TRADITIONAL MEDICINE IN

MODERN SOCIETY

Augustina A. Ajayi

Introduction

Traditional medicine, is a cultural gem of various communities around the world and encompasses all kinds of folk medicine, unconventional medicine and indeed any kind of therapeutic method that had been handed down by the tradition of a community or ethnic group.

Categories

For most countries of the world, just as we have in Nigeria, a traditional healer uses rituals in combination with herbal remedies to treat people. The vastness of the demand creates specialties in the field of practice. The various categories of traditional healers, perhaps specialists known in traditional medicine today include:

Herbalists

An herbalist is a professional trained in the use of herbs to treat others.

Herbalists use mainly herbs, that is, medicinal plants or parts of such plants-whole root, stem, leaves, stem bark or root bark, flowers, fruits, seeds, but sometimes animal parts, small whole animals, inorganic residues, and insects are added.

Such herbal preparations may be offered in the form of:Powder Form, which would either be

swallowed or taken with any hot or cold drink, or rubbed into incisions made on any part of the body, depending on the instructions given.

Preparation Form, where the items are soaked for some time in water or local gin, decanted as required before drinking.

The materials could also be boiled in water, cooled, strained and drank. The traditional name for this is Àgbo

Preparation form where items are pounded into native soap and used for bathing.

Made into pastes, pomades or ointments, in a medium of Palm oil or Shea butter

Soup, which is consumed by the patient

Herbal Preparations administered through an enema

An herbalist cures mainly with freshly gathered plants. When seasonal plants have to be used, these plants are collected when available and are preserved usually by drying to eliminate moisture.

Herbs were the first medicines used by pre historic man. They are, therefore, part of every cultural tradition and have helped the development and growth of herbalism in Nigeria.

Traditional Birth Attendants A Traditional Birth Attendant

(TBA) is a person who assists a mother at childbirth.

TBAs initially acquire their skills by delivering babies by themselves or by working with other birth attendants.

TBAs are mostly women, but in some areas, men and women are equally involved.

TBAs occupy a prominent position in Nigeria today as between 60-85 per cent of births delivered in the country and especially in the rural communities are by the TBAs

Duties of a TBA

Diagnose Pregnancy Determine Position of Growing

Fetus Provide Pre-Natal and Post-Natal

Care Assist in Obstetric and Pediatric

Care Manage Simple Maternal and

Babyhood illnesses

With experienced TBAs, child delivery by Caesarean section is not common

If there is a difficult labor, for example, the TBA will massage and press on the abdomen and work on the fetus.

TBAs also use some plant preparations known to have muscle relaxant properties to wash the vulva a few days before delivery.

There is a saying amongst Nigerian TBAs‘A kii t'Ori su. A ki fidi bi. Ibi ti Oluwa ni

ko gba way ni ko gba’ which is translated as ‘We don't normally defecate through the head. We don't normally vomit through the anus. The route of delivery ordained by God should be followed’

Such efforts by the TBA have, for most times, have ensured safe and Caesarean-free deliveries.

Traditional Surgeon The various forms of surgery

recognized in traditional medical care include: Male and Female Circumcision: traditional

surgeons carry out these simple surgical operations with special knives and scissors; blood-letting operations and wounds that result from these operations are usually treated with snail body fluid or pastes prepared from plants. These practices are, however, obsolete in urban areas.

Nigerian Girls with Tribal Marks

Cutting of Tribal Marks: traditional surgeons usually cut tribal marks into the cheeks, bellies, etc. and charred herbal products are usually rubbed into these bleeding marks to effect healing,

Uvulectomy: The cutting of the uvula is widely practiced. It is believed that uvulectomy can protect the patient from various infections of the pharynx and the respiratory system. Traditional surgeons in the northern part of Nigeria are versed in cutting off the upper end of the throat flap commonly referred to as epiglottis for the treatment of many illnesses.

Bone Setting: Bone setting is the art of pairing fractures and other orthopedic injuries. It is recognized to have attained a level of success comparable to that in orthodox medicine in Nigeria. Traditional bone setters are very knowledgeable in the art and skill of setting broken bones in the traditional way, using their experience to see that bones unite and heal properly.

An interesting aspect of the bone setter's approach is the selection of a chicken whose leg would be broken and re-set. The fracture caused on the chicken is treated alongside that of the patent at the same time and in the same way. This is usually used to determine the time the patient's fracture would heal, and the time to remove the wrapped splints and clay caste.

Also, various methods are known for applying traction to fractured legs. Patients are usually also subjected to radiant heat treatment or hot applications of peppers to reduce inflammation and swelling. The occurrence of deformities or abnormal shapes of post-treatment limbs is very rare.

Traditional Medicinal Ingredient Dealers These dealers are involved in buying and

selling of plants, animals and insects, and minerals used in making herbal preparations.

Some of them who indulge in preparing herbal concoctions or decoctions for the management or cure of febrile conditions in children or some other diseases of women and children, may qualify to be referred to as traditional healers.

Traditional Psychiatrists They specialize mainly in the

treatment of those with mental disorders. Patients are usually restrained to prevent them from harming others when they get violent.

When the patients do get violent, they are usually beaten to submission and then given herbal hypnotics or highly sedative herbal potions to calm them.

Therapeutic Occultism

These practitioners include diviners, fortune tellers, seers or priests.

They use supernatural or mysterious forces, incantations, and may prescribe rituals associated with the community's religious worship and adopt all sorts of inexplicable things to treat various diseases.

