**2. African traditional medicine in different regions**

## **2.1 Traditional Ethiopian medicine**

The first recorded epidemic that occurred in Ethiopia dates back to 849 during the rule of Abba Yohannes as the head of the Ethiopian church. The disease and famine in those days was perceived as God's punishment for Yohannes' misdeeds. In the documented letter to Abba Yohannes, from the Ethiopian emperor and it was wrote that "great tribulations have come upon our land, and all our men are dying of the plague and all of our beasts and cattle have perished." [24]. However prediction of pinpoint of the birth of medicine in Ethiopia is impossible due to lack of clear document evidences. However the Ethiopian traditional medicine (ETM) is poorly documented. In Ethiopia, the traditional healers usually follows herbalism, spirtual healing, bone setting and minor surgical procedures in treating disease. The ETM is highly complex and diverse because the principals of healing will vary from one ethnic group to others. The Ethiopian traditional medicine beleives that disease is mystical and natural imbalance concept and follows holistic approach in the treatment [25].

Despite Western medicine becoming more widespread in Ethiopia, Still today Ethiopians trust and highly depend on traditional healing principles because of the easy and cheap access in urban parts. The first traditional elixir in Etthiopia is holy water and holy oil (Tesbel in Ahmaric) and moslems called as zemzem. Ethiopians beleives that holy water heals every ailment, when it is drunk or had bathed in. Even the orthodox christians in Ethiopia believes in the healing actions of holy annoited oil for treating minor ailments, this gave the concept of herbalism and spirtuality in Ethiopian traditional medicine [26, 27].

The traditional medicine in Ethiopia is a combined concept of spiritualism and herbalism. The ETM IS a perceptive and own generational understanding of healing concept but scientific explaination and validation is yet to be explored. Traditional practitioners are wide with different concepts and they includes bonesetters, birth attendants, tooth extractors, (called 'Wogesha' and yelimd awalaj' respectively in amharic) herbalists, as well as 'debtera', 'tenquay' (witch doctors), and spiritual healers such as 'weqaby' and 'kalicha.' Like other african medicine, Ethiopian medicine also believes that some diseases like mental illness is due to evil curses and healing concepts like exorcism also present in TEM.

Traditional Healing in Ethiopian traditional medicine is not only concerned with curing of diseases but also consists of protection and promotion of human physical, spiritual, social, mental and material wellbeing. The concept of Ethiopian medicine is kept hidden and considered as a hidden treasure, which will be passed orally from father to his favorite child.

The various traditional practices includes herbal medications, medications for pshyco social conditions like Exorcisms for Zar, Aganint, Buda, Ayene Tilla etc., Fumigation (inhalation), and Holy water or blessed water. The traditional practices includes Bone setting, Surgery, Cauterisation, Counter-irritation, Bleeding, Cupping, Steam Bath, Vapor Bath (woushba) and Moxibustion.

The Ethiopian traditional medicine includes Orthodox Christian literate healer (debetera), Orthodox Christian astrologer (Metsehaf Gelach), Mystique spiritual healer (Bale Zar), Divine healer (Psychi, Tenquay), Bone-setter (Woggesha), Kitab ketabi (Amult maker), Islamic Literature healer (Kabir), Islamic medical teacher (Sheki), and Cushitic healer (Qaalluu, Qaallicha, Argessa). the practices in ETM consists of preventive, curative, and surgical care. Traditional Ethiopian medicine includes several elements or disease prevention.

The best example of preventive care in ETM is the prevention of diseases like small pox. It was prevented by the traditional healers in following the social distance protocol and people were vaccinated through innoculating by taking pus from sick person during special rituals. Incase of preventive practices, the following protocols like Sweeping or covering floors with particular plants is another traditionally practiced disease preventive measure. The other methods of prevention include kitabs, which are also used for the purpose of protecting an individual against evil eye, as well as snake and scorpion bites. As healers beleive that contagious disease is an evil act or causing by evil eye. The traditional healers also suggest Amulets, arm rings, hair style and eye make-up (antimony or kool) are also supposed to protect from the evil eye.

There are some secret herbs that are useful as charms against an enemy. In addition, cultural rituals and sacrifices are commonly involved in preventive care. In curative practices of ETM, the diseases like gastrointestinal disturbances, respiratory disorders, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, impotency, hemorrhoids, rabies, intestinal parasites, skin problems, liver diseases, mental disorders, hypertension, diabetes, gynecological conditions rheumatism, malaria etc. will be treated using knowledge of traditional herbalism.

One of the well recognized groups of these healers are the secular medhanit awakis (kitel betashs) herbalists using plants as their primary means of providing treatment. All these awakis have their own traditional pharmacopeias.

The surgical practices includes Traditional practices like bone-setting, uvulectomy, circumcisions, bleeding and cupping, cautery, scarification and tooth extraction. The setting of bones is regarded as an important surgical procedure which requires a certain degree of skill and experience on the part of the healer. In most places, the healer involved in bone-setting is the local wogesha. How ever these practices are crude and aseptic with or without the application of medicines.

The documentation of Ethiopian traditional medicine is resitricted only to the scientific literature and the knowledge of traditional pharmacopeia is not published and it was secret/hidden with the healers and practitioners. The ethiopian

### *Traditional African Medicine DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96576*

ethnophamacological information of medicinal plants is fast disappearing and this is more happening in industrialized countries, the erosion of popular information on plants is much faster than in developing ones.

In view of the rapid loss of such knowledge, its documentation as well as a better understanding of its botanico-historical and holistic roots has become an essential task to preserve and restore ethno-allied disciplines [28].

Some of the famous examples in the herbalism of Ethiopian Traditional medicine are as follows


## **2.2 Ghana traditional medicine**

Ghanians have developed an unique indigenous healing traditional knowledge which was adapted and defined from their culture, beliefs, and environment, which satisfied their health needs over centuries.

In Ghana, people depends on the traditional knowledge as primary source to heal from various ailments especially in rural areas due to lack of sphisticated medical facilities and being western medicine is an expensive task. The traditional healers and patients ratio in Ghana is 1: 200 approximately. Hence Traditional medicine plays an important role in Ghanian health care. The traditional knowledge is in the hands of spiritual healers but every family have some sort of traditional healing knowledge which was inherited from many generations as folklore medicine.

The healing in Ghanian traditional system includes physical and spirtual aspects. The traditional healers are also known as herbal spiritualist collectively known as "bokomowo", who having occult knowledge towards divination, exorcism and spirtual herbalism. There are various local names for the Ghanian traditional healers like "gbedela" (Ewe), "kpeima" (Dagomba), "odunsini" (Akan), and "isofatse" (Ga). These healers have their own different concepts and principles of understanding the concept of disease. Today The modern herbalism is a major part of Ghanian health care and having their own traditional medicine directorate eastablished by the Ministry of health to provide validated traditional medicine which is quality, safe, and efficacious.

The Ghanian excellence in traditional and alternative medicine have reached to the level of a standardized herbal medicine which is an essential part of modern herbalism. The ministry of health has been established various research centers to validate herbal medicine and incorprated herbalism as a part of university curriculum. There are various degree - awarding medical schools and training many students to graduate them as certified traditional medical doctors. The Ghanian traditional herbal pharmacopeia is also an important acheivement in the journey of Ghanian herbalism [39, 40]. Some of the important herbs in Ghanian herbalism are


### *Traditional African Medicine DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96576*

