Traditional Healers

Sunday, 26 November 2017

Accepting a medical certificate issued by a traditional healer

In the workplace the general question arise whether or not an employer is obliged to accept a medical certificate issued by a traditional healer. Before answering this question it must first be established what constitutes a valid medical certificate: Section 23 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) deals with proof of incapacity and states:

“23. (1) An employer is not required to pay an employee in terms of section 22 if the

employee has been absent from work for more than two consecutive days or on more than two occasions during an eight-week period and, on request by the employer, does not produce a medical certificate stating that the employee was unable to work for the duration of the employee’s absence on account of sickness or injury.

(2) The medical certificate must be issued and signed by a medical practitioner or any other person who is certified to diagnose and treat patients and who is registered with a professional council established by an Act of Parliament.”

The above act clearly indicates that a medical certificate must be issued and signed by a medical practitioner who is registered with a professional council established by an Act of Parliament.

From this section of the BCEA Act it is further clear that there are two requirements in order for a medical certificate to be a valid medical certificate:

It must state that the employee was unable to perform his or her normal duties as a result of illness (or an injury) and must be based on the professional opinion of the medical practitioner.
The certificate must be issued by a medical practitioner. A medical practitioner is described in the definitions of the Act as: “a person entitled to practice as a medical practitioner in terms of section 17 of the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974).”

In terms of the above mentioned Act the following professionals are considered to be medical practitioners:

Medical practitioners (doctor with MBCHB degree) that are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
Dentists that are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
Psychologists with a Masters Degree in Educational, Counselling or Clinical Psychology that are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa.

Employers must accept medical certificates from such practitioners as proof of incapacity in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. If an employee does not provide his employer with the above mentioned medical certificate, the employee will not receive remuneration for his absence and this might further lead to disciplinary steps being taken against the employee.

Traditional healer medicine

Traditional Healing is an energetic medicine. It considers that an all-pervading energy is present in all matter, that embodies the natural laws and universal creative force.

This energy has different names in different cultures; for example the ancient Greeks called it Pneuma and also Aether, in China it is called Qi, in Japan Ki, in India Prana, while in the Pacific cultures it is know as Mana.

Although this energy may have many different names, the underlying attributes of this energy are understood in much the same way in all cultures.

Thus living beings are considered to manifest a higher level of this energy, while inanimate objects manifest this energy in a much more limited and basic way.

Traditional Healers believe that this energy can become disturbed in living beings due adverse thoughts and emotions, an inappropriate lifestyle, an unwholesome diet, unhealthy air, tainted water, an unnatural environment and disharmony with natural cycles.

As these are the ultimate causes of disease, the Traditional Healer may initially set out to improve overall health, but will always recognize the need to correct the cause in order to provide a full and final recovery.

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Love spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/love-spells.html
Voodoo healer http://www.traditional-healer.net/voodoo-healer-spells.html
Money spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/money-spells.html
Thwasa training http://www.traditional-healer.net/thwasa-training.html
Fertility spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/fertility-spells.html
Magic rings http://www.traditional-healer.net/magic-rings.html
Ancestral spirits http://www.traditional-healer.net/ancestral-spirits.html
White Sangomas http://www.traditional-healer.net/white-sangomas.html
Spiritual healer http://www.traditional-healer.net

Principles of Traditional Healing

There are "four pillars" of Traditional Healing which according to the Roman historian Piny the Elder (23-79 AD.) were: "Eruditio, Perspicacitas, Beneficentia et Caritas".

Roughly translated these mean: "learning, insight, kindness and empathy". These are the basic principles that should guide the Traditional Healer in all his or her actions.

Traditional Healing always deals with natural laws, because all life is subject to these natural laws and ill-health is usually due to an inherent or acquired weakness that has allowed an abnormal imbalance to occur, either within an organism, or between the organism and its environment.

Therefore Traditional Healers do not only work at correcting any weakness or damage to the life force or psyche that has allowed an illness to "conquer" the individual, but also work to correct the resultant internal imbalances that allow the disease to persist.

What is Traditional Healing

Traditional Healing is the oldest form of structured medicine, that is a medicine that has an underlying set of principles by which it is practiced.

It is the medicine from which all later forms of medicine developed, including Chinese medicine, Graeco-Arabic medicine, and of course also modern Western medicine.

Traditional Healing was originally an integral part of semi-nomadic and agricultural tribal societies, and although archeological evidence for its existence only dates back to around 14,000 B.C., its origins are believed to lie much further back and probably predate the last Ice-Age.

Unlike other traditional medicines, Traditional Healing has no philosophical base, as its practice is totally founded on healing knowledge that has been accumulated over thousands of years, and upon the healer's personal experience, which includes his/her awareness of, and sense of unity with the natural world, as well as his/her understanding of the different levels of consciousness within the human psyche.

