TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR MEDICINE

1. CONCEPT OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

Traditional medicine, as defined by the World Health Organization, is the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness.

A traditional healer is one who provides medical care in the community that he lives, using herbs, minerals, animal parts, incantations, and other methods, based on the cultures and beliefs of his people. He must be seen to be competent, versatile, experienced, and trusted

The development and use of traditional herbal medicine (THM) have a very long historical background that corresponds to the Stone Age. In the continent of Africa, the practice of traditional healing and magic is much older than some of the other traditional medical sciences  and seems to be much more prevalent compared to conventional medicine. African traditional medicine is a form of holistic health care system that is organized into three levels of specialty, which include divination, spiritualism, and herbalism,

2. FORMS OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

Traditional medicine also known as alternative medicine or indigenous medicine is actually very wide, it is therefore summarised into three basic forms which includes 

1. Herbal medicine

Herbal medicine is a part and parcel of and sometimes synonymous with African traditional medicine. It is the oldest and still the most widely used system of medicine in the world today. It is used in all societies and is common to all cultures. Herbal medicines, also called botanical medicine, vegetable medicines. As  defined by World Health Organization (WHO) herbal medicine refers to  herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations, and finished herbal products that contain whole plants, parts of plants, or other plant materials, including leaves, bark, berries, flowers, and roots, and/or their extracts as active ingredients intended for human therapeutic use or for other benefits in humans and sometimes animals

2. Divination

Divination means consulting the spirit world. It is a method by which information concerning an individual or circumstance of illness is obtained through the use of randomly arranged symbols in order to gain healing knowledge. It is also viewed as a way to access information that is normally beyond the reach of the rational mind. It is a transpersonal technique in which diviners base their knowledge on communication with the spiritual forces, such as the ancestors, spirits, and deities.  It is, therefore, an integral part of an African traditional way of diagnosing diseases. The “spirit world” is consulted to identify the cause of the disease or to discover whether there was a violation of an established order from the side of the sick person. This is established through the use of cowry shells, throwing of bones, shells, money, seeds, dice, domino-like objects, or even dominos themselves, and other objects that have been appointed by the diviner and the spirit to represent certain polarities on strips of leather or flat pieces of wood.

3. Spiritual Healing 

Spiritual-based cases are handled in the following manner:

i. Spiritual protection: If the cause of the disease is perceived to be an attack from evil spirits, the person would be protected by the use of a talisman, charm, amulets, specially designed body marks, and a spiritual bath to drive the evil spirits away. These are rites aimed at driving off evil and dangerous powers, spirits, or elements to eliminate the evils or dangers that may have befallen a family or community

ii. Sacrifices: Sacrifices are sometimes offered at the request of the spirits, gods, and ancestors. Sometimes, animals such as dogs and cats, goat etc are slaughtered or buried alive at midnight to save the soul of the one at the point of death, with the belief that their spirits are strong enough to replace life.

iii. Spiritual cleansing: Spiritual cleansing may be required of the sick person to bathe at specific times for a prescribed number of days either with water or animal blood poured from head to toe. This practice is also common among some communities in Ghana

iv. Exorcism: This is a practice of expelling demons or evil spirits from people or places that are possessed or are in danger of being possessed by them. Many of the traditional communities believe that illness, especially mental illness, is mostly caused by evil spirits. Exorcism can only be performed by a religious leader or a priest who has the authorities and powers to do so. Sometimes, an effigy made of clay or wax would be used to represent the demon and would ultimately be destroyed. Exorcism may be accompanied by dancing to the beating of drums, singing, and sometimes flogging the individual or touching him/her with strange objects such as animal tails and other objects to chase out the spirit.

v. Libation: Libation involves pouring of some liquid, mostly local gin on the ground or sometimes on objects followed by the chanting or reciting of words. It is usually regarded as a form of prayer. The liquid could also be water or in modern times, wine, whisky, schnapps, or gin. Some cultures also use palm wine, palm oil, and coconut water, while some others use corn flour mixed with water. Libation pouring as is practiced in some communities has three main parts, namely invocation, supplication, and conclusion

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

The following are some of the characteristics of traditional medicine.

1. It is not scientifically sound

2. It is base on the beliefs of the practitioner and the person using it .3. The practitioners treat their skills as a secret act

4. Material, methods and techniques are undocumented.

5. It is unhygienic and thus may constitute more illness

6. There is no standard measurement of the dosage

7. It is poorly organized.

4. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

ADVANTAGES OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE 

1. It is cheap and affordable

2. No wasting of time for consultation

3. It is easily accessible

4. Non-sophisticated in technology

DISADVANTAGES OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE 

1. It is prepared under unhygienic condition

2. Traditional medicine has no standard dosage

3. The materials/method used in preparing it is not documented

4. It is poorly organized

5. Excessive intake of traditional medicine may lead to liver damage

6. The idea of using one drug to treat all kind of disease may lead to drug abuse

7. Traditional medicine sometimes involves the use of witchcraft

5. CONCEPT OF ILLNESS AND DISEASE

In African traditional setting, there was always an explanation as to why someone was suffering from a certain disease at a particular time. According to Ayodele, (2017) diseases mostly revolve around witchcraft/sorcery, gods or ancestors, natural, as well as inherited. Illness in the African society is different from the allopathic Western medicine point of view. Illness is believed to be of natural, cultural, or social origin. Cultural or social illness is thought to be related to supernatural causes such as angered spirits, witchcraft, or alien/evil spirits, even for conditions now known to be well understood in modern medicine such as hypertension, sickle-cell anemia, cardiomyopathies, and diabetes. African traditional beliefs consider the human being as being made up of physical, spiritual, moral, and social aspects.