Meet the plants: luffa
Be a fugitive to capitalism. - Tricia Hersey, The Nap Ministry
Luffa cylindrica
Luffa or loofah is a vine-grown member of the pumpkin, squash and gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. It has many common names including smooth luffa, sponge luffa, vegetable sponge gourd, climbing okra, dishcloth gourd, and Chinese okra. In Nigeria, it is commonly referred to as kankan or kankan oyibo in Yoruba, while the Hausas call it soosoo. The Igbos named it Asisa. Centuries ago, the luffa plant was brought to the Americas by European colonizers.
According to Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Effect of Luffa cylindrinca , extracts of the plant and isolated compounds have a wide spectrum pharmacological activities and have been shown to possess antiemetic, antidiabetic, antiviral, wound healing, anticancer, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anti-bacteria, anthelmintic, hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity.
Luffa is a powerful climber that under the best conditions can produce many sponge gourds. Luffa has been eaten as food and used in folk medicine for centuries, especially in Africa and Asia for the treatment of many diseases including malaria, stomach disorders, whooping cough, oedemas, wounds, tumors, filarial, rheumatism, dyspnea, inflammation, leprosy, syphilis, bronchitis, tuberculosis, dysentery and amenorrhea. Most of us know the luffa sponges sold in boutique stores; the traditional uses of this plant have been overshadowed by commercial production. In West Africa, many cultures now refer to luffa crops as “white peoples sponge.”
Nature always wins. Devante Bryant, in front of a wall of loofah New Orleans, Louisiana— with speed & teleporting.
According to Tricia Hersey, “Capitalism was created on plantations during chattel slavery and is the same system that is driving the entire globe to exhaustion and a deep disconnection with our bodies and minds today. We are no longer divine human beings in this system and instead machines.” Read, respect, be in awe of the work of Tricia Hersey here.
Luffa begs us to ask, what have we lost through capitalism?
How has liberation been compromised by capital production?
What is the role of capitalism in punishment, control and constraint? Can capitalism and liberation co-exist?
How do we gtf outta here!?
Luffa curls to help them climb!