Abstract

African traditional healing practices offer a holistic, evidence-based paradigm to wellness, by integrating physical, spiritual, and emotional interventions. This research explores the significance of African traditional healing towards integrative wellness in two Local government areas of Enugu state; Aninri and Eziagu respectively. The specific objective of the research includes investigating the nature of African traditional healing, the various processes involved in African traditional healing, and the significance of African traditional healing in contemporary society. A qualitative research method that aims to describe the phenomenon of African traditional healing practices was adopted for the study. In-depth interviews (IDI) and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were the two major instruments for data collection for the study. A combination of narrative and descriptive methods of data analysis were adopted in analyzing the data collected from the field. The result from the IDI and FGD reveals among other things, that this traditional healing practice(s) of Africans promotes comprehensive wellness through rituals, ceremonies, Indigenous plant species, traditional massage, sound-based therapies, ancestral wisdom, and community-based healing practices. Having been validated through generations, African traditional healing provides a culturally sensitive, sustainable solution to wellness. The research therefore recommends that in addition to orthodox therapeutic measures, a significant appreciation should be accorded to the potential of African traditional healing practices in the total wellness of an individual and society.

Keywords: African, Traditional, Healing practices, Integrative, Wellness, Enugu state