Diseases in the African traditional view

 For the traditional African, health is not just about the proper functioning of bodily organs. Good health for the African consists of mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional stability [of] oneself, family members, and community; this integrated view of health is based on the African unitary view of reality. Good health for the African is not a subjective affair. (Omonzejele 2008:120)

Good health is usually understood in terms of the relationship with one's ancestors. Health amongst Africans is not based merely on how it affects the living, because it is of paramount importance that the ancestors stay healthy so that they can protect the living (Iroegbu 2005:81). 

In their understanding, good health is also believed to be the result of appropriate behaviour; that is, living in accordance with the values and norms of the traditions of society (Iroegbu 2005:82). 

In view of the above, traditional medicine has at its base a deep belief in the interaction between the spiritual and physical well-being of people (Setswe 1999:56–60). 

It is also imperative to emphasise that good health also includes the viewing of an individual as a collective member of the community; as such, good health would also include good relations with ancestors and the community. Thus Mbiti (1990) rightly notes:

Only in terms of the other people does individual become conscious of his own being … When he suffers, he does not suffer alone but with the corporate group ... 

Whatever happens to the individual happens to the whole group, and whatever happens to [the] whole group happens to the individual. The individual can only say: I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am. (pp. 108–109)

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