TRADITIONAL HEALERS' CONCEPTIONS OF THE

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TRADITIONAL HEALERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF THE ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF SELECTED INTERNAL BODY ORGANS Sidwala Imenda University of Zululand, South Africa [email protected] ABSTRACT The article is based on the study that investigated the conceptions of traditional healers regarding the roles and functions of selected internal body organs, i.e. the brain, heart, spleen, kidneys, liver and lungs. It was a case study involving one-on-one interviews with the three traditional healers from the New Castle area of KwaZulu- Natal, South Africa. The findings showed that some of the respondents’ conceptions of the roles and functions of these selected body parts were in concord with Western science. Overall, however, the socio-cultural orientations of the participants had a telling influence on how they conceptualised the roles and functions of these internal organs. In particular, the findings indicated that the interplay between the physical and spiritual realms of human existence was a major platform from which the participants understood these roles and functions. These findings are discussed in the contexts of both possible future actions and further research. Keywords: Indigenous knowledge systems; African indigenous knowledge; traditional healers; internal body organs. The author gratefully acknowledges the help of the Research Assistant for this project, Mr. Xolani Ngwezi, for sacrificing some of his precious holiday time to conduct the interviews. INTRODUCTION By way of definition and conceptualisation, Bhola (2007: 5) sees indigenous knowledge as “the knowledge that the people of a community apply to their daily lives and which is predominantly indigenous but has absorbed multiple items of the so-called modern-scientific Western knowledge through segmented contacts and idiosyncratic additive processes”. In addition, he perceives indigenous knowledge as “holistic, organic, problem-oriented, and people-oriented, and on the other hand, as rooted in trial and error, lacking in taxonomies, unsure of “active agents” in cause-and-effect chains, and according to a certain set of criteria, not even qualifying as science (Bhola, 2007). Over the past several decades, calls have been made for more research and understanding about African indigenous knowledge systems (AIKS). Contextually, the argument for going after this knowledge lies in the contention that “knowledge is a human construction that by definition has a human purpose” (Makgoba, 1997). Hence, it is held that for African communities, AIKS will be more appropriate for servicing the African human purpose than knowledge originating from elsewhere. Makgoba makes this argument against the realisation that knowledge is not “sterile or neutral in its conception, formulation and

TRADITIONAL HEALERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF THE ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF SELECTED INTERNAL BODY ORGANS

development; (and also noting that) humans are not generally renowned for their neutrality or sterility” (Makgoba, 2003). Indeed, most knowledge generation and production are fruits of humans’ fertile imaginations. Extending the above argument, Emeagwali (2003: 2) contends that a genuine effort needs to be made for a worthy place for AIKS on the basis of “psychological, intellectual and economic reasons, which basically stem from the mode of evolution of the historical process in the continent, as well as the structures of intellectual dominance and dependence associated with colonial and postcolonial hierarchies and power elites”. For this reason, it’s Emeagwali’s (2003) view that “the recognition and appreciation of IKS is a source of healing [and] of therapeutic import in the context of unhealthy imbalances, distortions, trivialisation and neglect as inflicted by the Eurocentric education and governance”. Accordingly, Emeagwali (2003: 2) further explains the value of AIKS as follows: It is at the level of economic sustainability, self-reliance and cost effectiveness, however, that AIK continues to prove its viability and strength. The most vibrant sectors of African economies at this present time are the informal sectors, sometimes referred to as the second economy. In some cases over 50% of total economic growth takes place in this arena of small-scale producers, manufacturers and bankers. Specialists and technical operatives include metallurgists, textile manufacturers and food processors. The interesting issue here is that many of the agents and agencies associated with the second economy tap into the accumulated skills and expertise and indigenous knowledge systems from traditional Africa. In this regard, Emeagwali (2003: 2) posits that from the 21st Century, going forward, the challenge for Africa is to reverse the effects of Eurocentric, exploitative development models which were typically imbued with “negative and unwholesome presuppositions about race, gender and segregationist policies and discriminatory models of allocation of space, resources and infrastructure . . .[characterised by] export-oriented growth, monoculture and outward-bound programs for the export of first stage mineral and agricultural extraction”. [Parentheses added]. Fernandez (1994: 6) also notes the developmental contributions of AIKS over the years but laments the negative connotations that some people have associated with it: Until recently, these knowledge systems have been under attack for being ‘backward’, ‘static’ and a ‘hindrance to modernization’... This attitude has undermined the capacity of indigenous knowledge systems to innovate, and lowered the status of grass-roots innovators, especially women, whose contribution to technology development has traditionally been undervalued. However, Fernandez (1994) acknowledges that some ground has already been covered by way of volumes of research in this area, but still deplores the prevailing negative sentiments around AIKS: Although an increasing amount of research on indigenous knowledge systems is now being done, reversing this negative trend, a review of the literature

