Guest Author 
Oscar. H Blayton
Bunmi Adekunle
CareTaker 
Aba Boy
Dave O'Cube
Don Thieme
Edward Echwalu
Emmanuel.K. Bensah
Ella Romanos
Charles E.
Mojolaoluwa Caxton-Naibi
Anthony Kila
Misi A.
Nzingha Smith
K A-T
Pamela Stitch
Paul Usungu
Sokari Ekine
Samantha Ofole-Price
Tomas Ernst
Augustine Pius Thliza
Thomas Gowans
Ugo Daniels
Veronica Henry
Vic 
Oluwole Akindutire
Xcroc 
William J. Zick
When All Else Fails, Will you Visit your Local Native Doctor?
Muti This
I will begin this piece by introducing you all to the term, native doctor in the African context. A native doctor is a person who practices traditional medicine and uses traditional medicine to cure emotional and physical ills. This person goes by different names in different parts of Africa. The word, “traditional medicine” conjures up several images - one of a dirty, old person surrounded by gods that are worshipped solely, or the image of a person who is a fraudster and feeds off people’s common fear of the unknown. It is not strange to find many Africans walking the gray line between their accepted religion (Islam/Christianity) and traditional religion. For example, a woman who might be having problems conceiving might be visiting a traditional healer on Saturdays while going to her church on Sundays. Are traditional healers quacks? I believe that is a story for another day. But, many educated people outwardly state that they are while they inwardly fear them.
I have often thought that women and men who visit their native doctors to seek help in tying down their partners was a West African thing but I just recently found out from an online buddy of mine from a Southern African country, that these kind of visitations take place constantly in Southern Africa as well as Eastern Africa. She told me that it isn’t strange for a man to tie up a woman spiritually with the aim that if another man tries to sleep with her - he will come to some harm or vis versa. She went ahead to tell a story of some Nigerian men who were dating some girls from her country but these men were married and were not aware that their wives had put some form of a spell on them and when these men slept with these ladies; these ladies woke up with maggots all over them. She mentioned that it was in major papers in her home country ( I haven’t found the paper yet and I am still looking).
Now, I know many of you with a Scientific bent will come up with so many medical reasons as to how that came about while those that are heavily into Psychology will tie the over abundance of these kinds of spiritualists in developing countries to the idea of fear and internal intimidation. The basic concept is “if I tell her that I worship Shango and Shango keeps his eyes open and sees everything concerning me - my wife will be too scared to cheat” while the wife on the other hand is thinking, “Okay my husband walks with Shango, I will have to walk with the gods counterpart to be protected”. With everyone visiting one form of spiritualist or the other in order to counter what his/her partner is doing - it is no wonder that this system of traditionalism is still prevalent.
As a side note, this article is working with the supposition that these native doctors have some form of power - it will be quite remiss of me, if I didn’t write from that angle since their power seems to be accepted in Africa. Pay attention to music talking about some traditional act or the other or watch a spiritual or traditional Nollywood flick. There are many questions that need to be raised by those who visit these people for nefarious purposes and they are:
a)Does intimidation using any form of external power work?
b)Whatever happened to the concept of free will and choice?
So we come back to the title of this post: should one visit their native doctor if all fails? I will end this write up by saying, the concept of African spirituality has often times been bastardized, as many people look for some way of making a quick buck out of the little knowledge that they have. But, I digress! Should you visit your native doctor? That is up to you!
pammy | Apr 28, 2008 | Reply
Oh my goodness… I can’t believe Omo T isn’t saying anything ….
Omotaylor | May 3, 2008 | Reply
Pammy, I just come back to the Loft. Omo T will definitely say something and that is:
BY THE GRACE OF GOD, WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS MEDICALLY, I WILL TURN TO GOD AND MY FAITH AND LEAVE MY DESTINY IN HIS HANDS AND NOT, I REPEAT NOT VISIT A NATIVE DOCTOR.
By the way how you dey, you dey pull my legs o dear.
Can I add one thing, powerless powers will never give you anything without asking for something else in return. Only the living God gives graciously in His infinite mercy and if there is anything you want and all else has failed, then God has a reason why it has been witheld.
Pammy, let me share this true story with you… A ‘Christian’ man went to see a native doctor on a Sunday morning but did not meet the native doctor at home. He called the ND’s son and asked where his father was. The son replied,”my father don go church, i say make you come back for evening”. That says is all. Have a blessed weekend Pammy.
pammy | May 4, 2008 | Reply
LOL!!!!!
Omo- T, what are your thoughts on traditional medicine???
Omotaylor | May 4, 2008 | Reply
Pammy first you will need to explain or at least describe what you call traditional medicine down before I can give you an answer for I want to be very honest and tell you my thoughts accurately. Traditional medicine mean different things to different people. Going by your write up above and the accompanying photo, I tend to say that this is the “vodoo priest, Babalawo, native doctor” type of traditional what have you. Ehem first I will explain what comes to my mind when i hear traditional medicine, then you can tell me which one you are referring to:
1. A woman wants to tie a man down and turn him into a stooge, visits native doctor, is given blaco magic substanct to administer and man becomes fool. Is this trad medicine?
2. A man wants to retaliate on cheating wife and visits native doctor to get “magun” so that any man who sleeps with the wife will crow thrice like a cock, somersault and die. Is this trad medicine?
3. A woman is seeking for child and visits native doctor who invokes spirits etc to give the woman a child and gives black magic to use. Is this TM?
4. A woman seeking child visits native doctor and is given herbs and leaves to cleanse any form of sickness to assist her concieve but does not request anything else from the woman. Is there a difference from 3. above?
5. A friend has headaches all the time. Hospitals cant find the cause and in spite of all medication, headache worsens. He visits native doctor who says headache is spiritual and prescribes remedies but this include burying a goat, bathing in river, etc etc. Is this trad med?
6. I have constipation all the time. Dont want to live on laxatives all the time, hence I go to chinese herbal shops to buy chinese tea to relieve my constipation, and also comes back with chinese herbal remedies for other ailments. Is this TM?
Now which type are you referring to Pammy.
Lastly please visit http://www.africanloft.com/faith-healing-truth-or-fallacy/ and read my write up on alternative medicing and faith healing, maybe that will help explain my stand on this matter.
Omotaylor | May 4, 2008 | Reply
@ Pammy, please explain the typos above, in a bit of a rush today being Sunday.
Omotaylor | May 4, 2008 | Reply
Pammy sorry yet again, I meant excuse the typos not explain. I better log off now.
pammy | May 4, 2008 | Reply
ok…let me read your write up first….
lola | May 5, 2008 | Reply
Unfortunately, in most African countries - a native doctor is looked at in the light of (1-6) but often times (the one’s that are not quacks), they have the cures to a lot of ailements and they are cheaper.
Before, we brush off native doctors with the wave of our hands - it is important that we separate the good abilities these ppl have from the bad.
Bunmi A. | May 5, 2008 | Reply
Should one visit a native doctor if all else fails… I don’t know. I suppose it depends on if that native doctor invokes some kind of deity. Most of us are aware of the “botanical specialists” in our hometowns that can tell you of what herbs to combine to cure an ailment… are they native doctors.. Yes, in the technical sense…you tell them your symptoms, and they prescribe. So for me, I’ll say yes, because it really does depend on your reason for going, and they type of native doctor you’re going to.
pammy | May 10, 2008 | Reply
hmmmm, interesting…..