Nganga Chokwe . A Chokwe traditional healer, known as mbuki or chimbanda , uses a variety of medicines to treat the diseases from which patients suffer.
Healers have great knowledge of the medicinal qualities of plants and other natural materials.
A hot tea made from special roots and leaves boiled in water may be used to heal a patient's upset stomach. A paste made from the beaten bark of the afzelia tree may be used to cure a toothache. The aromatic leaves of a eucaliptus tree, dipped in cool water and rubbed on a patient's body, may relieve some of the symptoms of malaria. Some experienced healers and herbalists are also able to heal more serious diseases. In cases of recurring illness or misfortune among individuals or whole communities, it is the job of a diviner, or tahi , to find the source or cause of a problem.