When discussions of pangolin exploitation focus on the international scales trade to Asia, they overlook a parallel demand system that has existed for centuries across sub-Saharan Africa. Traditional African medicine—known as muthi in southern Africa, juju in West Africa, and by dozens of other regional names—has long incorporated pangolin body parts into healing and spiritual practices. Unlike traditional Chinese medicine’s narrow focus on scales, African ethnomedicine uses virtually the entire animal for an extraordinary range of physical and spiritual applications.

Understanding this demand is essential for pangolin conservation because it operates through entirely different social networks, economic structures, and cultural logics than the international trafficking trade. Strategies designed to disrupt Asian supply chains do not reach the traditional healer in rural Sierra Leone or the muthi trader at Johannesburg’s Faraday market.

The Scope of Traditional Medicinal Use

The most comprehensive study of pangolin use in African traditional medicine was conducted among 63 traditional medical practitioners in Sierra Leone, published in the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. The research documented 22 distinct pangolin body parts used to treat 59 different conditions across 17 international categories of disease. Ninety percent of the practitioners were male, and 68 percent had practised for over 20 years, indicating deep generational transmission of pangolin-based remedies.

22 body parts. 59 ailments. 17 disease categories. Traditional medical practitioners in Sierra Leone use scales, oil, meat, head, tail, bones, tongue, blood, heart, and xiphisternum (breastbone) in preparations spanning skin diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, digestive conditions, mental health, and spiritual afflictions.

Scales were the most frequently prescribed body part, used across 12 of the 17 disease categories with the highest use value index (1.111). But what distinguishes African traditional medicinal use from its Asian counterpart is the breadth of body parts employed. The head was particularly important for treating infertility and a range of conditions including headache, skin rash, fainting, and body pain. Oil—obtained by placing a pan beneath a pangolin while it is smoked over a fire—served as a base for multiple preparations. Bones were prescribed primarily for musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders.

Spiritual Protection and Ritual Use

Perhaps the most striking distinction from Asian medicinal demand is the prominence of spiritual applications. Across West Africa, pangolin scales carry their highest cultural significance not for physical healing but for spiritual protection. In Ghana, a study of 48 traditional healers in the Kumasi metropolis found that scales and bones were prescribed primarily for spiritual protection, rheumatism, financial rituals, and the treatment of convulsions. The meat was reserved for preparing charms for chiefs and tribal leaders.

In Nigeria, pangolin use among the Ijebu and Awori communities in the southwest encompasses treatment for mental illness and kleptomania, as well as the conferment of good luck and protection against witchcraft. Some practitioners prescribe the entire animal for invisibility—a spiritual application with no equivalent in any other medicinal tradition’s use of pangolins.

The spiritual dimension of pangolin use in Africa means that conservation messaging framed purely around biodiversity loss or legal prohibition may fail to engage the communities that value pangolins most. Their significance is cosmological, not merely pharmacological.

In Benin, ethnozoological research documented that body parts of the white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) are prescribed by traditional healers for spiritual remedies, with scales, head, bones, tongue, blood, heart, and xiphisternum each serving specific ritual and medicinal functions. The study found that 65 percent of focus groups identified medicinal uses and 37 percent identified spiritual uses, suggesting that the two categories are deeply intertwined in practice.

South Africa’s Muthi Markets

In South Africa, the traditional medicine trade operates through established urban markets, the most prominent being the Faraday Muthi Market in Johannesburg’s Selby neighbourhood. Research surveying Faraday documented 147 vertebrate species traded, representing approximately nine percent of all vertebrate species in South Africa. Pangolin scales and body parts appear alongside those of leopards, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and vultures—all protected species openly available for purchase.

The Temminck’s ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii), the only pangolin species found in South Africa, faces a projected 30 to 40 percent population decline over the next three generations. The muthi trade is one of several demand drivers alongside electrocution on electric fences, habitat loss, and illegal trafficking. While the relative contribution of muthi demand to overall Temminck’s population decline is difficult to quantify precisely, the open sale of pangolin products at major urban markets indicates that enforcement of existing wildlife protection laws remains inconsistent.

The significance of sangomas (traditional healers) and inyangas (herbalists) in South African society means that any conservation approach must account for their cultural authority. An estimated 80 percent of South Africans consult traditional healers, making them among the most influential figures in community health and spiritual life.

