Healing is The Ultimate Goal

 

It is said that Hippocrates idea is 'medicus curat, natura sanat' (Latin): The Physicians treat, Nature heals. However, as a religious people, we adapt that, Physicians treat, and God Heals. And this reminds me of Benedict Cumberbatch who played the role of a Neurosurgeon as Dr. Stephen Strange in the MCU movie, he replied to a question saying; that they (antibiotics) are not solely responsible for healing, but they provide a conducive environment for the process. Cells heal by reconstituting themselves in the body.

In my Momma's tongue, we say; Ójóchogwumi tak'ogwu chójé óga. God is my healing medicine, before the medicine even became suitable food for my ailment.

The development of orthodox medicine, as taught in the history of medicine, reveals a long and layered journey shaped by culture, philosophy, religion, and empirical observation. From the ancient period before 500 CE, medical knowledge was deeply intertwined with belief systems. 

The Ebers and Edwin Smith papyri of ancient Egypt show early attempts at documenting diseases and treatments, while Indian Ayurvedic Samhitas and Traditional Chinese Medicine provided structured approaches to diagnosis and therapy long before modern science.

 In these early societies, illness was often perceived as a consequence of moral failure, spiritual imbalance, or divine punishment.

 The medieval era refined these ideas through scholarship, particularly with the Canon of Medicine, where scholars like Ar-Razi and Avicenna (Ibn Sina) synthesized Greco-Roman knowledge with clinical observation, setting foundations for rational medicine.

 The Renaissance further expanded medicine through charitable hospitals established by the church and the revolutionary impact of the printing press, which made medical texts more accessible.

 By the modern era, the germ theory of disease, advances in microbiology, anesthesia, imaging, and surgery transformed medicine into a science-driven discipline capable of diagnosing and treating diseases with unprecedented precision.

However, when I examine this historical narrative critically, I feel like, The African traditional medicine appears underrepresented, not necessarily because it lacked value or effectiveness, but largely because it was not extensively documented in written form. 

It's true that in our various (African) societies, we rely heavily on oral transmission of knowledge, apprenticeship, and spiritual custodianship of healing practices. Now, this absence of formal documentation does not equate to absence of innovation or efficacy. It simply reflects a different epistemological framework. 

Just as history privileges and favors written records, it often sidelines knowledge systems preserved through memory, ritual, and community practice, this is because, most times, oral knowledge lack precision and particularity as there's omission and/or commission to the idea in the chain of transmission. As a result, African traditional medicine is frequently viewed as static or unscientific, despite having sustained populations for centuries. 

This issue raises an important question, is progress only valid when written in textbooks?  Can lived outcomes also serve as evidence of medical relevance?

From my little observation, I believe that The African traditional medicine employs a rich collection of herbs (water, leaves, roots, barks, seeds, and even animal-derived substances) to manage disease, restore balance, and promote healing. Many of these remedies demonstrably work, though their mechanisms may not yet be fully understood scientifically.

 I also observed that some treatments are 'codified' in a way that requires specific preparation methods, incantations, timing, or ritual authority, meaning that random application by an untrained person may yield no result. But  others like the bebinadagba, épu, ugbakolo etc (igala herbs) are straightforward and widely used within communities. On a second thought, I contrast this with orthodox medicine as a drug maybe ineffective without the right dose, formulation, or route of administration.

My teacher once mentioned that if factorization method cannot solve a quadratic equation, we use completing the square or formula method. Orthodox medicine may not address all health challenges, particularly those involving chronic pain, psychosomatic illness, spiritual distress, or culturally rooted conditions. Mind you, this is not a dismissal of conventional medicine, but an acknowledgment of its limitations, just as African traditional medicine also has boundaries it cannot cross.

The way forward, therefore, should not be framed as competition but as an integration guided by evidence, ethics, and respect. 

African traditional medicine needs systematic documentation, standardization where possible, and scientific evaluation of its pharmacological components without stripping it of its cultural context. 

Schools, research institutes, and governments can collaborate with traditional healers to preserve knowledge before it disappears. At the same time, orthodox medicine should recognize that healing, sometimes is not always purely biochemical. 

A pluralistic approach, where effective traditional remedies are studied, refined, and incorporated into mainstream healthcare offers a realistic and achievable path. In doing so, medicine becomes not just modern, but complete, grounded in science, enriched by history, and responsive to the lived realities of the people it serves.

Ójóchogwumi tak'ogwu chójé óga.

®Ahmed Salim Jn ✍️ 

#Uloko