Social research paper

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Freeman, Rhea

Traditional Healing and Modernization in Africa

Introduction

There is an abundance of scholarly publications on traditional healing in Africa and some

studies and observations show there is a decline in traditional healing practices due to

modernization and globalization, changes in religious beliefs, and the availability of western

medicine. There is no doubt that these factors have had an impact on many aspects of society

among the various ethnic groups in Africa, however, because traditional healing is inextricably

tied to socio-cultural and religious beliefs and practices, one can conclude that traditional healing

will not disappear any time in the near future. In this essay I demonstrate how interwoven

traditional healing is with the worldview of many African ethnic groups and how, in fact,

modernization and globalization actually increases the need for traditional healing.

Belief Systems, Values and Religious Doctrines

The fundamental view of most African ethnic groups regarding life, disease, and death is

the belief in one God, known by many different names according to ethnic group, as the supreme

creator with deities and ancestors as members of the supernatural world who play an integral role

in the physical world (Okwu, 1979, p. 19). Deities derive their power from God and have the

ability to prevent misfortune and bestow peace and prosperity. Ancestral spirits act as

intermediaries between the living and the gods and play a role in rewarding good behavior, or

punishing bad behavior.

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Maintaining harmony and social order within the community and preserving harmony

between humans and the spirit world is highly valued for fear of consequences brought about by

supernatural forces when the equilibrium is not sustained. If rules and norms are not obeyed,

society suffers the consequences, and likewise, ancestors punish family members who neglect

filial duties, or are moral offenders (Essien, 2013, p. 239). On the other hand, ancestors can be

the source of good fortune when expectations are met (Okwu, 1979, p. 20).

Most African ethnic groups believe in ancestors being able to guide events and thus

ancestors are revered (Cumes, 2013, 58). However, members of the spirit world are also feared

because they cannot be seen and possess power over humans in the hierarchical scheme of

African traditional religion. Given this perception the supernatural is of supreme importance in

the worldview of most African ethnic groups (Okwu, 1979, p. 20).

Fundamental Aspects of Traditional Healing

Traditional healers are known by several names according to different ethnic groups, but

in South Africa the traditional healer is known as a sangoma. The sangoma tradition has

multiple roots that extend across time, cultures and languages, and derives partly from pre-

colonial African systems of belief. Healers may be men or women, however, among some ethnic

groups only men are healers. In any case, there are secret components of traditional healing that

are transmitted orally and cannot be revealed (Cumes, 2013, p. 58). Healers may acquire their

abilities by heredity, through dreams or visions from the spirit world, or selection by their

community. Unlike Western physicians, a sangoma does not need a patient’s history to know

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what is wrong. Information about plant remedies often come to healers in dreams, but the power

of the remedy cannot be isolated from the strength of the healer, or ancestors.

Curative medicines are used to address bad health conditions and involve plant and

animal substances while protective medicine wards off misfortune, bad luck and suffering

resulting from forces in the environment, the spiritual world, envy and the power of the spoken

word (Mulemi, 2004, p. 249).

Medicines can be administered in various ways such as steaming, inhaling or bathing and

there are medicines for all aspects of health including physical illness, mental illness, social

disharmony and spiritual difficulties, as well as love potions and medicines for dreams and luck.

Charms and amulets are used to ward off the effects of curses, witchcraft and sorcery (Cumes,

2013, p. 58). Rituals are also performed including sacrifices, divinations, incantations and spells

invoking the names of ancestors for prevention.

These practices are used to prevent accidents, defeat in legal cases, possession by evil

spirits, anger of ancestors and other health dangers and they are even used to find lost objects or

people Cosmic and spiritual forces against an individual’s health and prosperity also affect one’s

possessions and the ability to protect possessions is critical since livestock and cattle are most

valued (Mulemi, 2004, pp. 249-250).

Scholarly research has documented the importance of the placebo as a vital tool for the

sangoma who manipulates the power of belief and faith in combination with the ancestral spirit

assigned to the plant to do distant healing (Cumes, 2013; Essien, 2013; Okwu, 1979). Since

different tribes and healers may use the same plant to successfully treat different problems, it

implies that healing is a result of the ancestral spirit and the placebo rather than the

pharmacological properties of the plant.

