Christianity, Coloniality, and Urhobo traditional medicine
Abstract:Urhobo traditional medicine (UTM) like other African traditional medicine, of which it is part has suffered from vilification by European colonial adventurers and many early Christian missionaries who came to Urhoboland. The Whiteman, that is the European colonizers saw very little good in African culture, if any at all. They saw Urhobo like other African cultures as demonic, satanic, and evil. The abiding influence of this attitude has continued as coloniality, in which our people continue to look down on many aspects of African culture, especially traditional medicine. This paper examines UTM in the light of the colonial and early missionary Christian attitude. The paper uses critical analytic and hermeneutics methods to examine, evaluate, and examine the importance of UTM and medical knowledge. The paper finds that UTM is discounted and devalued because of the negative Christian and colonial attitudes. The paper concludes that UTM should be fostered and promoted, and if this is done it will help to secure a healthier society.
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