Faraday Market
A muti market near Faraday station where traditional healers, called inyanga and sangoma, and their customers buy herbs, roots and animal materials.
Practised and told of here
Best time: Weekday mornings.
Muti, from the Zulu word for medicine or tree, refers to traditional remedies and also to ritual substances. Faraday Market, near Johannesburg's city centre, is one of the best known places where they are sold.
Healers and herbs
An inyanga is a specialist in herbs, while a sangoma is a diviner who is called by the ancestors, usually through illness, and trained by a senior sangoma. Many South Africans visit both healers and clinics. The government recognises traditional healers by law.
Harms
Muti killings, in which a person is murdered for body parts, have been reported in southern Africa and are crimes. Healers' groups condemn them. Some stalls sell protected species, such as vultures, and the trade has affected populations of birds and plants.
Visiting
Go with a guide known to the traders. Do not buy human or protected-species parts, do not photograph without permission, and do not ask a healer to name someone as a witch.
A respectful visit to Faraday Market
Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.
- The herb stalls Learn the names of the plants used.
- A trained healer's consulting room Visit only by arrangement.
- The Museum of Man and Science nearby See the history of medicine in the city.
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "African traditional medicine" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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