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Factors that May Contribute to a Decline in Traditional Healing

According to Cumes, modernization and globalization are eroding the practices of

traditional healing (Cumes, 2013, p. 58). Additionally, traditional healing is changing as

sangomas are exposed to a wide range of other healing traditions and religious views. African

traditional healing must compete with other modes of healing, including New Age therapies,

Chinese, Indian and European ‘traditional’ medicines utilizing herbs and other therapies

(Thornton, 2009, p.19). In a study conducted from 1995 to 2007, results showed that traditional

healing decreased by as much as 12 percent over the period (Peltzer, 2009, p. 170).

The training one must undergo to become a sangoma is rigorous, exhausting and

expensive, yet in the government’s view traditional healers are considered to be a lesser form of

medical practitioner. Attempts by the South African government to formalize and regulate

traditional healing practices have resulted in sangomas being excluded from other professions

contemplated under the Health Professions Act of 1974. Overall, legislation takes a narrow view

of traditional healing practices as “weak versions of medicine and social work” (Thornton, 2009,

pp. 21-23).

Role of the Traditional Healing in African Society

Belief in the occult is a cross-cultural religious and quasi-religious phenomenon and

occultism affects normal human life more than realized, especially with regard to disease and

therapeutics. The occult is a cultural mechanism that ordinary Africans can use to cope with

massive social change that has increased the divide between the rich minority and the poor

majority due to modernization and globalization. Both fortune and misfortune, as well as good

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health and illness have long been attributed to supernatural forces, and belief in the occult has

responded to the increased scale of social changes rather than being diminished by them.

Consequently, the role of the sangoma continues to be highly valued and sangomas are

adapting to these social changes; they consider themselves to be members of a profession with a

distinct intellectual tradition, one that undergoes critique, modification and change in the light of

experience and myriad influences (Thornton, 2009, p. 17). Furthermore, the tradition will

continue to be perpetuated since the sangoma’s primary commitment is to an intellectual practice

of teaching and transmission of knowledge (Thornton, 2009, p. 23).

Given deep-rooted, traditional beliefs about the supernatural causation of disease and ill

health, traditional healing is of paramount importance among African ethnic groups. The past,

present, and future are viewed as a continuum in which cosmic harmony is essential for social

order and good health (Okwu, 1979, p. 20). Integrated systems of beliefs, strategies, and

behaviors to prevent illness, restore health and social order, and to maintain harmony with the

spiritual world have evolved over time.

The spiritual and physical resources used to maintain health constitute traditional

medicine and healing and are consistent with a worldview that comes from eons of social,

cultural, and religious beliefs and practices. The notion of medicine, illness, and healing are

consistent with most African’s worldview and this is demonstrated in their value systems: social

conduct, cultural perception, myths, ritual, and healing processes (Essien, 2013, p. 244).

Conclusion

Although there are numerous factors impacting traditional healing in Africa, including

some that could contribute to the decline in the use of traditional medicine and practices, the

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prevalence of occult beliefs among the various African ethnic groups produces a significant

demand for traditional healing to address illness and misfortune stemming from supernatural

forces. Furthermore, it is clear that traditional healing rituals and practices are inextricable from

value systems as well as social, cultural and religious beliefs and practices for most African

ethnic groups.

Additionally, traditional healers are adapting to the massive social changes taking place

at the same time they are ensuring that traditional healing practices are carried into future

generations. Traditional healing practices and knowledge are not simply being carried forward

from the past, but have a prominent place in the present and the future.

Works Cited

Cumes, D. (2013). South African indigenous healing: How it works. Explore, 9(1), 58-65.

Essien, E.D. (2013). Notions of healing and transcendence in the trajectory of African traditional

religion: Paradigm and strategies. International Review of Mission, 102(2), 236-248.

Okwu, A.S.O. (1979). Life, death, reincarnation, and traditional healing in Africa. A Journal of

Opinion, 9(3), 19-24.

Mulemi, B.A. (2004). Medicine: Overview. In P. M. Peek & K. Yankah (Eds.), African folklore:

An encyclopedia (pp. 247-250). New York, NY: Routledge.

Peltzer, K. (2009). Utilization and practice of traditional/complementary/alternative medicine

(TM/CAM) in South Africa. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative

Medicines, 6(2), 168-174.

Thornton, R. (2009). The transmission of knowledge in South African traditional healing. Africa,

79(1), 17-34.