伝統医療 in Africa 英語バージョン

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Today’s topic is the role of traditional medicine and traditional healers. This idea comes from a book whose title is Congo Journey. It is a nonfiction book written by a British explorer, Redmond O’Hanlon. He explored a virgin forest in People’s Republic of the Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). His purpose was to search for the living dinosaur, Mokele-Mbembe, in Lake Tele with an American ethologist, Lary Shaffer and a Congolese biologist, Marcellin Agnangna. It was around 1990, so they of course, lived in modern society and they were absolutely supposed to have rational and logical thinking. But Redmond and Lary had a sorceress divine the success of their expedition.

 

This episode reminded me of an article in a newspaper. Its title is “the South African Government utilizes traditional healers”. The standard of the living in South Africa is high, but ordinary people mostly rely on traditional curers who use medicinal herbs and ancestorial worship. It is because they have to pay much money for high quality treatment at private hospitals, and consequently, public hospitals are always crowded for people in need. About 27 million people out of the population of 48 million count on traditional medicine.

 

In South Africa, sorcerers or traditional healers are called Sangoma. Sangoma are not only magical pradtitioners but also curers who manage folk remedies. The article introduces Sangoma, Anica Mcondo. Her methods are the same as other sorcerers. She does not question the condition of a patient. Instead, she casts a handful of cowrie shells, pieces of animal bones or pebbles across a raffia mat. Ancestors’ spirits rest in these things. She tells patient’s condition from its formation, and compounds plant powder. Then, what is difference between Ms. Mcondo and other general traditional healers? She has studied a short-term course in University of the Witwatersrand which boasts of the best educational standards in South Africa. Her herbs in plastic containers are classified systematically and displayed in line in an orderly way. And she also writes her patient’s case record.

 

The University has a four-week course for teaching the knowledge of modern medical care, prevention of AIDs, business administration and the law. These courses can assist traditional healers in identifying illnesses beyond their capacity to treat. In addition to this, the South African government brought the Traditional Medicine Law into being in 2007, and has prepared the national certification system of traditional health practitioners.

 

Sangoma are originally people who are particularly sensitive to the spirit world. In general, African people think that there is a primary spiritual factor in disease and luckiness or unluckiness. And Sangoma also tell people’s fortune, hold purification ceremonies and make good-luck charms. Therefore, they need to apprentice themselves to experienced master Sangoma. The master gives them permission to stand on their own when they finish the training. They must learn the way of treating herbs, prescribing medicine, identifying patients’ problems by using afflatus. In other words, basically, they are already qualified as curers.

 

Accordingly, it becomes a matter in hand whether their treatments have medicinal benefits, or not? Sangoma use thousands of herbs, for example, mint which is effective for the circulation of the blood, mugwort (よもぎ) which is effective for a cough and willow which is an effective painkiller. Western medicine tends to deny traditional medicine because it does not have scientific evidence. But, an estimated 70% of modern drugs were derived from plants first used traditionally. Recently, scientists have identified one plant extract that acts like an antiretroviral drug for AIDS. This plant has been well-known as a traditional medicine for AIDS in South Africa since long ago.

 

It is said that collaboration between traditional healers and conventional doctors is especially profitable for HIV remedies. Traditional healers are respected within their communities. It means mutual trust has been already structured between healers and patients. And, they know how to convey health information in a culturally appropriate manner. They are ideally placed to teach HIV prevention, distribute condoms, conduct counseling, encourage HIV testing, and set up support groups for affected people. Their relationship also might boost immunity and relieve stress. Furthermore, it is important to refer that traditional healers also provide immediate and cheaper treatment.

 

In any case, the primary importance is to ensure the certain ability standard of traditional healers. Besides South Africa, the same kinds of institutions are found in some African countries, for example THETA in Uganda, TAWG in Tanzania, PATF in Zambia.

 

In conclusion, although people believe that Sangoma cure disease by manipulating afflatus or incantation, they can experientially give a diagnosis by observing a patient and grasping symptoms like as so-called good doctors. And, Chinese or Japanese Kanpo and European herbs also used to be accused of superstition or an unscientific way of thinking. But, nowadays, they are admitted as effective treatment like as conventional one. Modern medicine is scientific. On the contrary, traditional medicine is empirical. Even if traditional medicine, yet, has not been proven scientifically, thousands of years of historical experience has proven its benefits, hasn’t it? What’s more, if the government gives consideration to traditional healers, it will lead to conservation of their knowledge inherited generation after generation.

 

 

 

(PATF; the Copperbelt Province AIDS Task Force) (the Tanga AIDS Working Group (TAWG) of Tanzania)

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