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INDILINGA – AFRICAN JOURNAL OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS Vol 8 (1) 2009

shows that indigenous knowledge is still not always recognized as the product of holistic systems of perceptions, relationships and organizational arrangements. The former State President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, is one of the strongest proponents of the need to mine the, hitherto, untapped resource of IKS, and use this as the backbone of Africa’s development. In his view: We must proceed with ongoing African studies and research, into our rich creative and cultural past and rekindle interest into African knowledge systems, so as to make younger generations aware of the achievements emanating from our continent and impress upon them their inherent creativity, that is setting the stage for new developments and discoveries...for building mental universes of their own, for Africa's progress and prosperity (Mbeki, 1999). The imminent challenge, therefore, is to find ways of harvesting the indigenous knowledge stored in the ‘hearts and minds’ of the old people of our communities, and then put it in the mainstream of our education system – for the benefit of all of us. However, there is also a view that “while indigenous knowledge is necessary for development in Africa, by itself it will not be sufficient” (Bhola, 2007). Consequently, Bhola further posits that “the challenge before us is really not to save the indigenous from the modern (which is an impossibility), but to organize a dialectic that is neither cannibalistic nor exploitative, but mutually enriching.” Indeed, although Bhola gives the impression that IKS is pre-modern, the fact of the matter is that it represents contemporary views about the world and knowledge in many traditional communities. Nonetheless, the important point that Bhola makes is that there ought to be mutual respect between indigenous knowledge systems and contemporary school-based knowledge – which is modelled around Western school curricula, and is the basis for current mainstay economic activity. PROBLEM STATEMENT An assumption underlying the call for the mainstreaming of AIKS is that such knowledge is available somewhere. However, in reality, AIKS still remains an untapped jewel lying deep in the bowels of the earth – awaiting the necessary technologies, investments and good will to mine it for the espoused benefit of all. So, although there are arguments that the “human purpose” for African communities is now so integrated with the global “human purpose” that AIKS may no longer suffice there is, nonetheless, an even stronger contention that there is still much to benefit from uncovering this knowledge. Hence, before IKS can claim its rightful place in modern society, one big essential step is to harness this knowledge and document it in ways that it can be systemised and evaluated. Oftentimes, however, this knowledge is ‘hidden’ in various forms and amongst different specialists. As Bhola (2007: 4) observes,


In preliterate societies, stated knowledge of the collectivity was codified in verse to assist storage in memory and transfer within and between generations. Special roles were created, roles such as those of village elders, praise singers, bards, shamans, and medicine men. Mining this knowledge out of these knowledge forms and specialists is not often easy. Nonetheless, this represents a modest effort in this regard. To achieve this, a research assistant who was born and raised in the area of research, was engaged for the purpose of gaining entry into this knowledge mine and lived world of the participating traditional healers. Consequently, this paper reports findings of a case study involving three traditional healers on their understanding of the roles and functions of selected organs of the human body. Influenced by Western science and schools of thought, the researcher wondered whether African traditional healers, as health practitioners, demonstrated mainstream “scientific’ understanding of, in this case, the roles and functions of selected internal human body organs. This is a critical and vital precondition for health care workers/practitioners trained within the context of Western science. More specifically, the study sought to find out what the traditional healers understood as the main roles and functions of the following internal body organs: heart, spleen, kidneys, lungs and brain.

