Eboh and Traditional Medicine in Pre-Colonial Apana Social Systems

Abstract

The paper extols the significance of traditional medicine in the social systems of pre-colonial Apana. Traditional medicine and its practitioners maintained their popularity in the socio-cultural development of Apana. The Apana word, eboh, which exists in the plural form, refers to the practitioners of traditional medicine. Using historical methodology, the paper draws attention to the fact that traditional medicine was inseparably knit with the practice of each social system. It argues that traditional medicine was a preservative, curative and rectifying element of the culture and development of the social systems of Apana. It concludes by demonstrating the linkage between social systems, eboh, and traditional medicine. It further shows the uniqueness and peculiarity of traditional medicine in the socio-cultural development of Apana prior to colonialism.