[

8/17,
21:
00]Bukut
u2:
*[*Topi
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i
ngPr
ocess**
]*

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Youar
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urday
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.com

*
Int
roduct
ion*

Thepr
escri
pti
onbyt heheal
er,divi
ner,
medici
neman,andtheuseofthemedi
cinal
concoct
ions
bypat
ient
sforther
apeuti
corpr ophyl
acti
cmeansarecentr
alt
otradi
ti
onal
heal
ingsyst
ems.The
commonmet hodoft r
eat
ingpatient
sconsist
sofanenormous

varietyofmedi cal preparationsmadeofmi xturesofr oots, l

eav es, barks,frui
ts,andpar t
sof
animal sandbi rds.Theobj ectsar eof tenaccompani edbyi ncant ationst hatimbuet hemedi ci
nal
prepar ationwi thpower .Thespeci ali
stconsul tstheor acleandi nv okest heappr opr i
atedeityto
givepot encyt otheconcoct ionbef or eitisdishedoutt oclients.I nsomecases, ri
t ualsand
sacr i
ficesar eenact edt otheappr opr iatespiritordi vi
nitytosust aint heimmut abilityofsuch
power .Thet reatmentmayi ncludeanher bal pot i
onwi thphar maceut icalpropertiest odeal wit
h
thesy mpt oms.Themedi cal prepar ationsar eadmi nisteredor ally,inoi nt
ment s,bybat hi
ng,or
throughscar ifi
cation.Althought heheal er/medi cinemani sv ersedi nt hecol l
ectionofr eci
pes
andt hei rpreparation,suchmedi cal skil
lsandknowl edgear enev err ev ealedtocl ients.Hemay
recommendper for-manceofar itual thatinvolv espour ingt obaccoandl ibati
oni nor derto
appeaset heangerofspi ri
tssot hatt heywi llprotectt hesi ckper sonf rom attackby
super nat uralcausesofi ll
ness.Oncet heritualsar eper formed, heal t
hi srestored.Thei ndiv
idual
recov ersandat tai
nsf ullheal t
h.Sot hest ateofgoodheal t
hi shol isti
cbecausei tcov ersthe
phy si
cal ,social,andspi r
itual well-
bei ngoft hei ndividual andsoci ety.

1 *
Heal
i
ngandHeal
i
ngPr
act
ices*
Heal i
ngconcer nst hement al(psy chol ogi cal),soci al,andphy sical aspect sofhumanl ife,aswel l
asahar moni ousandpeacef ul env ir
onment .Thedi agnost i
candheal ingt echni ques, theki ndof
healingagent st oconsul t
,prescr ipti
onandappl icat ionofmedi cal element s,andmat er i
al
content soft hemedi cinearedet ermi nedbyt hecauseandnat ur eofdi seaseandi llnesses, the
coursesanddur ationofepi sodes, andt heef fectsonv ictim orpat i
entandt hecommuni t
y ..
The
empi ri
cal resour cesi ncludebi oticel ement si ncludi ngani mal s,plant s, andwat er, whi chenhance
healingandwhol eness.Ot hermat erialelement si ncludi ngnat ural phenomenaandobj ectst hat
arespi ri
tuallyst rengt henedbyr i
tual activ it
iesar epot ent ialsour cesofmedi cinal ef fi
cacy .I n
bothcases, thesour cesar ecl aimedt ohav ebeenr ev ealedt ot hef or ebear sofmedi cal practice
whocont i
nuedt opasst hem ont ogener ationsaf tert hem i naconsci ousmanner ,thr ough
tr
ainingoft hei rof fspringort hosedi v i
nelychosen, ori nanunconsci ouswayt hroughnor mal
dail
yuses. Cat egor i
esi ncl
udepsy chot her apy ,somat her apy ,
met aphy si cot herapy ,and
hydrother apy .Psy chot her
apyi nv olvest heuseofsy mbol icelement s,act ions, andwor dst hat
couldaf f
ectcal mnessandphy sical andspi r i
tual upl iftcommonher bsandmedi cinesi n
ZimbabweAccor dingt oAndah( 1992)f r om v eryear lyt i
mes, ourf olkshav eusedpl ant sas
curativesandpal li
ativesforv ariousai l
ment s.Thesuccessf ul treatment sbecamef or malized,
somet imeswi thpr escript
ionsofcor rectmet hodsofpr eparat i
onanddosage.I naddi tion, Andah
statedt hatt hei ngr edientsandt hemannerofpr epar ationv arywi t
ht heai lmentbutt he
si
gni fi
cantpoi nti st hatinmanycases, pat ient swer ecur edoft heirphy sicalorpsy chol ogi cal
ai
lment s.Gener al l
yspeaki ng, ourt raditi
onal heal er sappl ymet hodswhi char esi mi lar
everywher e,howev er,theplant susedandt het her apeut i
cv aluesat tribut edt ot hem, areal so
dependentonv ariousf actors.Someoft hesef act or sar egeogr aphi cal , sociologi cal and
economi ct hatsur passedet hnic, national andpol i
t i
cal boundar ies.

