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102. Traditional Yoruba Healers in Nigeria

Author(s): Edward L. MargettsSource: Man, Vol. 65 (Jul. - Aug., 1965), pp. 115-118Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2797449 .

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JULY-AUGUST, I965 MAN Nos. IOI, I028J. E. G. Sutton, A Review ofPotteryfrom theKenya High-lands,' S. Afr.Archwol. ull., Vol. XIX (i964), pp. 27-3 5.9A. T. Matson, EarlyHistoryof Nakuru,' KenyaWeeklyNews,25 June,96I.IoJ. M. Weatherby, B. E. Kipkorirand J. E. G. Sutton, TheSirikwa,' UgandaJ.,Vol. XXVIII (I964), pp. 6I-74.

TraditionalYoruba Healers nNigeria.ByEdward . Margetts,M.D., Professorf Psychiatrynd Lecturern theJ02 History fMedicine, niversityf British olumbia,Vancouver,pecialist sychiatrist,athariHospital,Kenya 1955-9). WiththreeiguresThe study f native,' traditional' r folk'healersmedicine-men,sometimesonfusinglyalled witchdoctors') as alwaysbeen a subject f interest o medicaldoctors, nthropologists,missionariesnd otherswho work in out-of-the-waylaces.In recent ears, hecountriesfAfrica articularlyave been nthenews, and there re many articles nd books relating oAfricanstudies, ncludingprimitiveAfricanmedicine andpsychiatry.A numberof authorshave suggested hatnative Africanmedicinemen ould be utilized s effectivegents n mentalhealth reatmentrogrammes.nfact, hey ave beenemployedinsuch way nNigeria. havehad experiencenEastAfricandcertainly ould never lign myself ith such a policy. haveemphasizedhatnativehealers an do littlegood in a mentalhealth rogrammendmaydo harmMargetts,962). Theycanhaveno rational lace nthemodernechnological orld, ndasthe educationalevelof African ativesmproves nd as timeaffords hem culturalwisdom, t is expected hatthe peoplethemselves ill drift way fromthe primitive ttractionsfmagic nd eekhelp nscience.fAfricanountriesre odevelop,to emerge' from rimitivity)hepeoplemust trive or qualityin science nd understandingithmoreenlightenedountries.This s not tosay hat ativeAfricanmedical ractitionershouldbe persecutedy aw butthepeopleneednotbe encouragedoseek their dvice and ministrations,nd theyshouldnot becountenanced ithfavour yhealth nd egal uthorities.However, ative ealers xistn allcountriesfAfrica,ndtheyare ppropriatendverynterestingubjectsor tudy. hemagicritualndpsychic echniquessedbynativeAfrican edicinemenare based on theclassical heories ndtechniquesfmagic, ndtheres an abundantiteraturen the ubject.n addition o theobservation nd descriptionf nativemedicalpractice,nvesti-gators hould eekto analyse he botanical ndpharmacologicalproperties f folkmedicines sed by practitionersnd sold intheuju stalls f themarket laces.Africanmedicinemenremuchthe samethroughout fricainthat hey suallymploy combinationf oral' and manualrites' ndof' accessorybservances'fonemay xtendnd applythese erms dvanced y Thomas 9 9I) fordescribing agic ngeneral ndbyGardiner1917) fordescribingncient gyptianmagic. 'Oral' rites would include the use of psychologicalmanceuvresuch as hypnosis, ositive uggestion, eception,curses,nvocations,hreats,ntimidationnd other ear-inducingmethods.Manual' rites ould nclude heuseofphysical ontactsuch as the laying-on f hands, massage,physicalviolence,restraint,urgery,ndtheuse ofmaterialntermediarypparatus,such as magical images, symbols, ympatheticmedicines,'sacrifices,harp bjects, nots,magical arriersike ircles,encesandrepellentmulets,ndherbal,nimal ndmineralubstances.'Accessory bservances'would include ime,place,manner fpreparationor ndconclusion fthemagical ct, tc.Allcombi-nations f' oral'and manual'rites ndof' accessorybservances'

