S Afr Med J. 1978 Jun; 53(26): 1072-3.

Is the witchdoctor medically competent?

Kiernan JP.

Any possible collaboration with indigenous healers presupposes a precise knowledge of what they do. Diviners are specialists in social relations and their expertise can be of benefit to medical practice. The medicines employed by herbalists are not usually therapeutic in the physical sense. They operate on a mystical and symbolic plane, which is foreign to the practice of "Western" medicine.