2 *
Thegoal
ofheal
i
ngandmedi
cine*

Intraditionalmedi ci
ne,att
empti sthereforemadet ol ookf orboththephy sical
and
met aphy si
calcausesofdecease, hencethet radi
ti
onal healersappealedt obothscienti
ficand
met aphy si
calmeansi nanattemptt oachiev eacompr ehensi vecureofanymal ady
.This
obser v
at i
onaccor dingtoOkeandOwumi (1996)istrueofmanyet hnicgr oupsinNigeria.
Eri
nosho( 1976)andOke( 1995)wor kingamongYor ubasandOwumi (1989)amongt heOkpe
peopleofDel t
aSt atenotedthatil
lnesset i
ologycouldbet racedt othreebasi cf
actors,viz:
natural,supernaturalandmy sti
cal.Il
l
nessi snotonlyaper sonalaffai
r,italsoar
ouseawi de
vari
etyoff eeli
ngsi nthesickpersonandi nthosecloset ohi m astheyengagei nasear chf or
tr
eat ment ,whichbecomesani mmedi atepr oblem (
Onu1999) .
Fort hepat ientaccor dingt oOnu( 1999) ,
aser iousi l
l
nesscar ri
eswi t
hi ttheunder lyingf earof
deat horper manentdi sabi li
tyandconst i
tutesacr isi
swhi chr equi rescooper ati
veef for t
sbot h
from f ami l
ymember sandf rom heal t hcar eprov iders( phy sicalorspi ritual
).Macl ean( 1979)
obser v edt hatt herear emanyway sinwhi chr eact ionst oillnessr esembl eoneanot heri n
soci eti
eswhi chot herwi seseem wi del ydissimi l
ar .Macl eanf urt
heral ludedt ot hef actt hat
regar dlessoft hedemonst rat egr eaterphar macol ogical efficacyofonef orm oft her apyt han
anot her ,mer elyt oembar kuponat reat mentr egimewhi chi saccept abl etoal lone’sr elati
v eand
fri
ends, suppl iest hesat isfact ionwhi chcomesf r
om soci al conf ormi ty,Schol arssuchas
Gluckman( 1966) ,EvansPr itchar d(1937)andMar wick( 1965)whohav ewrittenext ensi vely
aboutAf ricansoci ety,agr eet hatbel iefsy stemsaspar toft hest ructur alcomponent sar e
causal lyr el atedt oill
ness.Ont heot herhandi ll
nessbehav i
ourasdi stinctf r
om heal thbehav iour
accor di ngt oOkeandOwumi (1996)andMechani c( 1968)r eferst ohowi l
l
nessi s
ev aluated, per ceivedandact eduponbypeopl ewhoexper i
enceddi scomf ortandpai ns.I tisal so
theconsci ousnessoft hest ateofheal thandef for tmadet or eliev eoneoft heassoci ated
discomf ortandpai nsexper ienced.Theut ili
tyoft heseconcept sofdi seaseandi l
lnessar e
consi der edi nt helightoft hesoci al det erminant sofheal thser v
icesut ili
zationandheal thst atus
ev aluationwi thinacul tural cont ext.Di seasesandi ll
nessar eev ent ual i
tiesthatar eubi quitous
amongmember sofsoci al groups.Forexampl eindev elopi ngsoci etieswher et helev el of
diseasei scompar ativelyhi gh, onef indst hatdi seasesandt heirst erni mplicat i
onsar eimpor tant
obj ectsofconcer nanddi scussi on.Si ncedi seasei sar ecur r i
ngphenomenont oxicwhi chposes
probl emst opeopl e,theyhav eexpl i
ci tbeliefsabouti tscausesandmechani sms.Whenv iewed
i
nt heirt otal i
ty, t
hesemedi cal beli
ef sconst i
tuteal ayman’ sv i
ewaboutdi seases. Suchav iewi s
usedbymedi cal practiti
oner sandt hel aypopul acet oexpl ainoccur renceofdi seaseand

al
sot
oval
i
dat
etr
eat
ment(
Fabr
ega1978)
.