METHODOLOGY Information was collected by way of one-on-one interviews with the three traditional healers who were all well regarded in their communities as health care practitioners / specialists of note. The three participants all came from the Newcastle area of KwaZulu-Natal. They were all males aged 67, 69 and 76. A brief profile of the participants follows (pseudo names used): Sipho (aged 76) – specialist in heart conditions and the treatment of influenza. Has been practising for a long time. Jabu (aged 67) – trained by his father. He said, “My ancestors told me to leave the job I was doing in Johannesburg to come and do their work here.” He took over from his father upon his death. He is a well-known traditional healer and specialises in sexually transmitted illnesses. Mlungisi (aged 69) – born in Mozambique and later fled to South Africa because of the civil strife caused by the liberation war. He came to South Africa in the early 1970’s. He became a traditional healer at the age of 23, trained by his grandfather. He is a specialist in mental illnesses as well as obstetrics and gynaecology. It was by design that only respondents above the age of 65 were interviewed. This was done, in the opinion of the researcher, so as to get information with the least contamination of Western science. A research assistant who grew up in the

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area was engaged to interview the respondents. The interviews were conducted between 7-11 July 2007. FINDINGS The findings are presented on the respondents’ views on each body organ. In some cases the respondents did not want to commit themselves on the roles and functions of some of the organs. Overall, the respondents gave brief responses, and these are presented below. The Brain For Sipho, the brain works “to assist you to see things that you cannot see through your naked eyes. For example, when your ancestors tell you to go to a certain place and dig a certain herb to cure a certain disease, you cannot see them with your naked eye, but you have seen them using your brain.” Jabu did not explain the role and function of the brain. In the case of Mlungisi, “a human being is living, eating and doing everything because he has the brain which controls the lives and actions of people. The brain has power over all the organs because it tells all of them (organs) what to do, at what time. That’s why you will find a person who is mad acting funny because he is told by his brain to do so. However, you must know that a person cannot just get mad – he has to be bewitched.” The Heart For Sipho, “the heart acts as a temporary storage of blood, and also stores what has been thought by the mind. That’s why you’ll find people having the disease called BP.” Jabu’s views were that “the heart tells you what to do and what not to do, and at what time.” For example, at the beginning of the interview he told the research assistant, “One heart tells me that I must not give you the information you’re looking for, but at the same time another heart is saying I must give you the information. Anyway, I’ll go with the one which is telling me to give you the information.” To Jabu, it was as if a person had more than one heart, and what he says about the functions of the heart overlaps with what he said about the brain. It would appear, therefore, that to Jabu both the brain and the heart tell a person what to do, and what not to do. Metaphorically speaking, even in the English lingo (and also in many other languages), people talk about “a change of heart” when they have “changed their minds” about something. Further probing would have clarified the matter as to whether the attribution of the heart “telling” him what to do was metaphorical or literal. Mlungisi, as a ‘mental illness’ specialist, obstetrician and gynaecologist, did not comment on the role and function of the heart.


