The collision of African cultural practices with modern civilisation (represented by "scientific" medicine) has had an overwhelming and lasting impact on African health and lives. While the basis of "scientific" medicine in modern civilisation was informed by reason, rationality, and creativity, "scientific" medicine achieved its ascendance through unreasonable processes. Its practitioners believed and practiced it like a religion and their dogmatism blinded them to the value of indigenous practices. Because indigenous practices competed with "scientific" medicine, the practitioners of "scientific" medicine appealed to their allies in the church and government to assist in the suppression and elimination of indigenous medicines.

This chapter argues that, while the attempts at marginalisation achieved some success, they also faced resistance. Resistance was in the form of people either refusing to be converted or tampering the Christian message with African religious and cultural practices. What contributed greatly to successful resistance was the non-responsiveness of state institutions to the needs of Africans as well as the socio-economic conditions of Africans.

However, the prominence of the dark side of the practice of indigenous medicine in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s led to calls for the proscription of "witchcraft." A response to such calls was a different call for the "normalisation" of indigenous medical practice. Since such "normalisation" was not only based on an old understanding of indigenous medical practice and did not take account of its transformations and commodification, but was also prefaced on indigenous medical practitioners subjecting themselves and their practices to "scientific" tests, it was unlikely to succeed in bringing the practice to the mainstream.

Therefore, this chapter argues, the medical emancipation of Africans from unnecessary suffering will be realised when indigenous medical practice is recognised and accepted as a form of medical help in its own. Such recognition should include the establishment and support of necessary institutions and facilities for indigenous medical practice. And the social emancipation of Africans will be assured when their cultural practices are allowed to flourish and to be useful to them if and when Africans deem so.