Explainer: All you need to know about age-long sex enhancer Kayan Mata

In Ghana, the rising demand for sex-related products and increased awareness of sexual wellness is driving a boom in the sex trade industry.

Despite Ghana’s conservative culture and propensity to avoid sexual matters, the industry is rapidly evolving. Without aggregate numbers, we can rely on anecdotes from vendors who claim to earn millions of cedis a year by selling sex toys and enhancers.

Kayan Mata is primarily used by married women (and soon-to-be brides) for the pleasure of their husbands. It is a practice that has lasted in northern Nigeria for about five centuries (500 years or more). The products are gifts some mothers usually give their daughters at marriage to help them “please their husbands sexually.” It also includes grooming the vagina with herbs to smell nice, be well-lubricated, firmer, and tighter

We understand today that, medically, it is best to let the vagina not cause an imbalance in its supply of hydrogen (PH).

Batul Abdullateef, a married woman, shared her experience buying products like Gorontula fruits and yoni candy from a Kayan mata vendor to save her marriage.

“Before I ventured into the kayan mata business, I was struggling with low libido, and it hit me hard. I reached out to my friend. I called her the Kayan Mata Guru, and she recommended Gorontula fruits and yoni candy. I had doubts, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

“The first day of taking the Gorontula fruits and yondi candy, I felt nothing. The second day, I felt nothing, but by the third day, things got interesting, and my libido skyrocketed,” she said.

Also, on 23 May, a viral video on social media showed Ghanaian entrepreneur and influencer Hajia Bintu promoting products that claim to have a spiritual charm for men.

Social media users who commented on the video urged the Food and Drugs Authority to take action against such advertisements of alleged Kayan Mata products, questioning their safety for users and buyers. In response, the FDA, with its official X account, tweeted that its regulatory laws do not mandate it to look into spiritual claims.

DUBAWA has, therefore, decided to explore these Kayan Mata products to ensure that people are well-informed about them and that they are safe during usage.

Kayan Mata: A rich cultural heritage

Anecdotal narratives surrounding the motivation for women’s use of Kayan Mata products spark conversations across social media platforms in Ghana. This has also become an important debate in the sociology of intimate relationships and sexuality.

Maryam is one of the hundreds of women in Northern Nigeria who make a living by selling aphrodisiacs. Kayan Mata, translated literally as “women’s property or things,”  is a generic name for various aphrodisiacs.

“It is not the name of a specific enhancer but a five-century practice of handing down spices, creams, perfumes, tablets, etc., made from herbs believed to heighten sexual experiences.” Hamida Wasilla, a user, explains its significance to women in the region.

“The basic concept behind using Kayan Mata is to make sure that both you and your spouse are so happy that they won’t look outside your married residence,” she says.

Kayan Mata comprises various components, including sweets, lubricants, perfumes, makeup, herbs, sweetener powders, and spices. The ingredients have evolved over the years, but typically, the products have a base of honey, tiger nuts, camel’s milk, millet, herbs, and roots. Many herbs used to create these enhancers are local, making English translations hard to come by.

However, positive reviews are easy to come by. “Kayan Mata works. I took the bird (pigeon); it’s cooked in a mix of herbs and spices. It also has health benefits; I didn’t have to struggle with vaginal dryness, which prevented injury,” another user, Hadiza Mohammed, enthuses.

Traditionally, Kayan Mata is supposed to ensure social stability by keeping couples happily married. In a conservative and predominantly Muslim region, emphasis is placed on maintaining a stable family. While this is not the only means of preserving stability, Kayan Mata contributes to achieving it for the average Northern woman. More often than not, most vendors do not reveal their ingredients.

Types of Kayan Mata

Kayan Mata has become the name of several herbs and concoctions targeted at enhancing the responsiveness of women to their men and making them more pliable for sexual activities.

“Kayan Mata is made of various ingredients, including spices, herbs, sweetener powders, lubricants, cosmetics, and candies. Although the components have changed, honey has always been the main ingredient in the goods.” There are other varieties, such as sweets, groundnuts, and chewing sticks.

These are herbs that have the effect of an aphrodisiac on the woman to make her sexually enhanced during sex with her husband. The objective is to enhance partners’ sexual experiences.

Interestingly, just as Kayan mata is associated with the Northern part of Nigeria, so is Adodun to the Yoruba society or the famous Fattening Rooms of Eastern Nigeria, all geared towards the same objective: to enhance women’s sexual libido.

Is Kayan Mata voodoo?

While they are regarded as aphrodisiacs, some have linked them to voodoo or black magic, which ladies use to attract and retain wealthy men. Still, Danso Abbeam, founder of Abbeam Ministries, claims they have no spiritual effect.

According to him, those substances were just to enhance sexual activities. “This is the problem I have with Ghanaians and Africans. If a white person should do something like this and bring it onto the market, we will all hail the person and talk about how great it is, but once it comes from a black person or an African, we say it is juju or spiritual.

“I have taken time to research this Kayan Mata, and I can say there is nothing spiritual about it. That notion should be discarded.

