African Traditional Medicine Day Celebration
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Transcript of African Traditional Medicine Day Celebration
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This definition applies to all traditional systems of medicine whether in Europe, India, China or Africa. Yet whereas
European missionaries and colonial administrators left alone, sometimes even encouraged, traditional medicine in
India and China, they almost violently discouraged African traditional medicine. In particular, the intricate relationship
between African medicine and African religion made traditional medical practices key targets of attack by early
European Christian missionaries, who considered many African traditional religious rites and rituals to be against
Christian teachings and morals. Traditional healers were regarded as heathens because of their participation in
African Traditional Religion.
In The Beginning
The beginnings of civilization and the origins of the healing arts can be traced back to Africa and the divine
Inmhotep, healer to the Pharaohs. The ancient African healers had an elaborate materia medica, most of the over
5,000 plant species have been used for food and medicine for centuries. There is no clear distinction in traditional
African medicine as to when a herb ceases to be a health food and becomes a medicine. The traditions of Africa
have not been documented nearly as well as the cultures of India and China, leaving African medicinal plant species
underrepresented in modern herbal medicine. Valuable species are in danger of being lost to deforestation before we
ever come to understand them, and some such as Pygeum have become an endangered species because of the
high demand. Hopefully we will find the wisdom to preserve this ancient and immensely valuable resource for the
Earths children.
The Rich Knowledge And Wisdom Of African Herbal Medicines. The herbal way does not represent an "alternative" medicine method; it represents a way of life where its
effectiveness is very often greater and less harmful than conventional drugs. Traditional African Medicine is a holistic discipline involving indigenous herbalism and African spirituality, typically
involving diviners, midwives and herbalists. Traditional African medicine can cure various and diverse conditions.
Diagnosis is reached through spiritual means and a treatment is prescribed. Traditional African medicine, with its
belief that illness is not derived from chance occurrences, but through spiritual or social imbalance, differs greatly
from Western medicine, which is technically and analytically based. In the 21st century, modern pharmaceuticals and
medical procedures remain inaccessible to large numbers of African people due to their relatively high cost and
concentration of health centres in urban centres. In recent years, African medical practitioners have acknowledged
that they have much to learn from traditional medical practice.
Holistic Health
In traditional African societies it is believed that good health, disease, success or misfortune are not chance
occurrences but arise from the actions of individuals and ancestral spirits according to the balance or imbalance
between the individual and the social environment. African traditional understanding was that sickness was a kind of
punishment by the spirits of the ancestors to those who do not observe the rules of good social behaviour, from
whom the ancestors withdraw their protection leaving them exposed to the whims of evil spirits who cause physical
and mental dysfunctions. Traditional healers use plants in a variety of ways, depending on the illness to be cured.
Parts of plants can be applied directly to wounds and cuts or, if necessary, prepared as powders, infusions, or even
used in the form of smoke or fumes. African herbal medicine is often associated with magic, for example the
prescription of amulets and charms as prevention or treatment of diseases.
Today, many Africans including some self proclaimed Christians, and especially politicians, consult a traditional
healers for advice on various issues, including health-problems. The African traditional ‘doctors’ have skills in both
herbal remedies as well as in spiritual healing, the latter involving various traditional religious rites and rituals. In this
regard, African medical practice is holistic- it takes into account all of patient’s physical, mental, and social conditions
in the treatment of illness.
The Germ Theory of disease
The Germ Theory of disease is the foundation of modern (western) medicine and was an important basis for
innovations such as antibiotics and hygienic practices. Germ theory was validated in the late 19th century, thanks to
the works of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) and Robert Koch (1843-1910). It proposes that microorganisms are the
cause of many diseases. Hence management of the disease is focused on establishing which microorganisms are
responsible and applying specific drugs (antibiotic) for their elimination. Modern medicine is also referred to as
Allopathy, which is defined as the treatment of a disease by using remedies whose effects differ from those produced
by that disease. This is the principle of mainstream medical practice, as opposed to that of homeopathy- a
complementary disease-treatment system in which a patient is given minute doses of natural substances that in
larger doses would produce symptoms of the disease itself.
There is no doubt that introduction of antibiotics (e.g. Penicillin), revolutionized medicine and remains one of the most
important milestones in the history of medicine. However, as observed by some critics, the concentration in modern
medicine on fighting germs using antibiotics has tended to ignore the “soil upon which the bacteria flourish” In other
words modern medicine tends to focus on the disease not the whole person, as is the case in traditional systems of
medicine. “Modern medicine seems too grounded in the study of disease [pathology] and in its eradication and not
enough in studying health and how to create and sustain it”. This in fact, is where the great divide exists between
modern medicine and African traditional medicine.
Preliminary Description Of Event
Expo of producers and products: Call us at 383-5627 if you wish to participate • Invite ALL local producers of herbs and herbal products– • Soaps & Cosmetics made of local herbs • Honey & Pollen Producers
Presentations from Speakers: Call us at 383-5627 if you wish to participate Drummers Call us at 383-5627 if you wish to participate
Food & Drink on sale • Zionites Stush In The Bush • The Asante ile-idana (the Yoruba word for Kitchen)