Course code: Pharm 573

Title: Complementary Medicine

Course topics:
Aetiology of disease, Methods of Diagnosis, Role of Psychism &
Spiritism, etc.

www.knust.edu.gh
 Traditional medicine:

• The WHO (2000:1) defines traditional medicine/health

care as
"the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices
based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences
indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or
not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the
prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of
physical and mental illness”.
Health, the African way
• For the traditional African, health is not just about the
proper functioning of bodily organs.
• Good health for the African consists of mental, physical,
spiritual, and emotional stability [of] oneself, family
members, and community;

• Good health for the African is not a subjective affair.

Aetiology of diseases
• This is the origin or causes of diseases.
• An ailment can be caused by non-physical and physical
agents
• Therefore causes of diseases are categorized
according to believes
 TM-believed causes of diseases
Generally, several causes of diseases exist
among which are:
• Physical, Emotional/Psychogenic, Esoteric,
Cosmic, Spiritual causes.

*non- physical (spiritual) effects always

culminate in physical manifestations.
 Causes of diseases in TM contd.
• Physical causes:
injuries and wounds due to accidents.
• Emotional/Psychogenic
Disease or disturbance caused by strong
feelings about something / some body, eg
unjust ruling of a case, rejection, divorce,
failures, disappointments, losses.
 Causes of diseases in TM contd.

• Cosmic causes
it is believe that many of the most common
diseases which afflict humanity have their
origins in extraterrestrial sources.
 Causes of diseases in TM contd.

• Esoteric causes: Diseases that originates from ‘within’ or

the innermost of oneself or one’s being.
• The consequences of choices made in separation to love
are what ultimately result in many forms of human
suffering, illness and disease.

• Esoteric diseases result from psychological inner reasons.

• Caused by the existence of negative habits latent within the
patient’s self: might be negative thoughts like thinking to hurt
others, hatred, or absence of love or fear and anxiety
 Diseases causes contd.
Spiritual
-The action of evil spirits (due to failure to abide by the social
rules/ lack of respect for the ancestors
-Contamination by objects considered taboo etc
- Casting of spells by evil people
Traditional African view of cause of disease
• In ATM every disease has spiritual connotation.

• Diseases are caused by attacks from evil or bad spirits.

• Ancestors can punish people with disease when they (ancestors) are
treated poorly
• Spell-casting and witchcraft could cause sicknesses.
Traditional African view of disease
• People with evil powers could cause people they see as
enemies or disrespectful to become sick as a way of
punishment
• Witchcraft and other unforeseen forces can cause disease
such as barrenness, infertility, attacks by dangerous animals,
snake bites by dangerous snakes, persistent headaches and
repeated miscarriages
Traditional African view of disease
• Invocation of curses. examples in the name of the river
deities, eg Antoa, or other dieties, voodoo, upon an
unknown offender.
• Disobeying taboos is one of the ways people could become
sick
•PAUSE
 Methods of diagnosis and treatment
• Diagnosis is by holistic approach: it is belief that illness is
due to spiritual or social imbalance.
• The diagnosis of diseases is a twofold event.
• Firstly, the organic or physical cause of the sickness
has to be established by careful examination and
questioning by the medicine man.
• Secondly, this is complementary to a divination of the
spiritual or mystical cause for the illness.
• Unlike a western-trained medical doctor the traditional
African healer looks for the cause of the patient’s
misfortune in relation to the patient and his social,
natural and spiritual environment.
 Methods of diagnosis and treatment
• Therefore the remedial course of action is decided by
divination,
• Divination is the consultation of the ‘spirit world’ to
identify the cause of a disease or to discover whether
there was a violation of an established order from the
side of the sick person.
• It is done through the use of cowry shells, throwing of
bones on strips of leather or flat pieces of wood.
 Methods of diagnosis and treatment
• The traditional healer looks for the cause of the
disease in relation to the patient and his social,
natural and spiritual environment
• this determines the remedial course of action
• Diviners normally diagnose the causes of a
disease and may also treat it.
• If one diviner cannot diagnose and/or treat a
particular condition, he/she refers it to a more
powerful diviner.
 Some divine diagnostic techniques
●Incantation/chanting- Which may take the form of ritual
music
spells
hymns etc.
●Throwing of cowries
● Throwing of split cola nuts
● ‘Tug pulling’
 Treatment
• African traditional medicine uses animal, mineral and
plant products to induce physiological or psychological
healing effects.
• In short, all of nature can be used as medicine, even
poisonous plants in very small doses.
• Ingredients are not only picked and used for their
healing abilities, but oftentimes, they have
corresponding symbolic and spiritual significances
 Spiritism and psychism and their roles.

• Spiritism: belief in the existence of spirits ie.

non-physical entities that live in the invisible
or spirit world, influencing the physical
• Communication with the dead through
media/emphasizing the spiritual nature of
existence and existence after death
 Spiritism contd.
• Communication between the spiritual world and the
material world occur all the time
• Some people sense what the spirits tell them (instinctively)
• Others have greater awareness of their presence and even
guidance
• Awareness may be through listening, seeing, or writing
(psychography) (Moses and the 10 commandments)
• Invariably, spirits need appropriate media for physical
effects
 Role of spiritism in TM
• Enforces social order and cohesion
• Promotes conservation eg of Nature
• In health care-as alternative consultation medium
 Psychism in TM
Psychism: the art of actively using the
powers of the soul to receive
information or communication from
the highest soul or from others. Soul
is to make understanding simple.
Psychism in TM contd.
• What constitutes man is body, spirit and soul
• In the soul are rooted all the psychic layers with their organic law.
• From psychic flow all the activities of man
Simply put, what you do is what comes from your thinking
 Role of Psychism in TM
Psychism principally channels the behaviour of a person
Therefore
-assists in disease management esp. psychological
disorders of individual
- assists in ‘psychological disorders’ of a society...
- has potential of deranging existing order (cf political
campaigns)
Note
• Do not sheepishly accept everything you are told
• We do have the power to govern and shape and create the
course of our own lives