3 *
Veget
abl
eMedi
cine*

-Veget ablemedi cineissopr ominentinAf ricat hatadisti

nctcl assofpract i
ti
onershasemer ged
i
nt hecont rol ofthisaspectofmedi cine.Thei rcont r
olisreput ablesincei tari
sesf r
om a
thoroughknowl edgeoft hemedi cinalproper t
iesofplantsandt hepharmaceut icalsteps
necessar yint urni
ngsuchpl antsintodr ugs.Apar tfr
om her bal substances, mineralssuchas
(cl
ay ,salt,stone)andmanyot hersubst anceshav ebeenusedi nv ari
ouspr oporti
onsasr aw
mat erialsinindi genousphar maceut i
cal practice;apracti
cet hathasser vedasav i
ablebasefor
Africanmedi cal herit
age.Ref l
ecti
ngont hest ateofAf ri
candr uglesstherapy ,
Onu( 1999)
stressed. thatdr uglesstherapyinAf r
icai st hemosti nteresting,becauset hisisthear eawhere
Africanmedi cal practi
cehasbeenmostmi sunder st
ood.Henot edthatthechar acterist
ic
hypocr isythatgoeswi t
hsuchmi sunderstandi ng,isthatAfricanmedi ci
nehasbeenpassedas
notonl yinef fectivebutasapr i
miti
vephenomenon; fl
ourishingoni gnoranceandpr el
ogical
cli
mat eoft hought .peciali
zei n“massaging” .Accordi ngt ohi m, thisther apeut icsy stem has
beenempl oyedf ort hetreat mentofai l
ment soft hener vous, muscul arandosseoussy stemsas
wel last reat i
nggy necol ogical probl
ems.Thewhol ear mament arium oft hemasseuri st he
phy sicalmani pulationoft hemuscl es,joi
ntsandv einsont henudeski ni nat echni calmanner .
Inmostcases, massaget reat mentmaybeappl i
edt orelaxt hemuscl esandv ei nsaswel lasto
all
owci rcul ati
onofbl ood.Ubr ur
hehowev er,concludedt hatt het her apeut icmet hodhasspr ead
tothecont iguousnei ghbour soft helzon;theUr hobo, l
sokoandI tseki
r i
.Onhy drot her apy,
Ubr urhe( 2003)f urthercont endedt hatitscur at
ivev aluei sr eal izedbybot ht hepr act i
tionerand
thosewhohav egonet hroughsucht reatmentandt heircur at i
v eef f
ecthasbeendi scov eredof
l
at ebysci ent i
sts.Byequal izingthecirculati
onoft hebl oodi nal lthesy st emsoft hebody ,
hydr other apyai dsi nincreasi ngmuscul artoneandner vef or ce, i
mpr ov i
ngnut ritionand
digest i
on; t
herebyi ncr easi
ngt heacti
v i
tyoft herespi ratorygl ands.Hy dr ot her apyf aci l
itatesthe
eli
mi nationofbr okendownt issuecellsandpoi sonousmat ter sandot hernoxi ousi ssueswhi ch
i
mpi ngeont hepr operf unct i
oningoft hebodysy stem.Hy dr ot her apyi nv olv est heuseofcol d,
hot, compr essedandst eamedv apourbat hs.Coldandhotbat hsar eusedf ort het reat mentof
differentdi seasesaf t
ertheaddi tionofsomehubs.Thef usi oni st henusedf orf ev er,headache,
rheumat ism andgener alpai ns.Thehotbat hnotonl ymakest heski ncapi ll
ar iest or elaxbutal so
i
ncr easest heact i
vityofthesweatgl ands.I thasbeenobser vedt hatwat eri ncr easest he
consumpt ionofoxy gentoabout75%whi leabout85%oft hecar bondi oxi dei nt hebodyi s
eli
mi natedt hrought heuseandconsumpt i
onofwat er .

