INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL SCIENCES SESSION 3: INDIGENOUS SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES In the previous session, we discussed the history of chemical science

and its importance. In this session we shall consider some indigenous application of chemical science of chemical science. Objectives By the end of this session, you should be able to: a. Appreciate indigenous chemical practices of our people; b. Understand how chemistry develop through the period; and c. Be prepare for the readings ahead now read on

3.1 Indigenous Scientific Practices Indigenous scientific practices would give the reader an insight into how chemistry can be used to explain traditional activities of the indigenes. This also explains that science has been practices long before the white man came to Ghana. Science has been practiced over the long before the advent of the white man to Ghana. However the name science was alien at the time until it finally explains the principles they were using at the time as scientific concept. We shall look at the production of soap and alcohol. Also we would consider the use of charcoal and wood ashes. Then also, we will consider simple indigenous acid-base reactions..

3.2 The Use of Charcoal Charcoal has been used over the years even long before gas; electricity and kerosene became sources of fuel for domestic and commercial purposes. Charcoal has ever since, till today, been on an enormous scale of consumption as fuel for cooking and boiling herbs as far as medicinal purposes are concerned.

INDIGENOUS SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES As a source of fuel, charcoal has been used for heating box pressing irons, heating the home in cold weather as well as in cooking foods, in most homes and places where charcoal is known, it is preferred for use as fuel for cooing foods. That is boiling, frying, grilling, roasting as well as baking. According to our old folks, dropping a piece of charcoal into a pot of soup or stew that seems to have slightly gone bad will bring it back to normalcy and restore it taste. Well, scientists have not proven this but it works like magic. For cleaning of kitchen utensils, charcoal is ground and mixed with ground eggshell and white clay, which gives a very good abrasive and cleans effectively. It can also be used with the tip edge of unripe plantain to clean the teeth charcoal is also used as the base for most traditional medicines whose curing power is unbeatable. Most concoction in traditional homes are charcoal base. For instance ground charcoal can cure stomachache almost instantly.

3.3 Local Preparation of Soap Locally, peels of food stuff, the waste cocoa pods can edible oil are the main starting materials for the production of soap. This soap has been in use for over hundreds of years. Presently it has undergone some king of phase lift; however, the method of preparation is the same as it used to be. The difference now is just the method of packaging the product, the content remain the same.

3.3.1 Procedure for the Production Materials collection; waste cocoa pod, or peels of some food stuff (plantain, cassava etc.) are collected and fried for sometime. The dried material is burnt in excess oxygen into ashes. The ashes are put into water for some time and then the suspension filtered. The filtrate is what is used in the soap making. The next thing is the extraction of palm oil from the palm fruits. The palm fruit is boiled for sometime and the juice squeezed out. It is then mixed with water and then boiled; because water and old are unmixable, the oil settles on the surface of the water and is easily scooped off. The oil is then heated to further remove any impurities present in the course of its preparation. The refined oil is then mixed with the filtrate from the ashes and heated for

sometime until the soap is formed. The heating continues until all the excess water is boiled off. The soap then remains as slurry, soft and black substance. The method of soap production as we know today follows the same principle. Except that the materials keeps changing. The filtrate is known today as potassium hydroxide which is similar to the caustic soda used in large scale soap productions today. The process is science known today as soponification.

3.4 Local distillation of Alcohol From the palm wine it is stored for about three days to allow fermentation to take place. After three days, the fermented palm wine is heated in a large barrel which has been completely closed with only a tube connected from the upper end, where the steam vapour is passed through a pool of cold water. The pool of water serves as the cooling agent to cool the tube. And the alcohol in the vapour state is converted to liquid state when the hot vapour comes into contact with the cooled tube. This tube leads to another container at another side into which the alcohol in the tube is discharged. However, as the content is heated and boiling taking place, the vapour generated comes out from the tube and converted back to the liquid form. The first distillate is about 80% alcohol. The percentage alcohols are tested normally with flame. The colour of the flame determines the strength of alcohol. Blue flame depict strong alcohol whiles yellow a very weak known as distillation. This means that, some of our indigenous activities preparation of soap as already discussed.

3.5 Indigenous Acid-ase Reaction a. The reaction of Kanwu In the local scene, whenever one prepares tomato stew and the acidity of the sauce is too much, kanwu is added to neutralize that acid content. The phenomenon is in practice even today but it is only that the concept was not known as a scientific process. It is entirely an acid base reaction

which results in the production of salt and water. This is referred to as neutralization reaction. The Kanwu has been determined to contain sodium carbonate and sodium hydrogen carbonate.

b. The Reaction of hyire: (Kaolin Clay) Heat burns and stomach upset over the years have been treated with a substance know as hyire in most local communities in Ghana. Heart burns or indigestion is as a result of outpouring of acid which lowers the pH to a point at which one becomes uncomfortable in the stomach. This means that any remedy to that discomfort should contain a base to neutralize the acidic effect in the stomach. Once hyire is consumed the acidic effect in the stomach is neutralized. The hyire is basic and it able to neutralize the acid. The hyire is known today as kaolin.

Self-Assessment Questions Exercise 1.3 1. List the main staring materials for the local preparation of soap. 2. The filtrate from the ashes is also known as 3. Why is palm wine store for about three day? 4. State one important use of Kaolin? 5. The colour of flame determines the strength of alcohol. What colour depicts strong alcohol and which depicts weak alcohol. This is a blank sheet for your short notes on: Issues that are not clear; and Difficult topics, if any.