African Conceptualizations of Wellness and Illness
I
n the African cultural context, the conception of wellness is holistic. While
Africans understand the human person to be made up of different components,
of a physical and spiritual nature, those components are deeply connected, and
what affects one affects the other. Thus, what may appear to be a physical ailment,
because of physical symptoms and illness, often turns out to be a spiritual illness.
The cure will then have to address the spiritual imbalance, in order to restore
physical and spiritual well-being. Being healthy, in the end, means enjoying balance
in the physical, mental, psychological, material, and emotional realms. Most African
societies have people who specialize in helping others remain healthy: these are the
diviners, the healers, the herbalists, the priestesses, to whom afflicted people turn in
time of need. They play a crucial role in their communities, enjoying much respect
and consideration. It is often after years of arduous training that they start fulfilling
their healing mission, which all over Africa, is understood as a most sacred mission.
In this volume of the Imhotep Journal, the student contributors have explained how
this process manifests in African healing traditions.
Ama Mazama, PhD
Associate Professor
Temple University
Department of Africana Studies
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Imhotep Journal, Volume 7, May 2010
Editorial
Tyra M. Singleton
In accordance with the Africana Studies tradition, it gives me great pleasure
to present our Seventh Edition of the Imhotep Journal, focusing on African Healing
Traditions. Before venturing into these articles on traditional healing, it is essential
to acknowledge and honor those that have not only contributed to this journal, but
also to those who are continuing to support the African survival thrust by liberating
and educating their students to preserve the Africana Studies tradition. First, we
want to thank Dr. Ama Mazama for her contribution to this journal entitled, African
Conceptualizations of Wellness and Illness, explaining the necessity of a holistic
approach to treating the health, wellness, or illness of people of African descent.
Additionally, this journal would like to thank Dr. Wade Nobles for his insight into
The Function of Traditional Healing, by arguing that African traditional healing and
the adoption of African well being are necessary in the healing of African humanity.
As I approach the end of my undergraduate career, I personally would like to thank
Dr. Serie McDougal, III for his support, encouragement, and motivation of me,
throughout my years at San Francisco State University. It has been a great privilege
to have him share his knowledge with me over the years and I am humbled to have
him as my advisor/mentor.
This journal is composed of eight articles written by students in Dr.
McDougal’s Black Cultures and Personality course (AFRS 111), from the 2008-2009
school year. The articles have been are placed in order according to their region.
First, our journey begins in the southern region of Africa, with the traditional healing
of the Zulu and the Shona by Curissa Watts and Caitlin Johnson, respectively. They
provide us with explanations and descriptions of the rituals, purpose, and function
of healing practices among these groups. Representing Central Africa, Erica Rivas
8 Imhotep Journal
explores conceptualizations of health and healing in BaKongo culture. Representing
West Africa, MacKenna Lynn, Indeah Farquhar-Watson, and Joshua Jalil provide us
with distinct conceptualizations of African health, illness, spirituality, and medicine
through the Yoruba, Dogon, and Akan cultures. From East Africa, I have written
an article on the Maasai of Tanzania, whose preservation of indigenous living; have
maintained a strong commitment to traditional healing. Last, we travel to the continent
of South America, where Kelsey Saunders provides the healing practices of the Winti
in Suriname. This article serves as an example that African traditions continue to not
only survive but thrive and are preserved by people of African descent throughout
the Diaspora.
These pieces aspire to provide a deeper and accurate understanding of the
vast conceptions of healing, illness, and medicine throughout African ethnic groups.
While bestowing knowledge on African traditional healing, these pieces additionally
highlight the problematic relationship between Western medicine and traditional
African healing methods. They illuminate the need for a holistic approach to healing,
not found in Western medicine. This challenging relationship between traditional
and Western medicine is even more important when put against the backdrop of the
current health care debate in the United States. Reforms to health care access would
be inadequate if the larger issue of Western medicine as the only respectable means
of health care is not addressed. As mentioned in Dr. McDougal’s introduction, it is
culture—the values and norms, spirituality and philosophy that must be taken in
consideration for a more integrative and effective health care system. We hope that
this journal is the impetus for more change to occur in the ways Western medicine
thinks about health and illness, based on the respect of traditional African principles
and healing.
Editorial 9
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Imhotep Journal, Volume 7, May 2010
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