02/03/2023
Mucuna pruriens is a tropical legume native to Africa and tropical Asia and widely naturalized and cultivated. Its English common names include monkey tamarind, velvet bean, Bengal velvet bean, Florida velvet bean, Mauritius velvet bean, Yokohama velvet bean, cowage, cowitch, lacuna bean, and Lyon bean.
Its called "Agbala in igbo and Werepe" in yourba.
The plant is notorious for the extreme itchiness it produces on contact, particularly with the young foliage and the seed pods. It also produces many medium-sized red swollen bumps along with the itching.
So while we cleaned and swept the big compound in preparation for an event in my hometown...these plants were sparsely laying around.
I wondered what kind of plant it was and how unique it looked, I didn't know what it was.
My cousin being a very inquisitive person saw the mucuna beans and touched it.
At first, he thought it was a dead animal seeing how hairy it was and was fascinated by its body.
Few minutes later, he started itching, he would touch his palm and it would itch, he would touch his legs and it would itch....everywhere he touched itched, then he washed his hands which only made it worse.
Finally I took him back to the house and my uncles and aunties noticed what was happening and applied palm oil all over him and gave him some to drink before the itching stopped.
2days later, after the event was concluded and we came back to the big compound.
"Kelechi come and see something!!
He ran to come see what I was showing him and immediately he saw the mucuna beans laying pretty yet dangerous on the floor, he took off !!
He ran and never looked back promising himself he wouldn't touch it again or anything without knowing what it was.
-Igwe Juliet
