The Black Drink

This plant is a beloved plant. Southeastern Native Americans used the leaves to brew a highly caffeinated tea known as the Black Drink. Today, the plant is called Yaupon Holly, but long ago Creek Indians called it the “beloved plant.” The leaves were a prized commodity among all the Southeastern Native American tribes. The leaves were roasted then boiled to produce the Black Drink. The Indians consumed Black Drink much like Americans consume coffee, but with a few minor differences.

The Black Drink was served as an emetic during purification rituals that took place before councils convened or warriors went off to war or hunt. The natives believed that a physical purity led to a spiritual purity, and the Southeastern natives possessed a religious zeal for purity. Before a man could proceed with any important undertaking, he would first purify himself by purging with the Black Drink. Yaupon Holly became so closely associated with the purging ritual that botanists gave the plant the Latin name Ilex vomitoria.

Today, this plant is sold in different varieties as a landscaping shrubbery and can be found gracing the sidewalks of new developments such as offices and apartments. It grows wild in abundance around the Moundville Archeological Park, where archeologists have recovered ancient Black Drink ceremonial cups.

In 1564, the French explorer Rene Laudonniere witnessed a Native American Black Drink ceremony in what is now north Florida. He wrote: “They esteem this beverage so much that no one can drink of it ... if he has not already proven himself a warrior. Moreover this drink makes them break out in a very heavy sweat ... and they do not hunger or thirst for twenty-four hours thereafter.”

There are some accounts of the natives even using the beverage as a purgative.

Some anthropologists question whether it was the beverage or those who drank the beverage that induced the purging. Creek descendant and cultural interpreter Butch Fuller allowed me to try a cup of Black Drink. I suffered no ill effects. The beverage looked and tasted much like a cup of green tea.

The Black Drink ceremony was a solemn occasion. Special singers and dancers gathered in the village council house and performed as the Black Drink was brewed over a fire in a large, earthen pot. They would sit for hours drinking, talking and purging. As the Southeastern natives were decimated, the ceremony died.

But the name Black Drink lives on in a strange form. With the removal of the natives came the influx of whites and the snake oil salesmen. These swindlers peddled all kinds of toxic elixirs that promised to cure every disease known to that point. More often these elixirs did more harm than good.

When I was a child, my grandmother was a fan of the Black Draught elixir. Its main ingredients are casanthranal and senna. I distinctly remember her forcing spoonfuls of the vile laxative down my throat when she felt my system wasn’t running like water. Very soon it would. Today I thank my grandmother for my lack of weight control issues.

Black Draught can still be purchased, and the makers promise a movement in six to 12 hours. They must not be making it as strong as they used to because I don’t remember it taking that long. One thing is for sure: I hope to never have to drink any more Black Draught. I’m sticking with the Black Drink -- locally produced for more than 800 years.

Michael Palmer is a staff photographer for The Tuscaloosa News. He can be reached at michael.palmer@tuscaloosanews.com.