Herbal Purification Afo in culture is the act of freedom from taboo — awua, which was committed ignorantly or willfully.

Purification is to cleanse from the hurtful matter, to free from guilt, uncleanliness and to become pure, free from sin and evil.

An important herb for purification is ‘Afo’ a member of the portulacaceae, a common weed in cultivated Land. Its leaves are fleshy. The corolla has five, free, pink petals. The stamens are many and the anthers split length wise to release the pollen grains.

The ovary is superior and has many Ovules attached to central placenta hence a popular pot-herb.

In entire abstinence from natural appetites, even in self-restrained in appetites and passions from food and drink, this herb in water, salt and little ash or white chalk-orhue would tempered the conditions and its temperance mixture proportions the inter change of heat in the body and the womb.

Herbal purification in culture is to free from taboos exploit in the human psyche and are used culturally to inculcate practical attitudes for religious respect and human precautions, for example, if it is a taboo or forbidden thing to eat pork meat in certain religious practice and any member ignorantly or willfully ate the porkmeat, the rite of the Afo herb would purify the uncleanliness and give sanctification-free the person from the sin and the evil.

The magical inclination of the herb takes nothing away from the fact that many healers are experienced and skilled in bio-medical components. They have an array of biomedical methods ranging from fasting and dieting or herbal therapies.

Certain moments of crisis in human life, such as pregnancy, Childbirth and so forth are notorious for being surrounded with taboos, but simple sanitary and hygienic observations tempers the crisis without even the herbal purifications.

Apart from its herbal properties, some herbs as vegetables are good sources of refreshments for the body, such as talinum-waterleaf, which is also in the family of portulacaceae.

The theory and practice of traditional herbs have not been properly recorded. It may be the people are reluctant to give out the secrets or because many people do not read or write.

This too has protected some herbs from being degraded and over- commercialized, but on the other hand vast knowledge are being lost, which could have been used to benefit mankind.

By studying the activities of the elderly traditional culture on their uses of herbs we may find ways to protect and preserve the intellectual property in a manner that would benefits the society.

In many households traditional herbs are the only form of healthcare available to cure spiritualism or holistic healings.

People experience good health or ill health at more than one level because the levels affect one another. The weakness of holistic healing is that it sometimes confuses the levels as it does not distinguish sufficiently the level which are environmental, physical, social, psychical, spiritual or moral.

At the environmental level, traditional herbs promote harmony with the environment treatment.

Foreign herb flowers have turned belatedly to environmental health and concern about the pollution of natural traditional herbs, without recourse to the sacramentality of nature and the transformation of terrestrial realities.

At the physical level, traditional herbs are not as effective as standardized as there are problems of diagnosis and

At the psychical level traditional herbs are emphasized on the importance of the sub-consciousness while psycho-neuroses tend to be treated as evidence of spirit possession.

At the social level, traditional herbs place great importance on the social causes and consequences of the sickness and on the experience of the individual mis-fortune — (Awua neo ru loghoe)

At the moral and spiritual level traditional herbs identify spirits who deemed to be offended as well as patronal and alien spirits which are thought to be at work in the patient, while herbal purification is used for the immoral behavior for the adventitious sickness.

Indigenous Flora has historically supported healthcare delivery, food and beverages as well as health and beauty products. Nowadays the growth of modern biological technologies has led to the renewed focus on the us of tropical biological resources for the development of new products in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics.

The availability of modern scientific methods for the clinical evaluation of herbal remedies has made it feasible to transform traditional herbs from an almost invisible into a modern enterprise, capable of making significant contribution to both health care and the economic growth.

Herbal purification in culture as an engine for development can promote a bio-resources by creating critical mass of technical skills. This involves research and development capacities, linking the public, private and scientific understanding of the sanctification demand.

Herbal purification-Afo in culture is often used as mouth wash to relieve Lockjaw, cold sore and freedom from taboos, especially those of poor sanitations and hygiene associated with the environmental genii, and flora goddess.