The Spleen Sipho’s description of what the spleen does was brief, “Before blood arrives in the heart, it starts from the spleen so that it is checked for harmful substances or contamination.” Jabu and Mlungisi had nothing to say about the spleen. The Kidneys Sipho’s response about the role and function of the kidneys was as follows: kidneys function like a filter in that everything that we drink goes out through the kidneys. As such, everything that is not needed by the body goes out through the kidney, and a person is left only with what he/she needs. For Jabu, “kidneys are like a pot because when one drinks water it is colourless, but by the time one urinates the water has turned yellow. You can even tell from this when someone is ill, especially from sexually transmitted illnesses.” Mlungisi’s view about the kidneys was that “their function was to excrete waste products not needed by the body, especially water.” Mlungisi went further and stated that “kidneys also work together with the body pores during sweating.” The Liver Both Sipho and Mlungisi did not respond to the role and function of the liver. Jabu, on the other hand, had the following to say about the liver: for any person to be brave he requires a liver. That’s why a long time ago, when one was unable to face difficult situations, a cow liver would be prepared for him to make him brave. Of course the liver was mixed with some herbs. The Lungs The final body organ the respondents were interviewed on was the role and function of lungs. To this, Sipho had the following to say: lungs work like a fan belt of a car and the engine because even when the heart is in good working order, without the lungs, it will not have power – and blood cannot be transported everywhere in the body. So, the lungs and the heart help each other during the transportation of blood.” Jabu had nothing to say about the lungs. Mlungisi, however, was of the view that “lungs work cooperatively with the heart in that if one breathes in, but is unable to release the air, one will not have power to work or move.” NOTABLE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES It is noteworthy, at this juncture, to refer to the similarities and differences between the conceptions held by the participating traditional healers and those espoused by Western science. These are presented below under each body organ investigated.

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Brain In Western science, the brain is seen as controlling all the functions of the body, i.e. thoughts, moods, memory, emotions, attentiveness, perceptions such as vision, taste, hearing, smell, touch, etc; balance, posture, digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, bladder function, sexual function, hormone production and balance, immune response and all others http://www.drz.org/asp/conditions/ brain_chronic_illness.asp. In this regard Western science sees the entire essence of human existence as being controlled and directed from the brain engine room. With regard to pain, the brain is understood to make use of two areas: one which receives the incoming pain messages from the periphery via the thalamus, resulting in the experience of pain, and another area which works to inhibit and dampen that transmission of pain. According to Western science, one other important feature of the brain is that is exhibits something known as localization of function, which means that different parts of the brain carry out different functions (e.g., vision, control of voluntary movement, understanding speech, etc.) and, conversely, that not all parts of the brain do the same thing. This may seem obvious, but other organs, such as the liver do not exhibit localization of function; one part of the liver does exactly the same thing as another. From the findings of the study, Sipho’s description of what the brain does clearly belongs to a different world-life paradigm. The spiritual existence of human beings, in one form or another (e.g. involving interventions by ancestors or saints) is brought in to compliment the physical world reality. Nevertheless, the abstractness of what Sipho said could, in some sense, be attributable to notions in concord with those of Western science. Mulungisi’s views about the brain tally accurately with those of Western science, although they are embedded in his cultural beliefs at the end of his response. Heart Western science holds that the heart is responsible for supplying the body with oxygenated blood. Its mechanism also serves to transport de-oxygenated blood to the lungs for purification. The oxygen in the blood helps sustain the life of the body through various chemical reactions. Sipho talks about the heart as being a temporary storage facility for blood – not quite sure for how long though. However, he also goes on to state that the heart also stores “what has been thought by the mind”. By going further to contend that the heart’s storage of what has been thought by the mind could be related to the incidence of high blood pressure, there is a little bit of convergence with Western science – which includes a ‘troubled mind’ as a possible factor related to the incidence of high blood pressure. Nonetheless, it is quite clear that Sipho mixes the functions of the heart with those of the brain. The situation gets even more confusing from what Jabu told the research assistant at the beginning of the interview by unapologetically ascribing the functions of the brain to the heart – and a bit worse.