cryi
nginani nfant,
ext r
emenaught i
nessi nat oddleroroddbehav iourinachi ld,an'
angais
consult
ed.Heorshemaydi v
ineonbehal fofthechi l
dandr evealthatapar t
icularancestor,
usuall
y(ifnotalway s)onewhopl ayedani mpor t
antpar tinthechi l
d'sli
fe,wishest hechi
ldt obe
namedaf terhim orher.Achi l
dofan' angahad, asababy ,cri
edf orfourhour sormor eatat ime.
Anothern'angadi vi
nedt hathisfather '
sfatherwantedt hechi l
dt obenamedaf terhi
m.Bl ack
beadswer eboughtasagi ftfortheancest orandhi sspiritwasi nvokedandpl eadedwitht olet
thechil
dal oneuntilhewasal i
tt
leol der.Thecryinglessenedandt hechi l
dgr ewi nt
oabr i
ght,
acti
ve,naughtyboy .Hei sfi
venowandsoonar i
tualisplannedi nwhi chhewi llbeplacedona
matwi t
hawoodenpl atebesidehi mi ntowhichguest swi ll
placemoney .

4 *
Rol
esofN'
angas*

Tradi t
ionalmedi ci
neist hesourceofpr imarycaref ormostZi mbabweans.N' angas( t
radit
ional
heal er
s)ar econsultedfortheirpolit
icalandreli
giouspower sal ongwiththei
rhealingpower s.
Her bal r
emediesar eused.Mostn' angassayt heyar epossessedbyaheal i
ngspiritwhichthey
i
nv okewhi letreati
ngt hepatient.Thesen'angaspr acticespeciali
zat
ion--
theextenttowhicht he
n'
angascl aim experti
se,outsideofwhi chtheywillreferapatienttoothers.Theyspeciali
zedi n
spiri
tual, notjustmedi cal,problems.Then' angusr eferredtoothern'angasf oreitherorbot hof2
reasons: 1)mostr eferredpat ient sforwhom t heirtreatmenthadf ai
led; and2)pat ientswer e
referredf orsuf fer
ingani l
lnesswhi chthatcer tainn'angacoul dnotcur e,usuallybecauset hei
r
healingspi ri
tdidnotgi v ethem t hecure."Abnor mal i
ll
nesses"wer ecausedbyev i
l spiri
tssuch
N'angas( tradit
ional healers)ar econsul t
edf ort heirpoliti
calandr el
i
giouspower sal ongwi t
h
theirheal ingpower s.Thev erbf or mrelatedt oit,-gang-r el
atestowi sdom, knowl edgeandski ll
.
Amongt heShonapeopl eofZi mbabwe, an' angai sat raditi
onalhealerwhousesacombi nati
on
ofher bs, medi cal/
r eli
giousadv iceandspi ri
tual guidancet oheal people.ITheyar ebel i
evedto
hav ereligiouspower stotel l
for tunes,andt ochange, heal,bl
essorev enkillpeopl e.Traditi
onall
y
N’angaswer epeopl e’
smai nsour ceofhel pi nallmat tersoflif
e.Theyhav eexi stedf ordecades
wel lbefor etheBr i
tishcol onial er a.Guerril
l
al eader sar esaidtohav econsul t
edwi t
hN’ angas
duringt heRhodesi anBushWar .[
8]

5 *
Her
bal
i
st*

Most l
ywomen, herbal
istscoul dbedescr i
bedasmedi cinemenandwomenparexcel l
ence
becauset heypossesst hesci enceandar tofmaki nguseofsev er alsubstancesf r
om ani mals
andpl ants,aswel lassuper naturalf
orces, i
ntherapeut icact i
vi
ties.Theyacquireasmuch
knowledgeast heycanf r
om t hei
rmast ersandmi stresses.Thecompet enceofanher bali
st
dependsgr eatl
yont hedept hoft heknowl edgeandski llofhisorhert utor
,theveget ati
ve
mat er
ialsav ail
ableinthetrainingenvironment,thedur ati
onoft heappr ent
iceship,thekindof
diseasest hatareaddr esseddur inghisorherappr enti
ceshi p,andhi sorherownl evelof
i
nt el
li
gence, aswel lashisorherat ti
tude( pati
ence, endur ance,faithful
ness,painstakingness,
etc.)t
ot het eacher.

