Case Facts a n d Hypotheses (Continued)
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contended that Yoruba Traditional Healers ( b a b a l h o ) must have a higher status in the community than others and be a role model, a seer, a custodian of knowledge, respectable, respectful and caring according to the rules established by Nigerian Traditional Healers, I f i priests and State-based Healing Associations. O n their respective attitudes toward current and prospective clients, Drs. Awotiyo and Adksinyi alleged that Yoruba Traditional Healers relate to their clients as a father figure and use appropriate Yoruba healing words. They further affirmed that, in order to become effective healers, babaldwo must cultivate and improve their divine gifts through training, internship, consultation and supervision. I observed through interactions with Drs. Awotiyo, A k i n ~ l iand Adksinyi, and Chiefs Abioli, Aworeni (the ~ r d b a )A, w o j ~ b i and , Olijide that they served as elders within their respective communities. In 1994, Chief Abioli of O n d 6 State was a third-in-rank chief to the king of A)~kgUnl<Ek'iti, O n d 6 State, while Dr. A k i n ~ l was i an Elder in Ol6gidi Village, Ibadan, Oyp State. Chiefs and the Kings of Erin h a , Osun State, and other adjoining communities, also sought Dr. Awotiyo for his wisdom and advice. When this study was undertaken in the 1990s, Dr. Adesinyi was a prominent man sought after by young traditional healers in Igb6, w n State. I discovered through the videotaped sessions and plaques hung in their offices, clinics and hospitals that the profiled Yoruba Traditional Healers were also leaders within the professional body of Nigerian Traditional Healers. The Dean of healers, other Ifi Priests, chiefs and elders in Ilk-If4 community informed me that Chief Aworeni was the world's greatest priest (Oniskin Agbd)tk) and diviner. In this position, he performed healing activities for clients and acted as a consultant to other healers in the city, in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Chief Aworeni, the chief diviner, declared that Chiefs A w o j ~ b and i Olajide were two of King Sijuadk, the Ooni's (the ruler of the city of Ilk-If6 a n d one of the most respected kings in Yoriibd land and Nigeria) prominent chiefs, diviners (Ifa priests) and healing consultants. Several people, including many clients I interviewed, expressed respect and awe for Yoruba Traditional Healers' (babaldwo's) power, and sought them for their wisdom, knowledge and supernatural endowments. Conversely, Yorubi Traditional Healers respected their clients, kept their problems confidential, showed them love, cared for them, and were always receptive and open to them, regardless of the problem or illness that they presented to them. By and large, Chiefs Aworeni and Abiola concluded that healer-client interactions have endured over the years because Yorubi Traditional Healers have used their knowledge, supernatural power, appropriate communication patterns, interpretations and principles to alleviate clients' problems.
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Copyright 2003 by Taylor & Francis Books, Inc.