The word “mind” has also come into play from what Sipho said. The question is: what is meant by “the mind”? Wikipedia (2008) defines the mind as “human consciousness that originates in the brain and is manifested especially in thought, perception, emotion, will, memory, and imagination”; and as “the collective conscious and unconscious processes in a sentient organism that direct and influence mental and physical behaviour”. These definitions are quite abstract, and both construe the mind as something that is related to the brain, but not as the same thing as the brain. There is something in these two definitions that connotes both material/physical as well as the non-material (perhaps spiritual) realities. Certainly, consciousness, emotion, memory and imagination are nonphysical entities, although they may have physical manifestations. This argument is developed further below. What is important to note, for now, is that Sipho’s conception of the roles and functions of the brain and heart appeal to both physical and non-physical (spiritual) realms of existence. Spleen To Western science, the spleen is a lymphatic organ, interposed in the blood stream, with three major functions. It filters the blood by removing old or damaged blood cells and platelets, and helps the immune system by destroying bacteria and other foreign substances. It also holds extra blood that can be released into the circulatory system, if needed. In this study it appears that this was a difficult question to answer – only Sipho ventured to put his position across on this organ which, in all honesty, reflected Western scientific thinking. Kidneys Western science holds that kidneys regulate the body's fluid volume, mineral composition and acidity. It is understood that they do this by regulating excretion and re-absorption of water and inorganic electrolytes. This works to maintain the correct balance of these substances throughout the body, and keep their normal concentrations in the extracellular fluid. Ions regulated in this way include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, sulphate, phosphate and hydrogen. The kidneys regulate body fluid volumes, which are related to blood volume and the blood pressure in your arteries. In addition, the kidneys also regulate some organic nutrients and excrete metabolic waste products and some foreign chemicals. All the respondents gave their understanding of the functions of the kidneys. Both Sipho and Mlungisi had views congruent with Western science, even considering that the latter included something about pores and sweating. Jabu’s pot story is not quite clear, but perhaps comes, in a sense, close to the filtering mechanism of kidneys. Liver According to Western science, the liver has a multitude of very important functions, including (a) the manufacture (synthesize) of proteins, such as albumin which helps to maintain the volume of blood within the body, as well as blood clotting, (b) synthesize, store and process (metabolize) fatty acids (used for

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energy) and cholesterol, (c) metabolize and store carbohydrates, which are used as the source for the sugar (glucose) in blood that red blood cells and the brain use, (d) form and secrete bile that contains bile acids to aid in the intestinal absorption of fats and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, (e) eliminate, by metabolizing and/or secretion, the potentially harmful biochemical products produced by the body, such as bilirubin, from the breakdown of old red blood cells and ammonia from the breakdown of proteins, and (f) detoxify, by metabolizing and/or secreting drugs, alcohol, and environmental toxins. Jabu is the only one who ventured to explain the role and function of the liver in the body, and his explanation put this organ as responsible for courage – and, in the treatment of someone who failed to show courage, a cow’s liver would be mixed with some herbs and fed to the coward, to alleviate her/his cowardice. Clearly, this conception belongs to an alternative world-life view, and could provide a good substrate for further research. Also, the fact that the other two respondents did not address the role and function of this organ may suggest that more work still needs to be done in this area by way of probing further or through education interventions (i.e. adult education). Lungs In Western science, the lung is the sole means of gaseous exchange in respiration. Air is brought into the body through the mouth or nose and trachea to the lung – where oxygen diffuses from the airspace of the alveoli into the blood stream and carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood into the alveoli's airspace. Both Sipho and Mlungisi gave a description of the function of the lungs as working ‘cooperatively’ with the heart to give it the “power” it needs to be able to pump the blood to all the parts of the body. The metaphors used may not be accurate but the underlying notions appear to be consistent with Western science. Jabu did not say anything concerning the lungs. DISCUSSION Taking the above findings, as a whole, one may say that there is a fair degree of convergence between the respondents’ conceptions of functions of some of the body organs, and the corresponding Western science conceptions. However, one is also faced with some serious challenges, against the backdrop of some apparent ‘knowledge gaps’ exhibited in some of the responses – manifested either in non-response or in alternative conceptions. Quite importantly, a closer look at the above findings points to a fundamental difference in ideological orientations between AIKS, as reflected in the responses of the three participating traditional healers, and those espoused by Western science. More specifically, the roles and functions of the body organs, as explained by the African traditional healers in this study, reveal their ideological orientations as to how disease occurs and how it may be remedied. At the core of the difference between the Western science perspective and the ideological orientation of the African traditional healers are the respective roles of ‘matter’ and ‘spirit’. Anyone who has seen an African traditional healer in action