Traditional Healers see the universe as an living intelligence that operates according to natural laws that manifest according to specific rules and correspondences, and exercise their inner conviction that the purpose of life and the nature of disease cannot be understood without a knowledge of these laws and the individual's relationship to the natural world.

Thus Traditional Healers share a profound knowledge and a deep understanding of how natural laws influence living things. It is for this reason that Traditional Healing is often referred to as "wisdom medicine" or "Wizard Medicine" (the word wizard means 'wise man', not 'sorcerer') and Traditional Healers are often referred to as wise or "clever" men or women or as persons of knowledge.

It is this knowledge and experience base that provides the similarity between the core principles of Traditional Healing through the ages and in different parts of the world.

African Traditional Healer Treatments

African traditional healer treatments, traditional healing methods, traditional healing techniques, traditional healing treatments and traditional healer

Umhlonyane Massage
Similar to a Swedish Massage in technique but using Artemesia Afra (Umhlonyane) infused oil. Artemesia uplifts the spirit and in traditional medicine it is also used for decongestion, treating of colds, and bronchial and respiratory ailments.

Zulu ceremonial and spiritual uses of Artemesia include virginity ceremonies. It is interesting to note that the scientific name for this plant (Artemesia) is derived from Artemis, the Greek Goddess, and in ancient Greece, the virginity ceremony also used Artemesia.

Inyanga Journey Treatment
Begin your awakening with the cleansing traditional healing herb Artemesia and salt polish. Let us take you on a soul journey as we cocoon you in a warm Inkomfe wrap, followed by ritualistic rinsing.

Your journey continues with a soothing marula oil massage. Reach your destination with the aromatic full hour facial treatment to reveal the new you.

Umcako Lungisa (‘cleanse the skin)
Rasul clay and steam treatment – enjoy a Turkish steam bath with full body application of clay.

White clay, dug from the nearby Thabamhlope (White Mountain), is applied to the body as a paste. The Rasul procedure goes through cycles of drying, steaming (moisturising), and then showering.

Zulu tradition is that the clay is harvested by virgins or post menopausal women at the time of full moon and then boiled for three days to remove any impurities, then drained, dried and rolled into round balls. The clay has both exfoliating and moisturising properties.

Umunyane Shisayo
Hot stone therapy massage using oil infused with Umunyane, which is the Zulu name for Leonotis Leonorus, the fragrant indigenous wild cannabis plant.

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Love spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/love-spells.html
Voodoo healer http://www.traditional-healer.net/voodoo-healer-spells.html
Money spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/money-spells.html
Thwasa training http://www.traditional-healer.net/thwasa-training.html
Fertility spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/fertility-spells.html
Magic rings http://www.traditional-healer.net/magic-rings.html
Ancestral spirits http://www.traditional-healer.net/ancestral-spirits.html
White Sangomas http://www.traditional-healer.net/white-sangomas.html
Spiritual healer http://www.traditional-healer.net

Traditional healer legislation in South Africa

A number of issues regarding Traditional practitioners in South Africa needs to be addressed in order to understand better understand the Legislation governing it.

A bill drafted to regulate the practice of traditional practitioners was tabled before Parliament in 1994 and passed in November 2004.

The bill was signed as the traditional health practitioners act 35 of 2004 in February 2005. (see Government Gazette 27275,Dated 11 February 2005.)

On 18 August 2006 the Constitutional Court declared the Traditional Health Practitioners Act (act no. 35 of 2004) invalid, but the invalidity was suspended for a period of 18 months.
This means that act No.35 of 2004 is valid and will be valid until 16 February 2008. This give the Traditional Health Practitioners time to get their house in order.

The invalidity was ordered not because of the content of the bill but rather because of the consultative process.

Due to the consultative process not been followed according to the requirements, the Health Portfolio Committee arranged public hearings and the hearing in Gauteng was held on 14 August 2007. During this hearing it came out the 60% of all South Africans are using some kind of traditional medication.

Bill 20 of 2007 is already in place and will now govern and regulate Traditional Health Practitioners in South Africa.

Bill 20 of 2007 makes provision for the health practitioner’s council and the following groups will be covered:

Inyangas (herbalist or traditional doctors)
Sangomas (diviners)
Lingcibis (traditional surgeons)
Traditional birth attendants
Abathandazis (faith healers) are excluded.

It is important to note that while the process of Governing and regulating Traditional Health Practitioners in South Africa is taking time that the individual are still protected in the Constitution (Bill of Rights) Every individual has the following rights:

o Right to live
o Right to religion, belief and opinion
o Freedom of association
o To language and culture

Traditional Healer http://www.traditional-healer.net
Love spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/love-spells.html
Voodoo healer http://www.traditional-healer.net/voodoo-healer-spells.html
Money spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/money-spells.html
Thwasa training http://www.traditional-healer.net/thwasa-training.html
Fertility spells http://www.traditional-healer.net/fertility-spells.html
Magic rings http://www.traditional-healer.net/magic-rings.html
Ancestral spirits http://www.traditional-healer.net/ancestral-spirits.html
White Sangomas http://www.traditional-healer.net/white-sangomas.html
Spiritual healer http://www.traditional-healer.net

African National Healers Association Code of Ethics

All members, dully registered with the African National Healers Association, has to subscribe to the code of ethics or standards set out by the said association below:

1. Shall be religiously dedicated to the practice of my profession above all else and shall meet the profession’s demands.

