ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Her face covered in honey and her hair rubbed with butter, Saba Yilma lets fragrant smoke waft from beneath a heavy leather cloak to moderate the temperature of her “weyba tis,” a traditional Ethiopian sauna therapy.
Sitting on a chair over a small fire made of smoldering twigs and herbs, Saba is one of a growing number of young city dwellers who regularly enjoy this beauty treatment, which practitioners claim also cures everything from pain to birth trauma.
“I had slight pain in my thighs and lower back. Now I feel relieved,” said Saba, who is in her late 20s, after a session at the Fana Weyba Spa and Salon in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
The business is owned by Fana Gebremedhin, who brought the practice from her hometown of Raya in the northern Tigray region more than two decades ago. She is about to open her third spa in the city.
“When I opened this business, only older women used this service,” said Fana. “Today, most of our customers are modern young women.”
There is initial evidence that the Weyba tree, the main fuel for the fire, has a healing effect on mice and rats.
A study published last year in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that weyba extract could be used to develop treatments to “control immune-related disorders.” However, the study did not examine the potential benefits of weyba smoke for humans.
“We understand that further studies are needed, but we have proven ourselves that it is a cure for hip and joint pain, headaches and also skin problems,” said Workinesh Birru, Ethiopia’s culture minister.
Mistir Desalegn does not need laboratory evidence. She undergoes the treatment at least once a week when she is in the capital.
“The feeling I have after using the Weyba Ti is very good,” she said. “My face glows.”
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Editing by Hereward Holland and David Holmes)
