Yorùbá medicine
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Yorùbá medicine, or egbòogi, is an African system of
herbalism Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern reme ...
practiced primarily in
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
and the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
.


Basic philosophies

According to A D Buckley, Yorùbá medicine has major similarities to
conventional medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...
in the sense that its main thrust is to kill or expel from the body tiny, invisible " germs" or
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s ('' kòkòrò'' and also
worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...
s (''aràn'') which inhabit small bags within the body. For the Yoruba, however, these insects and worms perform useful functions in the healthy body, aiding digestion,
fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
, etc. However, if they become too powerful in the body, they must be controlled, killed or driven out with bitter-tasting plants contained in medicines. Yorùbá medicine is quite different from
homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
, which uses medicinal ingredients that imitates pathological symptoms. Rather, in a similar manner to mainstream Orthodox medicine, it strives to destroy the agents that cause disease. Buckley claims that traditional Yorùbá ideas of the human body are derived from the image of a cooking pot, susceptible to overflowing. The female body overflows dangerously but necessarily once a month; insects and worms in the body can overflow their "bags" in the body if they are given too much “sweet” (tasty) food. The household is understood in a similar way. As agents of disease overflow their bag, menstrual blood the female body, and
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
the cooking pot, so women in the marital household tend to overflow and return to their natal homes. As well as using bitter plants to kill germs and worms, Yorùbá herbalists also use incantation (''ọfọ̀'') in medicines to bring good luck (''àwúre''), for example, to bring money or love. Medicinal incantations are in some ways like the praise songs addressed to human beings or gods: their purpose is to awaken the power of the ingredients hidden in the medicine. Most medicinal incantations use a form of word-play, similar to punning, to evoke the properties of the plants implied by the name of the plant. Yorùbá traditionalists claim in their oratory history that Ọ̀rúnmìlà taught the people the customs of
divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...
,
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...
,
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
, symbolic gestures, personal, and communal elevation. They believe he also advised his people on spiritual baths, inner reflection, and herbal medicine in particular.


Controversy


Integration

Oyelakin suggests that the major difference between Yorùbá medicine and
orthodox medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...
is that the former is homeopathic in nature while the later is
allopathic Allopathic medicine, or allopathy, is an archaic term used to define science-based modern medicine. Citing: ''Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine'' (2008) and ''Mosby's Medical Dictionary'', 8th ed. (2009). There are regional variations in usage of th ...
. He goes on to say that the orthodox methodology for the treatment of diseases is based on what he called "the contrary principle,"
which states that: ''illnesses and diseases should be treated with chemical agents that produce effects that are in opposition to those exhibited by the illnesses being treated''.
This type of practise is concerned with the elimination of symptoms. However, according t
Makinde
''The treatment of a disease is the application of what such disease is forbidden to come in contact with, at whose sight must simply disappear.''
Homeopathic medicine is said to be more concerned with identifying the causes of the illness and
disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
in an effort to restore holistic balance in the biological system. While the claim that allopathic approaches, of which orthodox medicine is a form, is only occupied with getting rid of the symptoms rather than concerned with identifying and removing the causes of illness is not entirely true (e.g., the link between STDs and casual intercourse), homeopathic adherents would suggest that Yorùbá medicine performs three distinct functions:
*Getting rid of the symptoms, *Identifying and removing the causes of the illness, and *Maintaining a holistic balance in the patient.


Holistic Health

Modern
orthodox medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...
has a place for this concept whereby all aspects of the patients needs, psychological, physical and social, and mentally are said to be taken into account and seen as a whole. However, from the Yorùbá viewpoint, traditional Yorùbá medicine further delves into other aspects in terms of the patient's emotional and spiritual balance/imbalance.Yorubic medicine has come to be widely known in Nigeria as the ultimate traditional medical practice due to its holistic approach to treatment. In his piece on
Yorùbá Culture
Kola Abimbola stipulates that in order to achieve a holistic healing through Yorùbá medicine, some certain conditions must hold. For instance, the medical practitioner would be interested in the spiritual causes of the illness. To do this, there is the need for the understanding of the constitution of man. For him, a person has two parts which he describes as "the body" and "the soul".
Taking into account one's body, mind, emotions, and spiritual life, holistic health combines the best of modern diagnosis and monitoring techniques with both ancient and innovative health methods. These can include natural diet and herbal remedies, nutritional supplements, exercise, relaxation, psycho-spiritual counseling, meditation, breathing exercises, and other self-regulatory practices. It addresses not only symptoms, but the entire person, and his or her current life predicament, including family, job, and religious life. It emphasizes prevention, health maintenance, high-level wellness and longevity. It views the client as an active participant in the healing process, rather than simply a passive recipient of "health care." At once personal, ecological, and transcultural,
holism Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...
has become the new health paradigm for the 21st century.


Òrìṣà in Yorùbá Medicine

Tradition has it that many
Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. T ...
s (deities/divinities) play a significant role in the life of the Yorùbás in this form of medicine. And this "Ọ̀sányín/Ọ̀sáín," or 'the whispering genie,' is deemed one of the most important Òrìṣàs in Yoruba medicine. Ọ̀sáín is associated with dominion over all wild
herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
s, and is considered by most practitioners as the greatest herbalist that ever lived. In Africa there are so many herbs and plants that can be used in healing, that only someone with a "trained eye" can take full advantage of their functions. For instance, although plants and herbs have their purely medicinal value, they also carry mystical value. The "Osainista" is said to be an expert in local herbology, possessing the "know how" on herbs and plants and the correct gathering of the necessary herbs and plants for the right cause. Some plants are to be gathered at certain times of the day or night. Certain plants are meant to be exposed to the necessary incantation(s) and implementation of offerings in order to reap adequate results. As said before there are a multitude of Òrìṣà's, each with their physical qualities and herbal attributes and sometimes interwoven into one another.Tariq Sawandi.
Yorubic Medicine: The Art of divine Herbology
'
Scrbd
/ref> Ifá has been said to also play an important role towards achieving the end product of any one healing process.


Titles and Processes

An "Oníṣègùn" refers to a herbalist, an "Olóògùn" is one of several terms for a medical practitioner, and a "Babaláwo" is a priest/priestess. An Olóògùn, in addition to analyzing symptoms of the patient, look for the emotional and spiritual causes of the disease to placate the negative forces (ajogun) and only then will propose treatment that he/she deems appropriate. This may include herbs in the form of an infusion, enema, etc. In Yoruban medicine they also use dances, spiritual baths, symbolic sacrifice, song/prayer, and a change of diet to help cure the sick. They also believe that the only true and complete cure can be a change of 'consciousness' where the individual can recognize the root of the problem themselves and seek to eliminate it. Disease to the Yorùbás is seen as a disruption of our connection with the Earth.The Olóògùn is often a priest or priestess, or belongs to a guild-like society hidden within tribal boundaries. Even obtaining an education in medicine may require becoming an initiate of one of these societies. The worldview of a priest involves training and discipline to interpret events that are indicative of the nature of the patient's alignment with their own conscious and unrecognized issues, as well as with a variety of external forces and beings which inhabit our realm and require the inner vision and wisdom of the priest to interpret. Yorubas are great believers of preventative medication. They are critical in the way they relate to modern western medicine. According to elite practitioners, if we listen to our bodies they will provide us with the preparation and appropriate knowledge we need to regain our balance with our immediate surroundings.


See also

* Traditional African medicine


References


External links


African Medicine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoruba Medicine Traditional medicine Traditional African medicine
Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...