Herbalism and divination in southern Malawi

ABSTRACT

Although contemporary anthropological studies of African medical systems have indicated their pluralistic and complex nature; many studies still suggest a stark contrast between folk and cosmopolitan medicine; implying that ethnomedicine is primarily concerned with mystical causation. The present paper outlines ethnomedical practices in southern Malawi; stressing the distinctiveness of herbalists and diviners; and the important role of herbal remedies in the empirical treatment of all illnesses