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Methods of traditional african medicine
Importance of african medicine
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Traditional healing refers to a set of practices passed down through generations which intend to cure and prevent disease. In short, traditional medicine is the practice of health care based on traditional philosophy and the use of traditional medicine. In Africa, it presents as a holistic health care strategy which relies on an accumulation of knowledge of herbs and remedies which include plants, insects, and parts of animals. Traditional African healing is intertwined with traditional religions and spirituality. In Africa, traditional healing is administered by two different types of practitioners: sangoma (also called ngoma)—spiritual healers and diviners— and inyanga—herbalists. Although Africa is a continent of diverse cultures and tribes, traditional healers such as these exist across continent, providing 80% of the care for the population. From this information, it is evident that traditional healing is a important practice in the experience of a modern African.
Inyanga and sangoma perform different functions, treating different types of ailments. Inyanga are usually consulted for problems that are a result of a natural misfortune, such as routine illness or injury. They will treat the ailment with a traditional remedy made from medicinal herbs or mixtures of animal parts. Although anyone who wishes to, may become and inyanga, approximately 90% are male. Generally, a man wishing to become an inyanga will apprentice himself to a practicing inyanga before opening his own shop. An inyanga may also provide preventative medicines as well as remedies meant to bring about good luck.
Sangoma, on the other hand, treat the spiritual. When an unknown problem occurs, a sangoma is consulted to divine the source. Unlike inyanga, in or...
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Kale, Rajendra. "Traditional healers in South Africa: A parallel healthcare system," British Medical Journal, International edition. 310, no. 6988, 1995.
Nelms, Linda W and Gorski, June. "The Role of the African Traditional Healer in Women's Health,” Journal of Transcultural Nursing : Official Journal of the Transcultural Nursing Society / Transcultural Nursing Society. 17, 2006.
Hall, James. Sangoma: my odyssey into the spirit world of Africa New York: Putnam, 1994.
Berends, Willem. "African Traditional Healing Practices and the Christian Community," Missiology 21, no. 3, 1993.
Janzen, John M. "Self-Presentation and Common Cultural Structures in Ngoma Rituals of Southern Africa," Journal of Religion in Africa. 25, 1995.
McCord, Margaret. The Calling of Katie Makanya: a memoir of South Africa. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers, 1995.
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
The main characters, the Hmongs, are a culture of refugee families that supported CIA efforts in Laos. Their culture embeds deep spirituality into its health care, by the doctors of the Merced County hospital. The notion that herbs were strictly to heal the spirit was of course a source of contention for the physicians of the hospital, though nurses might feel that the symbolic effect alone is worth seizing. In other words, whether the physicians ...
The influence of a supernatural god and the spirit world influenced every aspect of the Indigenous African community including health and healing, thus a holistic approach to health and healing was essential.
From a western perspective, children and the elderly are the most vulnerable population and need to be given extra attention and precautions. I shadowed a pharmacist working at a children’s hospital and observed the level of care given to the patients. Fadiman evidently wants the reader to understand how cultural differences can become a barrier in providing medical care. Bruce Thowpaou Bliatout, a Hmong medical administrator, provides some measures to improve Hmong healthcare, including minimizing blood drawing, allowing shamanic ceremonies in the hospital, involving family and encouraging traditional arts.
pp. 41-84. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Pigg, Stacy Leigh. (1997) "Found in Most Traditional Societies: Traditional Medical Practitioners between Culture and Development.”
Traditional healing methods were based upon traditional Aboriginal spirituality beliefs.(p18). This spiritual belief system stated that “people exist within this context as worthy creatures, but no more worthy than any other being. To live secure, healthy lives through acknowledging and respecting the spiritual as well as the physical world, because there is no difference between the two.”(p71). The whole Aboriginal culture was based around these beliefs. Everyone in the community was treated as equal with acknowledgment and respect. Therefore those who deemed to follow the cultural beliefs had no difficulty in understanding the healing practices of the people. This appreciation of equality and respect was an advantage to the Aboriginal people, especially within their healing methods.
Angeles, Los. (2009). African arts. Volume 28. Published by African Studies Center, University of California.
Those Yoruba’s who have traveled out of their culture to different parts of the world happen to be the ones among them who believe in western medicine. Furthermore, they traditional Rural Yoruba’s do not actually trust the western medicine. In the rural parts of the Yoruba culture, western medicine is seen as a challenge to gods, and also a threat to their culture. The Traditional rural Yoruba’s don’t believe that any other medicine can cure any sickness that their traditional medicine could not cure. Which makes them to see the western medicine intimidating. The Yoruba’s are the main ethnic group in the states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo, which are subdivisions of Nigeria; they also constitute a sizable proportion of Kwara and Kogi States as well as Edo State (Yoruba People, 2010).
Throughout time, mankind has persistently been seeking ways to maintain their health and to cure those that had not been so fortunate in that task. Just about everything has been experimented with as a cure for some type of illness whether physical, spiritual or mental. There has always been evidence of spiritual healing and it will continue to be an important part of any healing process, large or small. In particular, the roots of Native American Medicine men (often a woman in some cultures) may be traced back to ancient times referred to as Shaman. A special type of healer used by the Indians is referred to as a medicine man (comes from the French word medecin, meaning doctor).
Mathews, Holly F. "Introduction: A Regional Approach and Multidisciplinary Persepctive." Herbal and Magical Medicine: Traditional Healing Today. Ed. James Kirkland, Holly F. Mathews, C. W. Sullivan, III, and Karen Baldwin. Durham: Duke UP, 1992. 1-13. Print.
Fiero, Gloria K. "Africa: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order." The Humanistic Tradition. 6th ed.
In sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of languages, cultures, and geographical regions helped influence our African society. The ways in which we produce our artwork, spiritual ideals, and ritual performances are organic and raw. From the tropical regions of Congo and Ghana, to the arid regions of Mali; I pass through the global gateway into a domain where the Western world lost its roots and artistic imagination and grandeur. Africa appeals most to me for its ability to create a realm where the living, dead, and artistic ideals come into a single unit of tranquil philosophy.
Toyin, Falola. “The Power of African Cultures.” Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom: University of Rochester Press, 2003. Print
Magesa, Laurenti. African Religion: The Moral Tradition of Abundant Life. Nairobi: Pauline Pub., Africa, 1998.
Nobles, Dr. Wade. Seeking the Sakhu: Foundational Writings for An African Psychology. 1st. Third World Press, 2006. Print.