Advantages Of African Traditional Medication

Abstract
African traditional medication is an indigenous form of medication, being indigenous means that it is belonging to a particular place rather than coming to it from somewhere else. There are ongoing critics about indigenous medication due to the fact that it is not written in black and white (paper) and is conducted by illiterate individuals. However, this indigenous medication has healed the people of this continent from the rise of time before the arrival of the white man into the continent. It was only after the arrival of the Europeans that the indigenous medication is started to be perceived as wrongdoing, dirty and not effective and the worst of the matter is that it is perceived in this way by its people, because of it only
There is going to be an outline of both the positive and the negative impacts of traditional medication in the South African health system. A Christian view of African traditional medication is also going to be looked at. My stand in this essay is that African traditional medication is as much effective as the dominant western medication and should be given preference for the benefit of those Africans who are, example troubled by ancestral spirits and witchcraft which is reality in the African context. However the majority of people in South Africa and other developing countries utilize the services of traditional healers for a variety of reasons ranging from physiological illness to metaphysical issues such as spirits (Ramgoon, Dalasile, Paruk & Patel,2011; World Health Organization (WHO, 2008).What I am hoping to learn in this piece are the positive impacts that would result in the integration of the western and African
Traditional African healing has existed for many centuries before the arrival of the western Christian missionaries’ and Western political expeditions on the African continent. Before the Westernization process, Africans had always believed in god and the ancestors and had been profoundly spiritual. This contrary to some colonial authorities and Christian missionaries general believes that Africans are unbelievers. Christians believe that African traditional medication is witchcraft and Jesus does not approve it, the sick should come to Jesus, be saved and be cured. They believe that the sick should be delivered from sin and become Born-again. However, there are those people who find themselves between traditional healing and Christianity, and says African culture remains an important part of their mental and cultural makeup. However, firmly rooted in Christian practice. They strive to combine the two legacies. In the bible there are two parts. In the first – the Old Testament –“god has not entered”. By that it means that old customs has been preserved. The second part-The New Testament “Jesus according to Mathew, did not come to destroy but to accomplish” (Matthews 5:17). He blesses all that is good and that include traditional healing. A person can become a Christian and still adhere to the