Asuccessf ul herbalistpossessesknowl edgeofandski llinusi ngmedi cines,ani mals,insects,

eggs,andshel ls;thenat ureofphy si
cal objects;thenat ureofspi ri
tsandt hel i
ving-dead; and
manyot hersecr ets.Allofthemat erialsder i
vetheiref fi
cacy , power ,andusef r
om pr imor dial
ori
gins, wi t
ht heef fectthat,asthepr actiti
onerswoul dcl aim amongt heYor uba, t
heexi stenti
al
powerandnamest hattheysy mbolicallyapplyint heirpract icecommandheal ingont heir
cli
ents.Her balistsdeal pri
mar il
ywi t
hi ndividualproblems, pay ingmuchat t
entiont oeachcl i
ent
tobeabl etodeal wi t
hsuchacasespi r
ituall
y,psychol ogically, andphy si
cal l
y.Theycur eand
preventdi seases, andtheyi nt
ervenebet weent hecl i
ent( victim)andt hewi tches.Theysol i
cit
theassi stanceofspi rit
ual f
orceswhomai nt
ainont ol
ogi cal equi l
ibri
um int he
universe.Her bal i
sts,aft
ertheirformal initi
ati
onandhav i
ngbeenknownbysev eralcli
ent swho
patronizedt hei rmast erormi str
ess, alr
eadygai ntheirowncl ientsfrom thosewhoar e
acquai ntedwi tht heirskil
lswhilewitht heirmast erormi s-tress.BecauseAf ri
cans’ gregarious
natureal lowst hepeopl etoshar eintheexper i
enceofper sonswhohav eonedi seaseort he
other,
theyar efamili
arwitht
hosespeciali
stswhoper f
ormthoseduties.Theyint
r oducesuch
herbal
istswhenneeded. Someti
mesawhol eli
vi
nganimal i
sused.Inacaseofpr otractedil
lness,
awhol eliv
inganimal l
ikeagoatorahenmaybepr ov
ided.Theil
lnessont hecli
enti s
symbolicall
ytransfer
redonitbylayinghandsoni t
,dr
aggingandbeat i
ngittodeat h,orpursuing
i
tuntili
tbecomesweakandt i
red,caught,
andki l
l
ed.Someoft hesemaybecookedf ort
he
cl
ienttoeatal lal
one.Suchacti
vi-
ti
esarebelievedtobecapableofexpelli
ngthei ll
nessf r
om the
bodyoft heclient
.

[
8/17,
21:
01]Bukut
u2:
*[*Topi
cName:
-*Heal
thCar
etoday
***
]*

*
Youar
eaccessi
ngt
hesenot
eson*
:-*
Sat
urday
:08:
*8:
54*

* [*
productofFRSv
irt
ual
*]

*
2019Edi
ti
on*

*F.
Bukutu*:
-[ * Cl
icktoj
oinourWhatsAppgroup*
htt
ps:
//api
.what
sapp.com/
send?phone=+263713912989&t
ext
=fr
smenu]

*
Getmor
eonourWebsi
te*
:ht
tp:
//f
rswi
thbukut
u.bl
ogspot
.com

*
Int
roduct
ion*

Inthei refforttoattaingoodheal th, t

radi
tionalheal ersi nAf ri
cahav ef ormedv ariousNat i
onal
Associ ati
onst hatincludesev er al t
housandsofmenandwomen.Theassoci ationsar e
regist eredandr ecogni zedbygov ernment s.Theyoper atealong- si deAf ricanI ndependentchur ch
heal erswhobel ieveinf ait
hheal i
ng.Bot hheal thsy stemsof feral ter nati
v et her apyt oWest ern
scient if
icmedi cine.Gener ally
, therear efourdet ermi nantsofheal th: humanbi ology,
env ironment ,li
festyl
e, andheal thcar eorganization.Soi nAf ri
ca, peopl esus-t aingoodheal th
throughaccesst onut riti
oust raditionalf
oodst uffs.Peopl ealsomakeef fort st osust ai
nheal t
h
byi ntroducingher bal gardenst hatgr owt radi
tional plantsandpr oducet radi ti
onal medicines.
Theai mi stosuppor tandmai nt aintradi
tionalsci entifi
c,cultural, andenv i
ronment albenefit
s.
Heal thi sthereforeachi evedt hroughsust ainableuseofmedi cinal plants.Ther earenumer ous
i
llnessesanddi seasesi nAf ri
cat hatclai
m manyl iv
es, suchast uber cul
osi s,mal aria,andchol era.
HIV/ AI DSisonesuchki ndofdi seaset hathasaf fectedmanypeopl e.Mi l
li
onshav ediedsof ar,
creat ingthepr oblem ofor phanswhoneedcar eandat tention.Vacci nati
onsar eav ail
ableasa
form ofpr otecti
onagai nstthespr eadoft hedi seases.Gl obalef for tstocombatdi seaseare
hinder
edbyinsuf
fi
cientr
esour
ces.Butther
eareal
sosomepol
i
ciest
hatr
est
ri
ctaccesst
o
essenti
alt
reat
mentandcompr ehensi
veheal
thcar
e.

