Traditional healers in Southern Africa

One task of medical anthropologists is to search for simi-larities and differences among cultural conceptions of ill-ness and healing. This search may identify common, if not universal, characteristics of healing and effective patient care. This paper describes traditional healing practices in southern Africa as related by six traditional healers. De-spite the seemingly exotic nature of their practice, the traditional healers ' underlying strategies (probing deeply into the psychological, spiritual, and social contexts of illness and using healing ceremonies and natural medicinal preparations) seem to be effective in certain circum-stances. Perhaps more important, these strategies can leave both patient and practitioner with a sense of connec-tion and satisfaction. A study of these strategies reveals some general qualities of the healing process that are more apparent in the absence of sophisticated technology