South Africa Vigra Element (faux herbal Viagra) to enhance male sexual function

Made:
circa 2010 in Hong Kong

South Africa Vigra Element (faux herbal Viagra) to enhance male sexual function, purchased in Ghana, made by Hong Kong Genic Biology Technology Engineering Company Ltd, c2010. Apparently contains ginseng, male moth, dog penis, dragon fly, East Asian tree fern etc.

Using a play on the trademark Viagra, the packaging claims to be a ‘purely natural preparation of South Africa Vigra Element,’ ‘safe for patients of high blood pressure, or cardiac disease or after drinking’ and promises results in 15 minutes and lasting for hours. According to the packaging, it contains a range of items used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), showing the ways in which practices and treatments encountered from different cultures are selectively absorbed and re-invented. This also highlights the spread of TCM within West Africa, little of which has been documented.

The packaging features explicit sexual imagery of white couples, raising questions about attitudes to and portrayals of sex. Purchased from a travelling trader called Comfort Owusu in Accra, Ghana, this item is one of several collected for the Science Museum by Jonathan Roberts, lecturer at Mount Saint Vincent University and a specialist in the history of medicine and religion in West Africa. Jonathan’s work focuses on the many forms of healing present in Accra. People often self-diagnose their problem to make choices about which medical or healing system is most appropriate to them or which treatment they believe will be most effective.

Details

Category:
Materia Medica & Pharmacology
Object Number:
2011-28
Materials:
metal (unknown) and paper (fibre product)
Measurements:
overall: 100 mm x 83 mm x 24 mm, .017 kg
type:
drug