How Nnewi Used To Be Self Sufficient In Medicine Until We Embraced Foreign Practices

By Anayo Nwosu

Introduction:
Before the invasion of our space by the white man and his way of life, Nnewi people's medical needs had been catered for by dibias who are now condescendingly referred to as native doctors. These doctors have different areas of specialisation.

I shall attempt to classify them with respect to their areas of specialization as they then were and would also mention some of those practitioners that distinguished themselves to our world acclaim.

Dibia Ogbanje- This doctor's area is in exorcism of mermaid spirits that mostly afflict the girls.
The afflicted is usually uncoordinated and would refuse to marry.
The patient withdraws to herself and could bring ill-luck to her future husband.
They are known to have spiritual husbands who terrorise any young man that dares fall in love with them.

The treatment is gradual and could be tiring. The doctor makes numerous sacrifices with goat, pigeon, eggs, sparrow and other edibles. These sacrifices are usually placed at road junctions.

The patients are made to confess where their "iyi ana" or covenant fetish are buried. These are located and exhumed. The patient is also bathed in a stream after final sacrifice or as may be directed by the god of the dibia.

Please note that "Ogbanje" is a derogatory name called a female patient possessed by either terrestrial or marine spirits.

Ogbanje is used to describe an infant who would keep reincarnating in the same family hence rendering a couple eventually childless.

Ifeoma Ogbanje as she was called dealt with this by giving the child indelible marks usually 3 horizontal lines on the left wrist and two marks on both sides of the face which is a significant dent to make the child different from the reoccurring one.

Special concoctions are rubbed on the marks while they are still fresh. This is meant to severe the links between the child and her spiritual group.

This dibia is usually chosen by the gods. Nobody wakes up and declares that he or she wants to learn this branch of Medicine. Though the dibias have assistants, they may not graduate into Ogbanje dibias.

The famous of these dibias I witnessed in the 70s was a lady called Ifeoma of Umuenem Otolo. She was a renowned dibia Ogbanje . She didn't get married but married fellow women who bore kids for her.

General Practionals - These are dibias that have solutions to the general body ailments ranging from Iba (ie Malaria), Enyiure (i.e Gas gangrene), Onya afo (i.e Ulcer). They can also neutralise any poison inflicted on a patient by humans or via normal food poisoning.

This class of doctors usually prepare their medicines from leaves, roots and stems of plants. They also mix their drugs with undisclosed things.

It is believed that GPs (or general practitioners) enter the forest in the wee hours of the night to pluck the leaves and the grasses.

We are told that they have a special way of communicating with the plants which tell the doctors what sicknesses they cure.

The doctors have buildings where they place some patients on admission and discharge them when they get well.

I had patronised a man known as Ogbuebunu Nwakobe in Umuanuka Otolo. He was the best in my area of Nnewi for malaria and gas gangrene medicine. 

Ear, Nose and Throat: Nnanyi Ewim of Okpuno Otolo was a known doctor and surgeon for removing inflamed tonsils. He would also treat people with hearing problem. He lived on the edge of Uzukpe forest.

Psychiatry- There has never been a psychiatric doctor better than Izeji of the blessed memory.

Mad men from 20 towns surrounding Nnewi were brought to him for medical attention. He used a combination of flogging and medical concoction for treatment.

By looking at a mad patient, Izeji would accurately predict the cause of his madness and whether it is curable or not. Mad people are usually chained and placed in cubicles.

When a mad patient is brought to Izeji, he would look at the patient in the eyes and shout "taa" if the mad person keeps quiet, then he would ask his assistants to chain patient for commencement of treatment.

But if the mad person retorts and shouts back "taa" to Izeji, he would ask the relations of the mad person to take their patient home.

As a general advice in Nnewi, relations of newly gone mad should strive to prevent their mad relative from running into the market place otherwise the madness shall become permanent.

Mad people who had gone to the market square would surely retort "taaa" back to Izeji which is a sign of incurability of their craze.

Dr. Izeji was from Uruagu Nnewi.

Orthopaedics- The efficacy of Anazor's local treatment of very complicated orthopaedic cases was a marvel to European doctors during his time.

He would pick up broken bones as an artist would and perfectly fix them.

Wine tapers, palm nuts harvesters, and other climbers who fell and broke their bones were cured by this man with ease.

He also had an accommodation for his patients.

I had once followed my mum in the 70s to visit a patient on admission at Anazor's house in Odida Nnewichi Nnewi.

Agwú: Not all sicknesses are medical in nature. There are some that we call "nmekai".

Agwu manifests  mostly in young men whose misbehaviours are deemed abnormal and need to be re-tuned to the frequency of normal conducts.

We an Nnewi man says that "agwu na akpa ya" he means that "he means that your behavior is deviant or nonconformist".

An agwu patient is not mad but can attend a meeting of mad people.

There are dibias who have the ability to correct this anormally via a ritual called "ilu agwu" or re- setting of the thought process of patient.

This involves sacrifices and pining down the particular spirit responsible for the misbehaviour.

The particular agwu responsible for this "aghanagha" or "out of synch behaviour" would name its price and is appeased. A he-goat and white cock are usually used.

Point to note is that each agwu has a price.

Give agwu-causing god its sacrifice and it be assuaged and the patients brain would return to normal settings.

The sacrifice could be made once or done yearly depending on the advise of the dibia.

OCHUCHU- Many families believe that backwardness and lack of progress are as a result of "ochuchu" meaning "ill luck".

There are dibias with speciality in "ichu ochuchu" meaning to "reverse ill luck" through sacrifices.

Usually the land would be cleaned with white virgin hen and a lamb that had never had sex.

Divination is done to ascertain if the ancestors are unhappy.

This dibia is expected to consult the yonder world to find out the cause of lack of progress and the required solution.

This may require "ikwa ukpa Chukwu" i.e "undertaking  a journey to Arochukwu in Abia State" to consult "Chukwu Abiama" i.e the supreme deity of Igbos for proper diagnosis and solution.

Point To Note
Nnewi elders would never allow an "ofeke" meaning a "rascal" to practice any form of medicine in the town.

We know it for a fact that "ofeke maru ogwu umunna ya agwu". That's "if a rascal is allowed to learn the act of medicine, he would misapply the knowledge and finish his kinsmen upon slight provocation "

New christian religion and civilization have conspired to criminalise this medical structure and specialization in my town.

These days, what is not cured in the white man's hospital is being prayed against in his churches.

What a wasted knowledge!