will attest to the fact that his/her inspiration is, first and foremost, spiritual. It’s only after this phase is complete that the physical aspect of the treatment – such as the application of herbs, powder, roots, etc., comes into play. In this regard, the African traditional healer is guided by an interplay between the physical and spiritual ideological orientations for a complete, all-round and holistic treatment of a patient. In contrast, the Western-trained doctor operates wholly within the physical, material world in both the diagnosis and alleviation of disease. As already pointed out, some of the responses from the traditional healers were in agreement with Western science. Some needed a bit of re-orientation to be acceptable within the Western science realm of thinking and understanding. So, the question arises as to how one may redress what may appear to be partial and/or “wrong” understanding of the roles and functions of these organs by the traditional healers. One view would be to call for the modernisation of the knowledge base of these traditional healers, and bring it on the same platform as Western science; or even innovate it, so that it can benefit from the breakneckspeed evolution of Western scientific knowledge, particularly over the past half century. Contentious as this position may sound, the protagonists of this view would posit that even if we wanted to keep AIKS unadulterated by Western knowledge forms and systems, this would be a virtual impossibility against the rampant ravages of globalization – characterised by intense forms of, and accelerated by, political, economic, social, and cultural imperialism. As Bhola (2007: 3) laments, globalization has ushered in expanded worldwide profit-making opportunities and tendencies: that border on predatory behaviour . . . The world political order has made a mockery of state sovereignty and created the category of weak states in Africa. Cultural imperialism is a reality. The offspring of those made newly rich by deregulated economies in the Third World are serving as globalization's Trojan horses as they sing and swing to Western music, eat Western food, wear blue jeans and drift aimlessly in a normless culture, seeking thrills. Indeed, in attempting to modernise AIKS, one surrenders to the view that Western science, as the current dominant culture, must be used as the true measure of what is valid and acceptable. As Bhola (2007: 7) observes, “it seems that the dialectics of integration between indigenous and modern knowledge would involve the validation of what is known within indigenous knowledge by modern scientific methods”. In concurrence, de Quincey (2006: 4) also observes that Western science “is widely accepted in modern society as the legitimator, the ultimate arbiter, of what is real’. In the opinion of de Quincey (ibid), science is trusted to this extent “because it possesses the tools to explore, measure, and explain happenings in the physical world – the world of things we need for surviving and thriving”. It’s possible that the overall dominance and reverence of Western science, with its emphasis and complete reliance on the physical world, may be due to its impact on our day-to-day lives – notwithstanding the negative aspects of this impact. As Quincey (2006:4) points out: From the perspective of day-to-day living, the physical world is the real world. It contains the objects that we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch – the