arediscerniblen Africanribalmagicalmedical ractices.nhealing rocedures,hese ites ndobservancesrechosen sindicatednaccordanceithhe ractitioners'eliefsndmentalassociationsbout ausationf llness.Ingeneral,or iacticalurposes,rimitivefrican agicalpractitionersr ritual xperts'term roposedyG. W. B.Huntingford,erblfommunication,965) maybeclassifiedsfollows:A.Practitionersfgood ntent'white'magicians)I. Medicinemenrh-ealersr folk octorsanarchaic ermfor ealertill sed ometimess leech').(a) Surgeonswhousecuttingroceduresnd ncludemidwives,bstetricians,enitalperators-circum-cisers,xcisersnd nfibulators,ribal-markcarifiers,trepanners).(b) Physicianswhodo notuse uttingroceduresndinclude erbalists,xorcisers,ypnotists,eligioushealers).

2. Othermagicians:iviners,eers, oothsayers,ystics,mediums,riests,rophets,racles,xorcists,ancemasters,indersr smellers-out'f vilmagicians,necromancers,ainmakersnd otherweather-controllers,lacksmiths,ardennd untmagicians,amulet-makers.B. Practitionersf vil ntent'black'magicians)i. Witchesndwizardsr orcerers

2. Vampires3. Ghouls.Theresconsiderableverlap etweengood'andevil' ntent('white' nd black'magic) s every ieldAfricanistnows!However, hisdivision as much o commendt because tindicatesotive.heuseof he ermsupra ary romuthoroauthor nd theymaybe veryconfusingnless pecificallyassociated iththe context. nthropologistsill sometimesdifferentiateitcheswitchemale, izardmale) romorcerers,reservinghe ormererm or newhopractisesvilwithouthehelp fmaterialubstancesnd ppliancesnd he atteror newhouses hem. hetermsre llarchaicndofEuropean,otAfricanrigin.Moreover,hey avechangedheirmeaningsover he enturies.here oesnot eemmuch racticalsefulnessinbeing ooconcernedboutnomenclature.t is themotive(good r vil) f he ractitionerhichs mportant,ot he abel.A furtheronfusionboutwhite' and black'magic ndmedicines that,mongsthenative ealersnNigeriat thepresentime,white' s the erm sed or uropeanmedicine'and black'forAfrican,nferringcolour ndracial ifference!InNovember,964, I visitedhe rea round kure,nurbancentrenWesternigeria.ight orubaAfricanoctors' erelocated. hiswas not difficulthroughocal nformants,ndmoreover,everalfthehealersndicatedheirresencey theuse ofsignswhich avetheir ames nd n some ases heir'registrationumbers'ccordingo aw aspurveyorsfherbalmedicines).evenwerepleasantndco-operative.heywereinterviewedndphotographed.ost of them xfected ndreceivedome dash' recompense)ndamountsf /- or 5/-were andedut ependingn enioritynd alue f nformationgiven. heeighthealer ashostilend nco-operative,argely(he aid) ecause f previousnsatisfactoryelations'hipithresearcheamnterestedlso nnative edicine,hich admadeplansndpromisesohim or ismaterialenefithich adnotmaterialized!In Yorubaland,eligion, ivination, edicine,ll 'whitemagic,' remixed p,and often ith componentf blackIIS

