Healing and women healers in Yoruba religion and African Christianity

Abstract

Healing in African indigenous cultures is a corporate matter involving the totality of the person, family and community. Healing presupposes sickness; its practice is therefore interlocked with a people’s conception of sickness and diseases. In Africa, sickness is an attestation to the fact that an individual is out of tune with nature and the supernatural, which
is represented by the various deities. The physical signs are therefore a part of the story and not the whole story. Similarly, the Christian conception of disease and healing is intertwined with the individual’s relationship with the supernatural and the physical signs are but part of the story. Diagnosis and prescription for treatment and healing take into cognizance all these facts and this is where the healer comes in. The healer constitutes an integral part of the patient’s healing in Yoruba
religion as well as in African Christianity. There are female and male healers in both religions but whereas these specialists are designated as healers/diviners/custodians of tradition in Yoruba religion, in African Christianity, they are known as prophetesses/prophets/deliverance ministers. This paper seeks to evaluate the position of the healer among the Yoruba of Nigeria. A second objective is to analyze contemporary
postures on healing activities in Yoruba religion and Christianity and how women feature in these processes.