Page 136 - A People Called Afrika

A PEOPLE CALLED AFRIKA

good prospects should be protected and promoted both local-
ly and internationally as an entirely unique entity, with its own
identity and dignity like ‘conventional’ medicine and should
not be substituted nor discriminated against nor contaminated
by others. That the modern medical world uses the term “al-
ternative” for indigenous medicine either from Afrika or Asia
or anywhere else shows a major lack of respect for indigenous
knowledge and illustrates the pride of modern-day science.
For example, how could you conveniently call the medicine or
health system that has been around for thousands of years, and
which treated and healed indigenous people for thousands of
years before the West appeared on the scene, ‘alternative’ and
then call the recently created health system the standard for
health and wellness? It is not only absurd but demeaning and
should be looked into by Afrikans and the rest of the world.

Dynamics of holistic healing

According to Dr. Jack Githae, a senior Kenyan Indigenous
Medicine Practitioner and Researcher, Afrika’s holistic heal-
ing offers curative, nutritive, catalytic, immunologic and pre-
ventive dynamics in humans, animals and in crops. It takes
into account the several therapeutic dimensions in the man-
agement of the patient. It puts into consideration the pa-
tient’s connection to the universe, the nature around him,
the cosmic relationship between all things and the ecosys-
tem dynamics which consist of the physical, living, nonliving,
other dead forms, spiritual, environmental, political, social,
economic and technological forces that influence people’s
economy that perpetuates poverty, health and wellbeing.

Every case of sickness or disease is unique for each person,
based on their unique body type, ecosystem, lifestyle, and so

111