How African and Asian Demand Differ

The distinction between African and Asian medicinal demand for pangolins matters for conservation strategy. Traditional Chinese medicine focuses almost exclusively on scales, used primarily for treating arthritis, promoting lactation, reducing swelling, and improving blood circulation. China’s 2025 pharmacopoeia removed all 19 pangolin-based formulas, though a one-ton annual scale quota remains.

African traditional medicine, by contrast, uses the whole animal across a far broader range of conditions:

This means that even if the international scales trade were eliminated entirely, African demand for pangolin products would persist because it relies on body parts that have no connection to the Asian market. Conservation strategies that succeed in reducing Asian demand will not automatically reduce African traditional medicinal demand.

Conservation Approaches That Engage Healers

The most promising conservation approaches treat traditional healers as partners rather than adversaries. In Cameroon, WildAid’s demand reduction campaigns achieved a 26.7 percent decline in pangolin meat consumption between 2022 and 2024, partly by leveraging cultural pride—which reached 95.2 percent in their 2024 survey. When communities see pangolins as a source of national heritage rather than a consumable resource, behavioural change becomes possible.

Several specific strategies are emerging:

The Path Forward

The use of pangolins in African traditional medicine predates modern conservation by centuries. It is embedded in cosmological systems that assign pangolins a unique place at the intersection of the physical and spiritual worlds. Conservation approaches that dismiss these beliefs as mere superstition will fail. Approaches that engage with the cultural logic of traditional medicine—respecting the healer’s authority while offering viable alternatives and building awareness of pangolin population collapse—stand a better chance of succeeding.

The challenge is significant: 22 body parts, 59 ailments, and centuries of accumulated practice cannot be redirected overnight. But the Cameroon data shows that cultural attitudes can shift within years when campaigns are well designed and culturally sensitive. The pangolin’s deep spiritual significance in African cultures could ultimately become its strongest protection—if conservation organisations learn to work with that significance rather than against it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many pangolin body parts are used in African traditional medicine?

Research documenting traditional medical practitioners in Sierra Leone identified 22 distinct pangolin body parts used to treat 59 different conditions across 17 international categories of disease. The most frequently used parts are scales, followed by oil, meat, head, and tail. Scales alone are prescribed across 12 of the 17 disease categories. Other parts used include bones, tongue, blood, heart, and xiphisternum (breastbone). Each body part has specific applications, with scales most valued for spiritual protection and bones primarily used for musculoskeletal conditions.

What are pangolin scales used for in African traditional medicine?

Across sub-Saharan Africa, pangolin scales are prescribed for a wide range of spiritual and physical ailments. In Ghana, scales are used primarily for spiritual protection, rheumatism, financial rituals, and treating convulsions. In Nigeria, scales are used among Yoruba communities to treat mental illness, kleptomania, and for conferring good luck and warding off witchcraft. In Sierra Leone, scales had the highest use value among all body parts, with spiritual ailments generating the strongest consensus among traditional practitioners. Scales are typically ground into powder, burned, or incorporated into preparations applied externally or consumed.

Is pangolin use in African traditional medicine different from traditional Chinese medicine?

Yes. While traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) focuses almost exclusively on pangolin scales for treating conditions like arthritis, promoting lactation, and reducing swelling, African traditional medicine uses a much wider range of body parts for both spiritual and physical healing. In Africa, 22 body parts are documented across 59 ailments, with a strong emphasis on spiritual protection, warding off witchcraft, and ritual purposes that have no equivalent in TCM practice. African use is also more geographically diffuse, varying significantly between tribal communities and cultures.

Can pangolins be conserved while respecting traditional medicine practices?

Conservation organisations are increasingly pursuing approaches that engage traditional healers as conservation partners rather than adversaries. Strategies include collaborating with traditional medical practitioners to develop substitute materials for pangolin products, leveraging the cultural reverence many communities hold for pangolins to support protection, and incorporating traditional ecological knowledge into monitoring programmes. In Cameroon, cultural pride in pangolins reached 95.2% in a 2024 survey, suggesting that the cultural value of pangolins as living symbols can be redirected from consumptive to protective behaviours.