1 *
Medi
cine*

Afri
canmedi ci
nei stheheal t
hpr acticeinvolv
ingt heappl i
cationofindigenousr esour ces,
spir
it
ual andmat er i
al,
inpr ovi
di ngment al,
psy chological
,social
,andphy sicalwel l-
bei ngand
wholenesst oahumanbei ngandhi sorherenv i
ronment .Itaddressest hewel l-
bei ngoft he
i
ndividualandt hecommuni t
y,thef er t
il
it
yoft hesoi l
,andani mal production.Themat eri
al
resourcesincludet heuseofel ement sfrom plants(roots,leaves,andbar ks),
ani mal s(blood,
i
ntestines,fl
esh,bones, andshel ls)
,andmi nerals.Spirit
ualresourcesinv olveinteractionoft he
humanwi thspiri
tualentit
ies,includingt heuseofwor ds—sy mbolsempl oyedt oinv okethe
powerofspi rit
ual bei
ngs.

2 *
Her
bsandmedi
cinei
nZi
mbabwe*

*
1)*Al
oeVer
a

*
2)*Ost
ri
cheggshel
l
s-f
orbabi
eswhohav
efev
erandcol
ds

*
3)*Pr
epar
ati
on-bur
ntandpowder
ed

*
4)*Cowdung

*
5)*El
ephantdung

*
6)*Mopani
tree

*
7)*Mowa
*
8)*Mut
sine

*
9)*Tsangami
dzi

*
10)
*Cl
ay

*
11)
*Der
ere

*
12)
*Mugondor
osi

*
13)
*Muuy
u

[
8/17,
21:
02]Bukut
u2:
*[*Topi
cName:
-**
Heal
thi
nindi
genousr
eli
gion**
**]
*

*
Youar
eaccessi
ngt
hesenot
eson*
:-*
Sat
urday
:08:
*8:
54*

* [*
productofFRSv
irt
ual
*]

*
2019Edi
ti
on*

*F.
Bukutu*:
-[ * Cl
icktoj
oinourWhatsAppgroup*
htt
ps:
//api
.what
sapp.com/
send?phone=+263713912989&t
ext
=fr
smenu]

*
Getmor
eonourWebsi
te*
:ht
tp:
//f
rswi
thbukut
u.bl
ogspot
.com

*
Met
hodsofheal
i
ngi
nindi
genousr
eli
gion*
I
nt hetr
aditi
onalAfri
canheal ers’underst
anding,t
heirhealingprocessishol
ist
ic(*Thorpe1993
:123)*.Thisimpli
est hat*thehealerdealswiththecompl etepersonandprovidestr
eatmentfor
physi
cal,psychol
ogical,spir
it
ualandsoci alsymptoms.Tr adit
ionalheal
ersdnotseparatet
he
natur
alfrom thespi
ritorthephy sicalf
rom thesupernatural.I
twill
causethem toaddressheal
th
i
ssuef r
om twomaj orper specti
ves–spi ri
tualandphysical.*

*
Spi
ri
tual
**pr
otect
ion*

Ifthedivi
nerorthet r
aditi
onalheal
erper cei
vesthecauseofthedi seasetobeanat tackfrom
evilspi
ri
ts,t
hepersonwoul dbeprotectedtheuseofat al
i
sman, charm,mot o[*spir
it
uall
y
preparedblackpowder ]*forbodymar ks,amulet
s,andaspir
itual batodriv
et heevil
spiri
tsaway
.
Thesear eri
tesaimedatdr i
vi
ngoffevilanddangerouspowers, spiri
tsorelements.Their
functi
onistoeli
mi natetheev i
lsodanger sthatmayhavealr
eadyt akenrol
einaf amilyor
communi ty(*West erl
und*

*
2006*)
.

