Haiti Field Notes, 1981-1984

Herbarium specimen collected in the Artibonite valley, 1982.

I went to Haiti for the first time in December 1981, with a small grant, two plant presses, and very little French. I had been asked to collect and identify the plants sold in the markets for medicinal use, a modest project that should have taken one season.

I stayed, on and off, for three years. I worked mostly in the Artibonite valley and in the hills above it, with the help of a local guide and of the many people who agreed to show me what they grew, what they bought, and what they used it for. I learned Creole badly and listened a great deal.

Below are a few entries copied from my field notebooks, exactly as written, except for the names of the people, which I have removed.

January 14, 1982. Market, early morning. Eleven vendors of leaves and roots. Most preparations are for fevers, for the stomach, for the nerves. Collected fourteen specimens. Two unknown to me.

February 3, 1982. Long walk into the hills with my guide. He speaks of a man in the next valley who "was dead and came back". He says it calmly, as one speaks of the weather.

March 22, 1983. Three samples of powder obtained today, through intermediaries. I paid for them and I am not proud of it. Each one is different. I will not describe them here.

April 2, 1984. Experiment 7. Sample C on a housefly. Filmed with the video camera lent by the mission.

April 9, 1984. Last day in the field. I leave my plant presses to my guide, who says he will sell them. He is probably right.

Two pages from my field notebook, 1982.