What are traditional healers? Are they recognised as bona fide health practitioners?
Many people visit South Africa’s 2,000 traditional healers, and there is a growing recognition of their value to society. Traditional healers, or sangomas, use a combination of plant and animal products for their medicinal potions, known as muti. They also incorporate a spiritual element into the healing process and perform a variety of functions for those who visit them, including doctor, counsellor, priest and psychiatrist. Traditional healers divine with symbols such as bones and other artefacts through which ancestors communicate problems and solutions for their patients. Attempts are now being made to create more harmony between Western and traditional medicinal practices, which have tended to view each other with suspicion. Research is being conducted on the use of traditional medicines in curing malaria and tuberculosis.