*
Sacr
if
ice*

Amongt he*Ewes*andsomet henorther

nt ri
besin* Ghana*, sacrifi
cessomet imesof feredat
therequestofthespiri
ts, gods,andancestors.Somet i
meani malsar eslaughteredorbur i
ed
aliv
e(* Olupona2004*) .Wheni tcomest otheissueofdeat hamongt heEwesandsomet ri
bes
i
nt henor t
hernregi
onofGhana, dogsorcat saresomet imesbural iveatmi dnighttosav ethe
soul oftheoneatthepoi ntofdeath.Dogsandcatar eusedt or eplacethel i
feofpeopl e,
becauset heybeli
evethatt hespiri
tofsuchanimal sisstr
ongf orthatpurpose.Ther eisalsothe
viewt hat,
becausethear edomest icani
mal sandar everyclost opeopl e,somet imeswhent hey
seet hsomeonev erycloset othem isabouttdie,theyoffertheirli
v esforthatper sonlive.I
n
suchcasest heanimal woul ddimy st
eri
ously.Thisisthereforeinterpret‘
[I]tcouldbet hat
someonewasabouttdi eandt heanimal t
ookhi sorherpl aceThi sisacommonbel ieveamong
theEwesi nGhana.

*Somet i
mesr i
tual
sareperformedinor dtoconsecrat
esomeher bs.Rit
ualsconsti
tut
etheway
ofconsecrat
ingAfrit
radi
ti
onalmedi ci
ne;medici
newi t
houtconsecr
ationforAfr
icansis
meaningleDivi
neandancestralsancti
onsareconsiderednecessar
ybeforeanddur i
nthe
prepar
ati
onandappl i
cati
onofmedi cine*(*I
dowu1973*)
*
Spi
ri
tual
cleansi
ng*

I
nsomecasesher barepreparedf
orthepersontobathewitatspeci
fi
cti
mesforanumberof
days.Sometimesananimal canbeslaught
erandt hebl
oodwouldbepouredontheheadand
footofthesickper
son;t
hebl oodpouredonthesickpersonser
vesawayofcleansi
ng.Thi
s
pract
iceiscommonamongt heEwescommuni t
ieGhana(* West
erl
und2006*)

*
Appeasi
ngt
ogods*

Interviewswi t
hsomet radit
ionalpr
iests(di
viner
s)inKumasi showt hat,inthecaseofdiseases
thatar ecausedbyani nvocati
onofacur seorv i
olati
onoftaboos,thediv i
nerappeasesthe
ancest ors,
spiri
tsort
hegods.Thi sisdoneaccor dingtotheseveri
tyoft hecase,byeit
her
sacri
f i
cesanani malorbypour i
ngofl i
bati
on.Inmanycases, thepersonwoul dbetol
dtobuy
theritualart
icl
esfortheprocessasment i
onedbyt hegodsort hespiri
ts.Someoft herit
ual
arti
clesusual l
yusedthispurposearespot l
essanimals(dovecat,dog,goat ,andfowl
),
schnapps,

akpet
eshi e[
tradit
ional l
i
quor ]
,cali
co(*whi
teorblack*)andsomet i
meseggsancol anuts.Af
ter
theri
tuals,t
hesear ti
clesaresomet imesl
eftattherequir
edplacetorot,
ortheyaresometi
mes
thr
owni ntori
v erasrequiredbyt hegodorspir
it
s.Theyar eatti
mesplacedonaf ourway
j
uncti
onort heout skir
tsoft hecommundependi ngont hepurposeoftheri
tual(*I
nsol
l2010*)