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No. I02 MA N JULY-AUGUST, I965magic'and ofdeception.he accountsnd terminologyre con-fusedn the iteratureuseful asic eferencesreBascom, 941-3,Clarke, 939, Dennett,906-io, Farrow, 926, Frobenius,913,Idowu, I962, Lucas, 1948, Maupoil, 943, Parrinder,95I-6I,Prince, 960-64). Further esearchs required o clarify hedistinctionetween riests,ivinersnd healers.Moreover, hereareno detailed ccounts n the iteraturef Africanquacks' orfakehealersBeier, 960, Delano, 1937) and how or f) they reverymuchdifferentrom he raditionalealers. he term okita(from heEnglish, octor)sused nNigeria ornative octor ndin thesedaysof acculturation's apt to infer quack doctor.'The word Dokitawas chosen s the itle f themedical tudents'journal t badan!The traditionalribal orubahealers seplentyof onsciously otivatedeceptionnddishonestyntheir ractice.The termbabalawos muchused as a nameforYoruba nativehealer, ut naccurately,ince he ruebabalawofatherrmasterof secret r mystery)s specificallytraditionalriest f Ifa,adiviner. e isbut econdarily physician.dahunsepersonwhocaused omethingobe made-Dr. RaymondPrince elpedmeout with the translationf thisword) and onisegunmakerof

medicine)re more pecificerms orhealer r 'physician'(Abraham,958, Farrow,926, Lucas, 948). They are not riests.Yorubahealers sually ad earned heirraft rom heir athers.This sdifferentromomeother ribeslsewheren Africawheretrainings by payment nd apprenticeshipo a non-relative.MostYoruba healers remale; thiswas explained n the basisthat hehealing raftsunpracticalorwomenbecause ftaboosrelatingomenstruation.his s notthe ase elsewherenAfrica,e.g. nKenyamanyKambahealers rewomen myfieldwork,unpubhshed).All the Yoruba medicinemen sedplant, nimal ndmineralsubstancesn their herapeuticrocedures, hich, n addition oanypharmacologicalction, sually ada magical ndsuggestivefunction. ost of the remedies'wereundoubtedly it-and-missand had no useful harmacologicalctionwhatsoever-but eePrince,960-4, and his movie WereNi (translateds 'He is amadman'; thefilms availablefrom heUniversityf badan),on the Yoruba healer's se of Rauwolfia s a soporific. ll thehealers reatedmental llness xceptthe one who was unco-operative.He said madnesswas not treatable nd thatanyJ!

t~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. ..X ..4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

* X x .~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FIG. I. AFRICAN NATIVE DOCTOR WITH HIS COLLECTION OF SHACKLESPhotograph:. L. Margetts,964ii6


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JULY-AUGUST, I965 MA N No. I02Nigerian ealerwho saidhe could curemental llnesswasa liar!One healerwasparticularlynteresting,ecause especializednthe reatmentfmadness,pilepsy nd eprosy. brief ccount fthisman sconsideredobe informativend s theprimarybjectof this ssay.He was about 45 years f age. He ran a privateasylum' n Akure,which, t the ime f visiting,ontainedwopatients,ne an excited chizophrenic an nd the ther manicwoman nremission.he healer laimedtusually ook bout hreemonths or he reatmentf a patient.t s mportantonote hatmany acute psychotics ill 'recover' spontaneously, ithouttreatment,ithin his eriod f time, articularlyfdeprivationmethodsike solation, estraintnd threatsre used.The man's' asylum'was full frefusend chickenxces, nbelievablyilthyandunhygienic, state f affairsot unusualnNigerian lums.He utilizedmost of the techniques oted above but he usedparticularlyhe practicesf isolation, estraint,hreats nd (heclaimed) oporific rugsnot dentified).n addition o the twolockedrooms n which he patients ere solated, herewas inthehouse roomwhich ontained estraintsnd bottles fmedi-cinesand was generally sed as a 'consulting oom,' and yetanother oom which contained n one corner collection fmagical mages, fferingowls, and othermagicparaphernahausually eferredo nNigeria s juju.'