The practitioners are usually consulted for diagnosis of diseases, their causes and treatment.

With their ability to deal with the unseen, the supernatural, they are usually held in high esteem in the community.

They are believed to have extra-sensory perception and can see beyond what an ordinary man can.

Yoruba Babalawo (Occultist)

They can receive telepathic messages, can consult oracles, spirit guides and perform well, where other traditional healers and orthodox doctors fail.

Their activities include making prayers, citing and singing of incantations, making invocations and preparing fetish materials to appease unknown gods

Cowries used to communicate

The instructions which these practitioners use include magic stones which are usually thrown to the ground.

The sounds so produced are read and interpreted.

Some take replies of messages in a pool or glass of water. Others depend on the throwing of cowries, coins, kola-nut seeds, divining rods, keys or sticks, etc.

Traditional Medicine in Contemporary Nigeria

Traditional medicine has developed in various communities in Nigeria in response to the health needs of the people. Many communities have, therefore, since creation, developed various traditional systems using locally-available resources for the alleviation of their health problems

The development of traditional medicine in Nigeria has led to various categories of healers, the various healing methods, strategies and medicines or remedies now known.

Traditional Medicine is very relevant to majority of Nigerians partially because a lot of them don’t have access to orthodox medicine

There is abundant justification for the use of herbs by the various traditional healers identified.

Different Recipes are known to work for different types of ailments:Cardiovascular Disease: Mixture of

African Rauwolfia and Negro Coffee.Nervous System Disorders: Mixture of

parrot's beak and the African Rauwolfia offer a good remedy

Alimentary System Disorders: Basil is very useful.

Endocrine System Disorders: Leaves of Roused Periwinkle or Mormodica.

Respiratory Problems: Lemon Grass is useful.

Genitourinary Infections: Bush Banana is useful.

Skin Wounds: ‘Craw Craw’ Plant helps.

Ear, Nose and Throat Infections: Resurrection Plant is usually recommended.

Microbial and Viral Infections: Garlic Clove, African Mahogany, very useful.

Malaria Fever: ‘Dongoyaro’ Leaves, ‘Legunoko’ Leaves, ‘Otiti’ Leaves and Lemon. Boil all together and drink 8oz every 4 hours

Hemorrhoids: Flat ‘Kafura’, Scallion, ‘Kanufuru’, Black Pepper Seed. Soak all in cold water and drink as desired.

Persistent Cough: Garlic, Lime and Honey. Grind garlic and lime together, sieve and pour honey on it. Lick the mixture.

Numerous other diseases or complaints of a special nature such as hernia, snake bite, arthritis, gout etc. have been treated using herbs alone or in a mixture with animal parts and minerals.

Today, plant medicines include vincristine and vinblastine isolated from the Rose periwinkle are used to treat childhood leukemia and Hodgkin's disease

Reser Pine extracted from the African or Indian Rauwolfia are used in tranquillizers,

Diogenes extracted from the yam are used in the treatment of rheumatism, to produce oral contraceptives and the Shea butter which showed nasal decongestant activity

Non-plant medicines including the bee venom have been used in the treatment of arthritis

The civet cat exudates has shown anticonvulsant effects

All these facts point to the values of medicinal plants and their importance in traditional medicine in present day Nigeria.

The Practice of Traditional Medicine

In Traditional Medicine, the treatment of an ailment or disease usually follows the following procedure.

Diagnosis

Common ailments or problems are easily recognized and treated successfully, based on the symptomatology of the disease.

Diagnosis may also be achieved by visual examination of eyes, skin, urine, feces.

Proper diagnosis is needed in the treatment of psychosomatic and psychiatric cases just as in the cases of bone fractures and other traumatic injuries.

Generally, proper diagnosis is the key to most traditional treatments.

Symptoms The patient describes the

symptoms as much as practicable. For the various diseases, symptoms

that are usually watched out for include behavioral changesFever or abnormal rise in body

temperatureJaundiced stateYellow Eyes, Urine, Palm and Fingers

which suggests possible Liver Problems

Seizures as often experienced in convulsions

Diarrhea in cases of poisoningFrequent stooling and vomitingBlood in the urineCoughing and vomiting bloodBreathing difficultySwelling which may be minor and

localizedGeneral weakness of the bodyDevelopment of rashes

Treatment

The herbalist treats with medicines made up of plants, animals and minerals. He may also use therapeutic systems like therapeutic fasting and dieting massage and therapeutic occultism.

Conclusion

Modern-day technology, innovations and education, have however, made a lot of impact on the herbalist and on the practice of traditional medicine in Nigeria.

The general populace now wants to compare the herbalist with the orthodox medicine general practitioner.

Herbalists are now being encouraged to improve on the quality of their out put and practice.

Herbalists are being encouraged to identify correctly the medicinal plants and other ingredients used in the preparation of herbal products.

They should be mindful of the sources of their raw materials and avoid adulteration, all in the bid to ensure safe medicines.

Recognition of traditional health care is long overdue. But, when it does come, it must be characterized by the institutionalization of more standardized training of traditional healers, and the authority and mechanisms to oust quacks who tarnish the image of this kind of health care. Only then could it contribute to a multifaceted model of health care in line with the varied needs of the diverse peoples of this country. The fact remains that, should there be any further delay in legalizing these healers, a rich source of health care will remain largely untapped.