*
Exor
cisms*

‘_I
tisapracti
ceofexpelli
ngdemonsorev il
spiri
tsfr
om peopl eorplacesthatarepossessed, or
areindangerofpossessionbythem.Exor ci
sm isusuallyperfor
medbyaper sonwi t
hspeci al
rel
igi
ousauthori
ty,suchasapriestorshaman.Thepr acticewascommoni nancientsocieties
andwasbasedont hepracti
ceofmagi c.AncientBabylonian[ci
vi
li
sati
on],
inwhati snowI raq,
hadspecialpr
iestswhowoul ddestroyaclayorwaxi mageofademoni nar i
tualmeantt
destr
oytheactualdemon.Theanci entEgypti
ansandGr eekshadsimilarr
ites.Manyr el
i
gionsi n
vari
ouspartsofthewor l
dconti
nuet hepracti
ceofex orcism’.
_

*
Wheni
tisper
cei
vedamongt
heEwesasomeAkant
ri
besi
nGhanat
hatasi
ckper
soni
s
possessedbyanev il
spir
it
,exorci
sm ispracti
cedt odeli
vertheperson.Itismostl
ydonewi th
si
nging,drummi ng,danci
ng,thesprayi
ngofpowdert otheskyandont hepossesseandt heuse
ofabodua[ ani
mal t
ail]t
odrawayt heevilspir
itbytouchingthebodt hepossessedperson
several
timeswi ththeabodesuntilt
heper sonistotal
lyfreeInt
hepr ocessofthepract
ice,you
woulseet he*possessedpersonrolli
ngont hfloorli
kesomeoneunderbondagel ookfor
fr
eedom.Oncet hespiri
thasbeenreleased,thepersonwoul dbecomest abl
e,mostl
ywitha
deepsenseofr eli

Thi
spracti
ceisalsoperf
ormedf orthoswhoar ement al
lychal
lenged.Manyoft heset r
adit
ional
communiti
esinGhanaar eoftheviewt hatmentali
ll
nessismost lycausedbyev ilspi
ri
ts.I
nthei
r
vi
ew,unti
lthepossessedpersonisdeliveredf
rom t
hepoweroft hatevil
spiri
t,t
hepersonnot
havehi
sorherf r
eedom.Hence, t
hepr acti
ceofexorci
sm isnecessary.Thisapproachment i
oned
i
nthissect
ionisacommonpr acti
ceint he*Ti
gari
shrinesinGhana* .

*
Por
ingofl
i
bat
ion*

Libati
onisar i
tebywhi chsomeliqui
dispour
edont hegr
oundorsometimesonobjects
foll
owedbyt hechant i
ngorreci
ti
ngofwords.Accordi
ngtot
hepract
it
ioner
s,i
tisaform of
prayersTheliquidcouldbewater,wi
ne,whi
sky,
schnappsorgi
n.Somecultur
esalsouspalm
wine,palm oi
l,andcoconutwater(Adj
aye2001).*TheGaandEwesofGhanasomet imesuse
cornflourmixedwi t
hwat er
.*

*
Usi
ngofher
bs*

Dependi
ngontheki
ndofdiseasethepersonhasbroughtthedi
v i
nerorthet
radi
ti
onalheal
er,
he
wouldpr
escr
ibeher
bst
ot hesickpersonTheseprescr
ipti
onscomewi thsomespecif
ic
i
nstr
ucti
onsonhowtoprepareherb,
thedoseandt i
mef r
ame(* Ayi
m-Aboagye1993:*)

*
Clayandher
bsappl
i
cat
ion*

*I
nsomeoft heheali
ngprocesses,thetr
adit
ional
healerwouldpr eparewhitecl
aywi t
hsoherbs
f
orthesi
ckpersontoapplyonhi herbodyforanumberofday s.Thisismostlywhatisdonefor
t
hosewithski
ndiseases.Thetheorybehi
ndthisconcerni
st akenf r
om Genesis2:7.Theirv
iew
i
sthatt
hehumanbodyi smadeoutoft hedustorground,t
heref or
e,ifthebodyhanypr obl
em,
youwoul dhavetogot owhereitcamefrom t
of i
xit
.Thi
scouldal sobet r
acedtoJohn9:6–7,
andMar k8:22–23,whenJesusChr i
stmixedhissandclayforhealing.Theuseofclayanher
bs
i
sal sosomet i
mesusedf orpr
eventi
veri
tual
s.Therear
especialherf orprev
enti
veri
tual
s.When
thesickpersonappli
estheherbandtheclayonhisorherbody,itpreventsthespi
ri
tsbehi
ndthe
i
llnessfr
om attacki
ngthepati
ent*