0 4

FIG. 2. SHACKLED MENTAL PATIENT AND HIS PSYCHIATRIST,HOLDING A HORN AMULET AND FLYWHISK

Photograph:. L. Margetts,964This healer was notable because he made extensive se ofphysical estrainty isolationn a locked room and by ankleshackles f ron.Methods fphysical estrainty thenatives fAfrica aryfrom laceto place, nd include opes, hains, ronwristletsnd nklets,og stocks,tretchers,ron, tone ndcementweightsnd ocked oors. n the irsthotographf hismedicine-man fig. ), he s shown osingwithhis ollection fshackles-notefour airs f eg rons, chain, adlocks nd keys, nd wire.Some of thesewere doctored,' .e. treatedwith medicine'-usually onsistingf or including lood and feathersromsacrificedhickenwhichhadbeenused nmagical itualncanta-tions.On theshackle t the eft, he feathersre visible.The

shacklellustrateds the neon the ight,ndwaspurchasedori5 shillings.bove he hackles aybe seen wo diplomas'with hotographs,heman osing ith iswhisknd muletnthe ame ositions n this hotograph.n amulet angsnanail elow he ertificaten the ight., ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~._ . . . . . . . .

. . a a , nveo B , 196....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..

.-.-.... .-.

FIG. 3. LEG RONSCollectedyE. L. Margetts,964. Photograph:ept. of MedicalIllustrationndPhotography,niiersity fBritish oliimbia, 965Fig.2 shows hehealertreating'he chizophrenicatient ith

an amulet onsistingf a hornfilledwithmagicmedicine ndwith ncantationsnda generousnd ostentatiouslourishingf aflywhisk.ggressivection nd threats erepartof the treat-ment.' The patients shackledwith the set of leg irons aterpurchased. ig. 3 is a close-up f theseeg rons.Bibliography

Abraham, R. C., Dictionary f Modern Yoruba, London (U. ofLondon P.), I958.Bascom, William R., 'The Sanctions of Ifa Divination,' J. R.Anthrop.nst.,Vol. LXXI (i94i), pp. 43-54.'Ifa Divination: Comments on the Paper by J. D. Clarke,Journalof the Royal Anthropological nstitute, XIX, 1939,235-256,' MAN, 1942, 21.,'The Relationship ofYoruba Folklore to Divining,' J. Amer.Folklore, ol. LVI (i943), pp. 127-3i, Plates , II.Beier,Ulli, 'Quack Doctors in a Yoruba Village,' Dokita, badan,Vol. I (ig60), pp. 57fClarke,J.D., 'Ifa Divination,J. R. Anthrop.nst.,Vol. LXIX (I939),pp. 235-56, Plate XIII.Delano, Isaac 0., The Soul ofNigeria, ondon (WernerLaurie),1937.Dennett,Richard Edward, At theBack oftheBlack Man's Mind orNotesontheKinglyOfficettWestAfrica, ondon (Macmillan),I906., Nigerian Studies or theReligiousand PoliticalSystem f theYoruba, ondon (Macmillan), I9IO.Farrow, Stephen Septimus, Faith, Fancies and Fetich or YorubaPaganismBeing Some Account f the Religious Beliefsof theWestAfrican egroes, articularlyf heYorubaTribes fSouthertNigeria, ondon, (S.P.C.K.) I926.Frobenius, eo, The VoiceofAfrica eing n Accountf heTravels fthe German nner African xploration xpedition n the YearsI91-1912, translatedyRudolf Blind, London (Hutchinson),

I9I3, 2 vols.Gardiner,Alan Henderson, Magic (Egyptian),' inJamesHastings(editor),EnclopcdiaofReligion nd Ethics, dinburgh Clark),I9I6, Vol. VIII, pp. 262a-69a.Idowu, E. Bolaji, Oldo'dmare: od in YorubaBelief, ondon (Long-mans, Green), 962.Lucas,J.Olumide, The Religion f heYorubas eing n AccountftheReligiousBeliefs ndPracticesfthe YorubaPeoples ofSouthernNigeria,Especiallyn Relationto theReligionofAncient gypt,Lagos (C.M.S.), I948.Maupoil, Bernard, a geomatncie' 'ancienneote es sclav'es, ravauxet memoiresde l'Institutd'Ethnologie- XLII. UniversitedeParis. nstitut 'Ethnologie,Musee de l'Homme, Paris,1943.I 17


