Ejeckam, Gershon C.

Ejeckam, Gershon C.,

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African Medical Theory and Practices

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UCLAUfahamu: A Journal of African StudiesTitleAfrican Medical Theory and PracticesPermalinkhttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/31d1w4g8JournalUfahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 7(3)ISSN0041-5715AuthorEjeckam, Gershon C.Publication Date1977DOI10.5070/F773017409Copyright InformationCopyright 1977 by the author(s). All rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. Contact the author(s) for any necessary permissions. Learn more at https://escholarship.org/terms Peer reviewedeScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital LibraryUniversity of CaliforniaL 4 talismanic :role with that of a traditional doctor. Medicine nen cause all sorts of problems to the o::mmmity, and often practise nec:romancy. '!hey should not be oonfused with the respected arid accredited local doctor. Traditional doctors did not usually practise necranancy. They did establish credibility in their powers by perfonning illusionaiY phenarena for their patients . For example , if a patient carre with protracted arthr.i,tis, he was likely to develop respect for and confidence in a doctor if while in the waiting room, he either experienced or witnessed unusual hafPe11ings. '!his sort of practice is carried on today but in a nore "refined" way. It is not an overstatem:mt to say that the nore luxurious and entertaining a western-trained doctor's waiting roan is the nore he is oonsidered a better doctor. In fact, the nore diffi-cult it is to get an appoint:Irent to see a doctor the higher his/ her prestige. The reasoning being that if he is so busy that it takes two nonths to see him then everybody nrust be going to him and he must therefore be very good. In oontrast, to the expensive and often rich and .arrogant western-trained cbctor, the traditional doctor was a hurble often poor man practicing in austerely furnished :rocms. Patients paid virtually nothing except certain prerequisi tes which might include chickens, goats, lizards , snakes and tortoises to be sacrificed to the deities of healing. Only the blood, hair or feathers of these creatures were used. The chickens and goats were oonsurred by the doctor and/or his household. It is pertinent to say that rrost doctors did not suffer fran malnutrition because they collec-ted certain food i terns f:rom their patients, wtx:> themselves might be malnourished. Also lCM financial rewards was based on the belief that good msdicine should not be costly. In fact, sorre doctors rejected payments above the accepted rates, their fear being that if they charged rrore, their healing capability would disappear. Having said this it would be naive not to touch on several areas of traditional medical practice which really were abhorrent and negatively affected a patient ' s survival. Childbirth, cir-cuncision and beliefs about certain types of disorders were areas in which there was medical abuse . In sane African societies and regretably so in nore recent tirres, delivery of twins was regarded as an evil anen and the babies autanatically discarded. Since the inposition of Christianity and i t s religious cbgma these practices stopped. In parts of Nigeria su::h as Nsukka Division expectant rrothers were expected to deliver in the squatting posi-tion in unsanitary bathrcx::rns, acoording to the custom of the people. Regretably this still happens and I have unfortunately been unable to learn the reason for this. The medical danger here is that the woman delivers a child in a nost uncomfortable and unnatural posture with attendant obstructed labor which in 5 sate cases lead to vesioovaginal fistulae (vaginal and bladder problans). One of the JOOSt fatal practices is in certain parts of Western Nigeria where CCM dung is awlied to the navels of new born babies. Many of the babies die from an acute infection (neonatal tetanus) in the first four weeks after birth. '1llen there are cases in which peq>l e suffering from anaemia have under-gone blood letting mder the mistaken brpression that their problem was due to ''bad" blood. 'lhese procedures th::>u:jl still practised are rapidly disawearing. One other inportant aspect is the general awroadl to and treatrrent of peq>le with certain diseases. Far exarrple, patients who have what is called anaearc'a (excessive build-up of tissue fluid) a disease which oould arise from liver, kidney , heart and caloric prcblans were thought to be possessed by sore fonn of evil spirit. Since the presence of this evil was a bad anen for the family and cx:rmunity, the usual awroach was to carry them during the night to an isolated forest arrl left there to die . The nere existence of the above-nentioned mispractices in the African nedi.cal evolution &:les not in any way justify the slanderous carrpaign against those selfless nen and WCilEl1 who held the fort of nedi.cal attendance mtil ITDdern nedi.cine becarre widespread. It should be noted that in curing diseases such as extensive conminut ed fractures, psychosanatic disorders and frantic manic psychosis , the traditional doctor is still preferred. However, one may ask whether the advent of Christ-ianity and westernization has been helpful arrl useful. I do not think the answer is unequivocally in the affinnative. It is true twins all:! no longer killed, patients with anarsaca no longer isolated in bushes, CCM dung disoouraged for navel treat-rrent and pregnant WCilEl1 roN deliver in rraternities arrl hospitals, but a great deal has been lost in not utilizing sate of the know-ledge of the traditional doctors . What is the status of the traditional doctor vis-a-vis rrodem nedi.cal practice today? Is everything dlanged to the high-rising hospital buildings? African societies have split into two sectors since oolonialism: the urban arrl rural . In the cities the practices of traditional doctors have dwindled. fb..'ever, governnents of sare African oountries have cx:ne to reoognize their ability arrl have licensed them but limited their practice to the use herbs. 'lhe situation is totally different in the· rural camnmities where m:xlern nedical care is either non-existent or negligible. '!here, the traditional doctors and midwives still oold sway. In sate situations it is even safer to obtain nedi.cal treabTent fran them than fran "m:xlern quacks" who are readily available with their unsterile syringes. It is knc:Mn that traditional midwives in the villages perfonn neater circurrcisions than inexperienced nedi.cal personnel in the high L 6 rise, nodern lx:lspitals. 'Ihe future of traditional doctors , has irrproved sarewhat with the independence of nost African oountries. '!he loathesane-ness with whidl the oolonial gove.rnnents looked upon them has been t.enpered. With the reoognition and licensing of sane of them, there is rope that traditional nedi.cal sciences will be studied. Also sore of the licensed doctors have forrred unions. One envisages that the secrecy and distrust which surrounded individual practice would give way to better understanding throU3h interaction and exchan9e of views . There is also rope that this will usher in standal:dization of treatrrent. Already sane are able to dispense their medicine with nodern eJ<actituie. 'Ibis , h<:Mever, will not be fully realized until there is m::>re organi-zation arrong traditional doctors. Having said this, the onus of obtaining a full understanding and integration of traditional medical sciences with m:xiern medicine ·rests on western trained African Cbctors and today IS goverruTentS • 'lile traditional doctorS should be approached with understanding and with a desire to irrprove their positions rather than with fear, mistrust and de-structive intentions. The latter, unfortunately, dlaracterizes the line of action that has often been taken. Departments of Pharmaoology in African universities smuld be interested in analyzing the herbs used by traditional Cbctors . I am certain they will obtain revealing and interesting results which can be put to good use. In oonclusion there are trerrenoous potentials in indigenous African medical practices that have so far been ignored by the medical world. It is high tine African goverrurents examined their assets rrore closely before enbarking on the often uncriti-cal .inportation of western nethods, systems and material . Dr. Gershon C. Ejeck.am, M.B . , B. S . (Ibadan, Nigeria) Chief Resident, Dept. of Patho~ogy, University of OttQh)a and Dept. of Laboratory Medicine OttQh)a Genera~ Hospita~ Ontario, Canada 

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African Medical Theory and Practices

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