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world revealed to us by our senses. [As such] we have very good reasons for putting a lot of epistemological weight on what we learn and know through our senses. Knowledge not based on sensory input tends to be dismissed in the modern world as ‘speculative’ or ‘imaginary’. [Parentheses and emphasis added]. Nonetheless, it’s important to realise that for any particular community, there is a degree of equilibrium and contentment that exists in terms of which the knowledge of that community is regarded – making it morally unjustifiable for an outsider to step into other people’s life-worlds and impose a foreign yard stick that undermines the worth and integrity of such a knowledge system. Indeed, as Bhola (2007: 6) points out, “the decisions of what is good and what is bad in indigenous and modern knowledge must be left to the community of knowledge users as they engage in self-conscious reflection on and renewal of their own cultures in the context of new existential realities.” The role for scholars in this process should be to facilitate a process of questioning, contesting, affirming, converging, and creation of new collective constructions necessary to lead to the transformation, innovation and renewal of the indigenous knowledge. It’s also important to note that from the beginning of human existence, it has always been held that “the sense-world is not – and cannot be the whole story” (de Quincey, 2006). de Quincey (2006) goes further and explains this as follows: The only reason our senses can give us data about the world is because the process of measurement involves and requires a subject who experiences the sensory data. But the experience itself is not a sensory object or event that can be measured. Consciousness is not objective – its essence is subjectivity; it does not exist in the world as an object or a thing – and, therefore, it cannot be quantified. And, so, ultimately, science relies on an aspect of reality that is beyond the reach of science. [Thereby making] any scientific cosmology incomplete. [Parentheses added]. In this regard, there are parallels between de Quincey’s physical versus spiritual worlds and what Argyris (2006) refers to as the ‘relational‘ versus the ‘propositional’ worlds. According to Argyris, the former is based on the input received from our senses, whereas the latter has no direct access to our senses. Accordingly, Argyris (2006: 4) posits that the realisation of the co-existence of these two worlds makes sense of much that has been mysterious about the human mind, such as why it is that, for many patients, psychosis is preceded by a spiritual experience which then ‘goes wrong’. Quite importantly, Argyris (2006: 4-5) goes further and explains the relationship between these world conditions as follows: Our mental state depends on how these two meaning-making subsystems are working together. The relational subsystem opens up to the spiritual dimension of life, into a view of the world beyond the threshold of the narrow propositional subsystem . . . If, however, we lose touch with the propositional and are unprepared for this experience, then we become lost in the transliminal, and our desperate struggles to recover our footing lead us into psychosis. Certainly, most workings of African traditional healers show attributes of psychosis – indicating their commutation between the physical/relational and spiritual/


propositional worlds; they operate at the interface of mind and matter. Hence, for all the power that Western science has to explain nature, it would be neither reasonable nor prudent to use it as a basis for judging the adequacy of African traditional healers’ theoretical underpinnings for their practice. Certainly, they do not hide the fact that they appeal to the spiritual world for the power and wisdom to heal the sick. Western doctors only rely on the wisdom they get from their books and experience – but do not appeal to spiritual power to effect healing. However, some Western-trained health workers are known to pray for divine intervention when they are faced with big medical challenges – which, in itself, is an acknowledgement that human wisdom and effort can only go so far, but no further, in effecting healing. [It’s acknowledged that some Western-trained health care workers and practitioners pray at the start of major operations, but this is not a requirement for their practice]. However, the main difference is that for Western-trained health care workers and practitioners, divine intervention comes as a last resort, whereas for African traditional healers, it’s an all-present, integral aspect of their practice. It’s little wonder, therefore, that in this study, the traditional healers almost invariably brought the spiritual dimension into their descriptions and conceptions of the roles and functions of the internal body organs. This is not to say, however, that there is no science in the realm of traditional medicine. The point is that there is a continuous interplay between science and the spiritual consciousness. As de Quincey (2006: 4) surmises: Science is about the external objective world; but consciousness is interior, it is subjective. We turn to science for reliable knowledge about the external physical cosmos, but turn to spiritual traditions for knowledge and wisdom about the ‘inner’ cosmos of consciousness, mind and experience. To know how science knows anything, we need a different kind of ‘science’ – a science of consciousness, a ‘noetic’ science. All knowledge of the external objective world relies ultimately on non-objective consciousness. To develop a true science of consciousness – as distinct from a science of behaviour or neural correlates of consciousness – we need to cultivate alternative epistemologies. We need to develop other ways of knowing beyond the senses and rational analysis. So, in dealing with the advancement of AIKS, it is important to cultivate a ‘science’ that makes the physical and spiritual (supernatural) realms of human existence co-exist in a state of dynamic equilibrium. This will definitely put the world on a much higher plane of knowledge and understanding of our surrounds than is possible by following only one of these streams on knowing – i.e. either science alone or spirituality alone. Within the context of charting the way forward, it may be important to heed the calls for mainstreaming AIKS, which have been reverberating around the world for quite a while now (Emeagwali, 2003; Mbeki, 1999; UNESCO a and b, 1994; Von Liebenstein, 2001). These calls are based, inter alia, on a strong belief that there is something of inherent great worth, entrapped within AIKS, which can bring about significant benefits to the development of indigenous communities. In this regard, it is contended that the accumulated knowledge capital within communities has the potential to transform these communities – and, subsequently