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Nos. 102-104 MAN JULY-AUGUST, 1965Parrinder, eoffrey,WestAfricansychology: Comparativetudy fPsychologicalnd Religious Thought, utterworth ibrary,Vol.XXXVII, Missionary esearch eries,No. I7, London (Lutter-worthPress), 95I.African raditional eligion, ondon (Hutchinson), 954.WestAfrican eligion:A StudyoftheBeliefs ndPracticesfAkan,Ewe, Yoruba, bo, and Kindred eoples, ondon (EpworthP.), 2nded., 96I (Ist ed., 949).Prince, Raymond, 'The Use of Rauwolfia forthe Treatment ofPsychosesby Nigerian Native Doctors,' Amer.J. Psychiatry,Vol. CXVII (I960), pp. I47-9., 'Some Notes on Yoruba Native Doctors and TheirManage-

mentofMental Illness,' in Thomas Adeoye Lambo (Editor),First an-Africansychiatriconference,beokuta, igeria,2th toi8thNovember,96I: Conferenceeport, badan (GovernmentPrinter),I962), pp. 279-88.--, 'IndigenousYoruba Psychiatry,'n Ari Kiev (editor),Magic,Faith ndHealing: Studies nPrimitivesychiatryoday,Glencoe(Free Press), New York (Macmillan), London (Collier -Macmillan), I964, pp. 84-I20.Thomas, Northcote Whitridge, 'Magic,' in The EncyclopediaBritannica: DictionaryfArts, ciences, iteraturendGeneralInformation,ambridge (U.P.), iith ed., i9ii, Vol. XVII,pp. 304b-Ioa.

SHORTER NOTESMan: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute,1966103 The present ixty-fiftholume of MAN: A RECORDOF ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCE-as also the currentvolume of theJournal f theRoyal Anthropologicalnstitute-willbethe astto be published n thepresent orm.From the beginningofI966 these two publicationswill be combined-as to both title ndfunctions-inMan: TheJournal f heRoyal Anthropologicalnstitute,which will be publishedquarterly at theend ofMarch, June,Sep-tember and December). This decision has been reached by theCouncil of the nstitute s the culmination f a thorough nd pro-tractedre-examination f the Institute's ublication policy,whichhas in part been carriedon in open meetings f the nstitute, nd itis intended o make possible a stillmore active developmentof theR.A.I. publications.The combined ournal will publishat least asmuch matter as the total amount published in the two existingperiodicals, while the economies effected y rationalization-to-getherwith the increase n the combined circulations-will makepossiblefor hefirstimethe employment fstaff o carry utmuchof the routine work and correspondence which have hithertoformed heavy partofthedutiesofthe Honorary Editors.The newjournal will be producedby the present rinters fMAN.The present onoraryEditors fMAN and of theJournal ill bothretire t the end of thisyear,and the Council has appointedDr.Adrian C. Mayer as Honorary Editor of the new journal, withProfessor ohn Evans as deputy editorand Dr. BurtonBenedictasreviewseditor. A fuller nnouncementhas been issued, coveringalso the changes in the Fellowship subscription f the Institute.