“It is just like you being sick and taking painkillers, so there is nothing wrong. Using it will not distort your destiny; if it’s used on you, it will not do that either because there is nothing spiritual about it.”

Abbeam added that people should disregard those black magic notions, saying it was too much use that he was concerned about.

“For me, too much of everything is bad, and that is what I will not encourage, but I want the ladies also to know that these substances they buy do not keep a man or make a man enjoy sex.

“It goes beyond that. So, since these supposed love or sexual potions are there, they do not really do anything. A man will stay because he wants to stay, not because someone used Kayan Mata.

“The truth is, these things are just enhancers, not juju; let’s disregard that perception and appreciate what God has given us,” he said.

Multimedia storyteller and feminist Nana Aisha Salaudeen also expressed that a native doctor is different from a witch doctor, although both use herbs.

“It is wrong for any person to just (generally) say that using Kayan Mata is wrong and diabolical.”

“What I have to say is that the use of magical Kayan Mata is [not] wrong. That was why I made it very clear that in itself and originally, Kayan Mata isn’t diabolic. We have the responsibility to tell people the whole truth, i.e., that not every Kayan Mata is diabolic and that it doesn’t cause any health risks.”

Health implications

Many Kayan Mata products have also shown substantial health benefits to users. Tiger nut milk (Kunun Aya) is one of the most common forms of Kayan Mata. It is rich in amino acids, especially arginine, which benefits those suffering from high blood pressure.

“It is always important to look out for the best mix of products with multiple (health) benefits for a client. My perfumes, for example, besides the great fragrance, boost confidence and help to lighten the mood of the woman,” explains Maryam Usman, pointing out that each aphrodisiac has a different effect on the individual.

However, in recent times, Kayan Mata products have been abused, with some vendors mixing their products with other items to boost their effects.

Ruth Zamani, a gynaecologist, highlighted the dangers of this approach.

“There are many dangers with these new forms of Kayan Mata, and many women do not seem to pay attention. Anything that has to be inserted or clipped is discouraged, as it can tear the cervical tissues or risk cervical cancer for the woman,” she warned.

This rise in unadulterated Kayan Mata products is particularly worrying, considering the burden of risk is on the woman who purchases (and uses) the products and her husband may drive the decision to buy (or use). Now, more than ever, attention must be paid to the health implications of Kayan Mata products.

Is there a market for good sex?

As Kayan Mata is a deeply entrenched cultural practice passed from one generation to another, there is always demand for its products. Moreover, entrepreneurs in this industry tend to have steady sales as demand is largely inelastic for low- and high-income families.

For example, Nigeria’s highest-paid sex therapist, Hauwa Muhammad, popularly known as Jaaruma Empire, charges a small fortune for Kayan Mata.

One bottle goes for GHC 994 and consultations alone cost GHC 497. “In a week, more than 30 women come to me for consultation before eventual purchase,” she remarks in one of her YouTube videos.

Two things come to mind with these figures. The first is that there is a large market for sex among women.

Secondly, women are willing to pay significant sums for products that improve intimacy with their partners.

The interesting thing about Kayan Mata is that it appeals to people of different income levels. There are options for those that are priced out of Jaaruma Empire. For example, Maryam Usman’s perfumes and herbs range from GHC 10 to GHC 100. “In a week, at least 15 women move to me to sell them my enhancers,” she says.

Kayan Mata is slowly moving across the country. The Southwest has started to adopt the practice, with many Kayan Mata entrepreneurs scattered worldwide. Some women in Ghana may view Kayan Mata as a novelty, but it is a practice backed by 500 years of culture and one that shows that for the women of the North, good sex has a price tag.

Regulatory laws in Ghana governing Kayan Mata products

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) responded to calls from some Ghanaians to take action against social media influencer Hajia Bintu’s advertisement promoting a men-charming potion known as ‘Kayan Mata’.

The Authority tweeted on 23 May that “per the law, the FDA is not mandated to oversee products that make spiritual claims.”

The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) is the national statutory body in charge of managing the country’s quality infrastructure, which includes three (3) pillars: metrology, standardisation, and conformity assessment.

Speaking to the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Kofi Amponsah Bediako, he said the Authority is responsible for issuing the respective Ghana Standards Marks of Conformity for conformity assessment. These are intended to strengthen the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI), protect public health, and ensure safety.

“At first, it was the FDA’s job, but for products that are not foods or drugs, we are in charge of them. Products like chemicals, machines, oils, and the rest—anything that is consumed by humans, but is not a food or a drug—is also handled by us.

“GSA also promotes research in relation to specifications and to provide for the examination and testing of goods, commodities, processes, and practices, and for those purposes, the Authority may establish any laboratories and any other facilities as it thinks fit.”

According to Bediako, a person who commits an offence such as selling unregulated products under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding one penalty unit for every day during which the offence continues.

“A person shall not be convicted of that offence if it is proved that the offence was committed without the knowledge of, or that due diligence was exercised by, that person to prevent the commission of the offence,” he added.

Our fellow produced this explainer as part of the requirements of the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship in partnership with Asaase Radio, Ghana.

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