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larger social formations (Bhola, 2007). As Kolawole (2005: 1435) observes, many third world countries “are beginning to recognise that their indigenous knowledge systems are national resources that can facilitate development efforts within the country”. UNESCO (Kolawole, 2005) has put a strong challenge to higher education institutions, in particular, to play a leading role in renewing the entire education system by ensuring that AIKS finds its rightful place in the mainstream school and tertiary education curricular. More specifically, Kolawole (2005: 1435-1436), reports that the World Declaration on Higher Education for the 21st Century has identified the following areas to enhance relevance to society: • Relevance in higher education should be assessed in terms of the fit between what society expects of institutions and what they do. This requires ethical standards, political impartiality, critical capacities and, at the same time, a better articulation with the problems of society and the world of work, basing long-term orientations on societal aims and needs, including respect for cultures and environmental protection. The concern is to provide access to both broad general education and targeted, career specific education, often interdisciplinary, focusing on skills and aptitudes, both of which equip individuals to live in a variety of changing settings, and to be able to change occupations; • Higher education should reinforce its role of service to society, especially its activities aimed at eliminating poverty, intolerance, violence, illiteracy, hunger, environmental degradation and disease, mainly through an interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approach in the analysis of problems and issues; • Higher education should enhance its contribution to the development of the whole education system, notably through improved teacher education, curriculum development and educational research; • Ultimately, higher education should aim at the creation of a new non-violent and non-exploitative society, consisting of highly cultivated, motivated and integrated individuals, inspired by love for humanity and guided by wisdom. Clearly, in our indigenous communities, transformation should also include redressing the backlog of education opportunities, evidenced in the stagnation of indigenous knowledge forms and systems. In this connection, education could play a big role in addressing this backlog. As Kolawole (2005: 1427) points out: the essence of education is the enhancement of behavioural change through the acquisition of new knowledge, skills and attitudes by the learner, which invariably translates to individual and national progress. This calls for a concerted programme of adult education for adult men and women, deliberately engineered by the previous political systems, to be bypassed by the formal education system. Indeed, with literacy, and the knowledge that literacy would bring to empower the adult learners, this would make the adult population true participants in the development processes and, in so doing, redefine development itself (Bhola, 1998). If done in a truly participatory manner, this would lead to exchanges of worldviews which would enrich both sides about the integration of ontological


worldviews which would enrich both sides about the integration of ontological and epistemological foundations of the two traditions – which would be the ultimate goal of valorisation of AIKS. CONCLUSION The study revealed some important aspects of AIKS with regard to the three traditional healers who participated in the study. To the extent that some of the respondents’ conceptions of the roles and functions of the selected body parts were in concord with Western science, one may say that there is something universal about knowledge. However, the socio-cultural orientations of the participants had a telling influence on how they conceptualised the roles and functions of these internal organs. In particular, the interplay between the physical and spiritual dimensions of human existence was a major platform from which the participants understood these roles and functions. This was a preliminary investigation which should now be extended to include more participants, as well as more depth and breadth in uncovering the underlying ‘science’ behind such responses. Nonetheless, the author hopes that the findings reported in this article will be of interest to other researchers, and that they’ll join in the endeavour to gain further insights into the issues that are contained in these pages.

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