This work examines the counseling approaches and techniques used by Yoruba traditional healers of Nigeria. It also describes the functions performed by Yoruba traditional healers when they work within the Yoruba cultural milieu. The information elicited from Yoruba traditional healers through videotape and interviews was analyzed by a Nigerian woma

This book is written to provide information on various aspects of Yoruba, and, indeed, African traditional medicine. The writer's research on Yoruba traditional medicine provides the bulk of the materials in the book. The book consists of eleven chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 provide the background to the book. Chapters 3 to 10 encapsulate the different aspects of Yoruba traditional medicine such as classification of healers, methods of training of healers, methods of diagnosis and investigation of diseases, treatment of diseases, Yoruba pharmacopoeia, midwifery, bone-setting, and other forms of traditional surgery. Chapter 11 describes the meeting point of hospitals and healers; this meeting point, in the opinion of the author, should be how best to serve the interests of the patients. The best form of relationship that should exist between hospitals and healers is also discussed. The two systems of medicine exist side by side in Nigeria and most African countries yet remain functionally unrelated in any intentional sense. It is argued that no medical system is perfect and no single care system has all the answers to all human health and related problems. Each of the two systems has its strong and weak points. The often talked-about integration of the two systems has potential pitfalls and may be undesirable. The book concludes that the best form of relationship may well be one of genuine cooperation and mutual respect between the two systems since this will lead, in the ultimate, to advancement of medical knowledge and overall improvement of patient care. All levels of government in Nigeria have decisive roles to play in achieving this mutually beneficial cooperation of the two systems.

This book is written to provide information on various aspects of Yoruba, and, indeed, African traditional medicine. The writer's research on Yoruba traditional medicine provides the bulk of the materials in the book. The book consists of eleven chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 provide the background to the book. Chapters 3 to 10 encapsulate the different aspects of Yoruba traditional medicine such as classification of healers, methods of training of healers, methods of diagnosis and investigation of diseases, treatment of diseases, Yoruba pharmacopoeia, midwifery, bone-setting, and other forms of traditional surgery. Chapter 11 describes the meeting point of hospitals and healers; this meeting point, in the opinion of the author, should be how best to serve the interests of the patients. The best form of relationship that should exist between hospitals and healers is also discussed. The two systems of medicine exist side by side in Nigeria and most African countries yet remain functionally unrelated in any intentional sense. It is argued that no medical system is perfect and no single care system has all the answers to all human health and related problems. Each of the two systems has its strong and weak points. The often talked-about integration of the two systems has potential pitfalls and may be undesirable. The book concludes that the best form of relationship may well be one of genuine cooperation and mutual respect between the two systems since this will lead, in the ultimate, to advancement of medical knowledge and overall improvement of patient care. All levels of government in Nigeria have decisive roles to play in achieving this mutually beneficial cooperation of the two systems.

According to the Yoruba of Western Nigeria, most illness is caused by the activity of germs or tiny worms in the body which can be either controlled or expelled by the judicious use of herbal medicine. This book is an unusual account and analysis of a series of conversations with Yoruba herbalists about the nature of their craft. Buckley shows that Yoruba medicinal knowledge is systematically similar to ideas found in Yoruba social life and traditional religion, and offers a paradigm for understanding Yoruba culture that plays a similar role to paradigms in western scientific thought.

Hallen asks the Yoruba onisegun - the wisest and most accomplished herbalists or traditional healers - what it means to be good and beautiful. The onisegun explain the subtleties and intricacies of Yoruba language use and philosophy behind particular word choices. Their instructions reveal the depth of Yoruba aesthetics and ethics.

A rich and accessible account of Yoruba history, society and culture from the pre-colonial period to the present.