| dc.description.abstract | This study followed a participatory and case study approach to investigate the traditional
healing practices of the Batlokwa and Bakwena tribes in the Madikwe area from the
community perspectives. The study was based on the following arguments: Firstly, most of
the research activities already done with regard to African traditional ritual healing systems
and practices in South Africa were often carried out by foreign researchers using Eurocentric
approaches and perspectives. They tended to neglect the views of local communities,
especially community knowledge holders. This led to cultural distortions and
misrepresentation of facts about these healing practices. Secondly, past studies on the
research problem have failed to interpret correctly the spiritual role that ancestors play in the
healing systems of the African local communities. This study holds the opinion that the role
of the ancestors with regard to their intervention in the healing systems and interpretation of
the associated rituals cannot be correctly done and understood by people from outside a
specific cultural community. Thirdly, past studies lacked proper explanation with regard to
the reasons why most traditional healers were not prepared to disclose information
pertaining to their activities. The study argued that matters of healing have always been
treated confidentially because healers and patients hold the opinion that these healing
activities involve ancestors and therefore need to be respected at all times. It was also one
strategy of protecting knowledge from abuse and exploitation by outsiders. Fourthly, most
researchers on African traditional healing systems have failed to go into the cultural and
spiritual details of the same so that areas of controversy could be clarified. Moreover, they
have failed to understand the socio-cultural context of African healing systems, especially
the holistic nature of diseases in African cultural setting.
The study found that in spite of the marginalization of these traditional healing practices and
rituals by colonialism and apartheid regimes including the current challenges facing them,
African local communities in the study communities supported and used them , especially in
situations where modern medical and health services were limited and unaffordable. They
were holistic and culturally acceptable as they venerated the role of ancestors in the total
welfare of the community. This was contrary to western medical practices which
concentrated on the physical aspects of diseases and health.
The study looked at the importance of rituals in the healing practices of the study
communities. Healing rituals were performed to keep contact with ancestors in terms of
certain important matters in the lives of the people. The role of the chief in traditional healing
practices was emphasized. Traditional leaders were regarded as the custodians of the
healing rituals amongst Batlokwa and Bakwena. They were endowed with these
responsibilities by the ancestors. Even if the chief was not a traditional healer himself, his
position and respect as a leader of the tribe gave him the dignity and authority to be
respected and had a very big role to play in controlling and working with traditional healers
in the community.
One strength of the study was the way the socio-economic and demographic characteristics
of the respondent knowledge holders and community members in general were investigated
from the perspective of the people themselves. This was contrary to the conventional way of
describing and analysing these aspects from the researcher's and western perspectives.
They neglected the fact that these variables have cultural significance in the lives of the
people, especially in issues related to people's health, such as the traditional healing
systems and ritual practices.
On the issue of challenges and prospects facing traditional healing practices in general and
in the study area in particular, the study indicated a number of issues with regard to
challenges as the practices tried to incorporate modern healing and health care systems and
some people who were not trained as traditional healers might cheat the patients. It is on the
basis of the above conclusions that the following recommendations were made:
• There is need for more research work to be conducted in African tribal communities
in South Africa and Africa at large to investigate the efficacy of traditional healing
systems, especially their contribution to primary health care in the respective local
communities. These studies should be done in a participatory approach from the
perspectives of the communities themselves, especially their knowledge holders and
practitioners. This will help to remove the concern with past studies which tended to
neglect or marginalize the views of the communities.
• In order to avoid the distortion of the views of the community members and their
knowledge holders, research work in these tribal communities should be conducted
in the local languages and the views must be presented in their original form in the
form of narratives. Past studies done by outsiders tended to interpret the views of the
communities from their own cultural perspectives using foreign languages and
concepts.
• Taking into consideration the role traditional medicine and healing practices play in
the welfare of the people, especially their holistic nature and approach to health, they
should not be treated as alternative medicine. They are a central health care system
to the majority of the people in poor communities who cannot afford modern health
care systems. Government and other stakeholders in cooperation with the local
communities should find ways of incorporating modern medicine into these traditional
practices in the interests of the patients. The current approach puts emphasis on
finding ways of incorporating traditional medicine and healing practices into modern
medicine and not vice versa. Majority of Africans do not depend on modern medicine
for survival.
• Government in collaboration with traditional leaders in the local communities should
work together to ensure that all traditional healers are registered for the purpose of
identification and safety of the patients. As was indicated in the findings that there
were a number of people in the country who claimed to be traditional healers and
hence create a danger to the health of the people.
• Standard generating bodies need to be created composed of traditional practitioners
themselves for the accreditation of healers and other aspects pertaining to their
practices.
• Various platforms need to be created where traditional healers and modern medical
practitioners could meet to exchange ideas and experiences in the interest of
improving the health care system of the communities and the country at large. More
research work could be done in collaboration of the two health care systems.
• There are a number of issues which the two systems could learn and benefit from
each other in the interest of improving the health care system of communities. The
modern medical practitioners could learn from the holistic approach of traditional
medicine and the traditional medicine could take advantage of the technological
advancement of modern medicine to affirm, validate and improve their work. | en_US |
