which is then drunk. Other remedies are the iBhuma 

 (Cyperus sp.) rush, the bulbous root of the uHlahahla herb, 

 the veld-shrub uHlunguhlioigu (Yernonia corymbosa), 

 the bush iKlolo or ILalanij atlii (Grewia occidentalis), the 

 uMayime herb (Olivia miniata), the climber isiNwazi 

 (Cissus cunei folia), and the herb uGoho or uKlenya 

 (Grunnera perpensa). 



But the mother's troubles are not yet at an end. There is 

 that perilous contingency of jjarturition known as puerperal 



