A Qualitative Research Approach to Study the Healing Powers of Plant Species against Lightning Used by South African Indigenous Communities of KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of qualitative research conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, a province that experiences ground flash density in the range of 10–14 flashes km−2yr−1, The qualitative research was done with the objectives of investigating the lighting curbing properties of the three plant species used by the Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs), namely Umathunga, Umhlosinga and Isiphephetho (Indungulo) from the perspective of the THPs Altogether 137 THPs with varying experience spans up to 30 years of career time have been interviewed following ethics clearance and formal protocols. The interview protocol with 24 questions has been given to the sample, in their native language and used to guide the researchers during the interview process. In this paper, which is the first of its type, we present only the outcomes without making any judgements or solid conclusions, keeping the subject onen to further investigations and scientific experiments.