2. Shall act in the interest of all patients in all respects, irrespective of class, race, colour or creed.

3. Shall treat all patients with utmost respect and shall observe their basic human dignity and worth.

4. In practise, I shall do nothing else, but promote health by way of uplifting the physical, mental, social- and spiritual well-being of mankind.

5. Shall refrain from attempting to cure ailments for which I have not been properly trained to cure.

6. Shall acknowledge my limitations in my practise and shall refer patients to whomever may have demonstrated the know-how or is qualified to cure the ailments which a I am not able to cure.

7. Shall give advice to patients

8. Shall allow a patient or any person acting lawfully on his behalf to choose whoever he/she may consider

professionally capable to his/her wishes, to consult such person for his opinion or treatment.

9. Shall play a reconciliatory role in families or communities which are being served.

10. Shall play the educative role in families or communities which shall be served.

11. Shall embark on continued learning or training in order to improve my standard of qualification as a traditional practitioner so as to improve my efficiency of consultation, diagnosing and treatment.

12. Shall keep my place of practise in a clean, orderly and sanitary condition.

13. Shall refrain from all form of evil, particularly witchcraft.

14. Shall not allow any person to induce me to indulge in practises which may lead to working or hurting any person; or practices which may be detrimental to any institutuion, organisation or the society at large and the image of one’s profession

15. Shall not misrepresent patients, the entire society, the profession and the African National Healers Association.

16. Shall observe the principle of confidentiality, and shall divulge information which has been brought to the

attention as a result of the practise on the explicit permission given by the patient, if he/she is a major, the parent of guardian of a minor patient, the surviving spouse or minor of the deceased patient, when instructed by the court of law or where legally compelled to do so or in the explicit interest of the patient who is not able or is unfit to grant permission himself/herself

17. Shall not express oneself in public regarding matter of traditional healing without permission granted to me by the African National Healers Association

18. Shall not advertise in a manner that conveys that one is able treat ailments that one is not c to capable to treat

19. Shall not permit one’s name to be used in a professional capacity in connection with advertisements of medicinal products or instruments, and in connection with advertisements or appeals to the public on behalf of a sick benefit society or any commercial organisation.

20. May not tout or canvas, either personally or through an agent or in any manner, for a patient or for oneself or for another practitioner.

21. Shall not accept or insist on any commission or remuneration, pecuniary or otherwise, from manufacturers or dealers in medicinal products, remedies or any equipment, apparatus, instrument appliance or material used in the course of one’s practise or prescribed for patients.

22. Shall not pay or give any commission or remuneration, pecuniary or otherwise, from any person for the recommendation of patients.

23. Shall not share any fees charged for a service with any other person other than a partner, unless such sharing is commensurate with the scope of such other person’s participation in the rendering of such service.

24. Shall not have financial interest, whether by way of a fixed salary or otherwise, in sick benefit clubs, institutions or associations which canvas members by way of advertisements.

25. Shall not use any form of treatment, apparatus or process which is secret or is claimed to be secret in my practice.
26. Shall not use any diagnostic and treatment methods which do not comply with the accepted standards of my profession as determined by the ANHA from time to time.

27. Shall not perform any act which is an unacceptable act, standard or method, as from time to time may be determined by African National Healers Association and which is brought to the attention of the practitioners.

28. Shall enter into a partnership or maintain a partnership with a person who is:
a. Registered as a practitioner with the African National Healers Association.
b. Registered as a medical practitioner in terms of the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974; or
c. Registered in terms of the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, in respect of a supplementary health service profession which is approved by the African National Healers Association as an acceptable profession for the purpose of a service contract;
d. Not practising in term of the Medicine Control Act;
e. Not practising in term of the Pharmacy Act, 1974; or
f. Not practising in term of the Nursing Act, 1978

29. Shall recognise the Medical and Dental Councils, Department of the National Health and Population Development, the World Health Organisation, Department of Law and Order and other professional bodies.

30. One’s professional stationary shall bear the following information:

a. Initials, Surname and/or that of my partner(s);
b. One’s registered profession and abbreviations in respect of the Association;
c. One’s practice address and telephone numbers;
d. One’s consulting hours, where applicable;
e. Other professional associations to which one is affiliated; and
f. One’s practice number

31. In one’s consulting room, one shall display:
a. Those professional certificates, diplomas and degrees relevant to the profession for which one is registered;
b. Membership certificates of professional associations to which on is affiliated to; and
c. The registration certificate issued to oneself by the African National Healers Association

32. One shall promote the image of one’s profession and shall lead an exemplary life.