Settlement of Action for Damages for Libel. Cf. MAN, 962,IIOJ04 The following account of proceedings in theQueen's BenchDivisionof theHigh Court ofJusticesreprinted y permission romThe Times aw Report,3 April, 965:GAYRE OF GAYRE AND ANOTHER V. ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICALINSTITUTE AND ANOTHER

BeforeMR. JUSTICE PAULLThe settlementwas announced of this action by Lieutenant-

Colonel Robert Gayreof Gayre,of Darnaway Street, dinburgh,and ProfessorHenryE. Garrett, fWinstonRoad, Charlottesville,Virginia,United States fAmerica,respectivelyditor nd associateeditoroftheanthropological eviewMankindQuarterly,gainst heRoyal Anthropological nstitute, ublishers, nd Mr. W. B. Fagg,honorary ditor, fBedford Square,W.C.i, ofthe anthropologicalreviewMan, fordamagesfor ibel contained n a letter eaded TheMankindQuarterly'and published n Man forNovember, I960.Mr. Richard Hartley appeared for the plaintiffs;Mr. PeterBristow, Q.C., forthedefendants.MR. HARTLEY said thatthe thirddefendant n the action, Pro-fessor ozo Skerlj-of Lubljana-died in November, I96I.When the plaintiffs'magazine MankindQuarterly as founded,

Professor kerljagreedto become a memberof thehonorary d-visoryboard, and his name was included n the ist of themembersof that board which was publishedin the first ssue of MankindQuarterly,n July, 960. Unfortunately,n readingthat firstssue,Professor kerlj realized thathis opinions and some of the viewsexpressedn themagazine were incompatible;he felt hathe couldno longercontinueas a member of thehonorary dvisoryboard,and, accordingly,wroteto the plaintiffssking hathisnameshouldbe withdrawn rom hatboard,and thathis etter ivinghis reasonsfor aking his tepshould be published n the next ssue ofMankindQuarterly.he plaintiffscceded to hisfirst equestbut decidednotto publishhis etter.Professor kerljthenwrotethe etter, fwhich theplaintiffsom-plained,whichwas published n the issueof Man forNovember,I960. This letterwas severely ritical f theplaintiffs,nd of theiropinions, nd oftheirbehaviourtowardstheprofessor imself.He (counsel) had to say, at this uncture,that therewas a con-siderable divergence of opinion in anthropologicalcircles overmatters oncerning ace and environment.Without attempting ogo into the rights nd wrongsof the matter twould, he (counsel)thought, e reasonableto saythattheplaintiffsdopted one view,while thedefendants avoured nother.The plaintiffs,f course,recognizedhow importantt was thatscientistsspecially houldbe able and free o air theiropinions npublic, and, in so faras Professor kerlj's etter howed an honestdisagreementwith theirviews, the plaintiffs,f course, had nocomplaints.What theydid complain of, however, was the sug-gestion,which theyconsideredwas made in the letter, hat con-tributors o MankindQuarterly ad Nazi sympathiesnd expressedNazi views. The plaintiffselt hat thiswas a libellousand exceed-inglydamagingassertionwhich theycould not allow to pass un-challenged.The plaintiffs,ccordingly, ssued a writ; but he (counsel) wasnow happy to tell his Lordshipthat thepartieshad, verysensibly,come to termsn thismatter. he defendants,s theywere entitledto do, disagreedfundamentallywith the plaintiffs' iews on theanthropologicalmatters n issue, on which theirviews accordedwith thoseofProfessor kerlj.While the defendants onsidered heyhad a dutyto publishtheprofessor'setter, heywished to make itclear that, f Professor Skerlj's letter bore the meaning that theplaintiffs ad Nazi sympathies r views, they did not associatethemselveswith any such accusation, nd regretted hat t shouldhave been made.The defendants ad paid an appropriate umby way ofdamagesto mark their egret, ndhad also agreedto pay the plaintiffs'osts.In those circumstanceshe plaintiffs ere content to withdrawtheir ction,which was broughtwith the ntention fclearing heirnames.MR. BRISTOWaid thathe wishedto associatehimselfwith all thatMr. Hartleyhad said. If anyonehad read into the professor'setterany accusationof Nazi sympathy r view itwould be a matter fregret o the defendantsndtheyfelt t would be whollyunjustified.The recordwas, by leave,withdrawn.Solicitors.-Messrs. Rubinstein,Nash & Co.; Messrs.Kimber,Bull & Co.1I8


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