This study investigated the roles of demographic variables in the transmission and acquisition of traditional medical knowledge (TMK) in rural communities of South West Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted. Three communities from each of the six states in South West Nigeria were purposively selected. Snowball technique was used in selecting 228 Traditional Medical Practitioners (TMPs), while convenience sampling was used in selecting 529 traditional medicine apprentices. The structured questionnaire used focused on the demographic characteristics of the TMPs and their apprentices. Three key informant interviews and two focus group discussion sessions were also conducted in each state. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression and Chi square analysis, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Logistic regression analyses showed that years of experience (Exp(B) = 1.875) was a significant predictor of knowledge transmission by the TMPs. Apprentices’ marital status (Exp(B) = 2.250), expected length of apprenticeship (Exp(B) = 0.305) and completed length of apprenticeship (Exp(B) = 15.782) were significant predictors of TMK acquisition. Qualitative results also showed a relationship between age, sex, education and TMK transmission. Enhanced level of education improved transmission, while religion reportedly hindered acquisition. Improved access to basic and adult education and the need to stop gender discrimination is recommended to improve TMK transmission.
AjaiyeobaEOFaladeCO. (2004) Efficacy of herbal remedies used by herbalists in Oyo State Nigeria for treatment of plasmodium falciparum infections – A survey and an observation. African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences33 (2): 115–119.
2.
AkintiloAAA (2000) Information and communication patterns in traditional medical practice in South-Western Nigeria and interface with National Health Information System. PhD thesis. University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
3.
AkinyemiKOOladapoO. (2005) Screening of crude extracts of six medicinal plants used in South-West Nigerian unorthodox medicine for anti-methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus activity. BioMedCentral Complementary and Alternative Medicine5(1): 6
4.
AkulloDKanzikweraR. (2007) Indigenous knowledge in agriculture: A case study of the challenges in sharing knowledge of past generations in a globalized context in Uganda. Proceedings of the 73rd IFLA General Conference and Council, of World Library and Information Congress, Durban, South Africa, 19–23August 2007.
5.
BegossiAHanazakiNPeroniN (2000) Knowledge and use of biodiversity in Brazilian hot spots. Environment, Development and Sustainability2: 177–93.
6.
BovenKMorohashiJ (2002) Best practices using indigenous knowledge. The Hague and Paris: Nuffic and UNESCO/MOST. Available: http://www.unesco.org/most/Bpikpub2.pdfRetrieved November 10 2012.
GidayMAsfawZ. (2003) An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Zay people in Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnopharmacology85 (1): 43–52.
12.
GrenierL (1998) Working with indigenous knowledge: A guide for researchers. Available: http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/847-3/Retrieved March 18 2013.
13.
HewlettBSCavalli-SforzaLL (1986) Cultural transmission among Aka pygmies. American Anthropologist88 (4): 922–934.
14.
IbrahimJAMuazzamI. (2007) Ethno-medicinal plants and methods used by Gwandara tribe of Sabo Wuse in Niger State, Nigeria, to treat mental illness. African Journal of Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicines4 (2): 211–218.
15.
IgoliJOOgajiOG. (2005) Traditional medicine practice amongst the Igede people of Nigeria. Part II. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines2 (2): 134–152.
16.
JesajasHPackhamR (2003) Combining indigenous knowledge and agricultural science knowledge: A case study from Kisar Island, Indonesia. Proceedings of the 4th European International Farming System Association (IFSA) Symposium, Florence, Italy, 8–11 April 2002, pp. 777–786. Available: http://ifsa.boku.ac.at/cms/fileadmin/Proceeding2002/2002_WS05_28_Jesajus.pdfRetrieved January 22 2011.
17.
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) (2000) Collaborating with traditional healers in HIV/AIDS prevention and care in Sub-Saharan Africa. A literature review. Geneva, Switzerland. Available: http://www.hst.org.za/uploads/files/Collab_Lit_Rev.pdfRetrieved October 28 2011.
18.
KothariB (2003) The invisible queen in the plant kingdom: Gender perspectives in medical ethnobotany. In: HowardP (ed) Women and Plants: Gender Relations in Biodiversity Management & Conservation. London: Zed Press & Palgrave-Macmillan, pp. 150–164.
19.
LozadaMLadioAHWeigandtM (2006) Cultural transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge in a rural community of NorthWestern Patagonia, Argentina. Economic Botany60 (4): 374–385.
20.
MafimisebiTEOguntadeAE (2010) Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers’ health in Southwest Nigeria: Sociocultural, magico-religious and economic aspects. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine6 (1):1.
21.
Mathez-StiefelSVandebroekI (2012) Distribution and transmission of medicinal plant knowledge in the Andean Highlands: A case study from Peru and Bolivia. Evidence-Based Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. Available: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2012/959285/Retrieved July 10 2012.
22.
MuellaSHMushiAKRiberaJM (2000) The paradox of the cost and affordability of traditional and government health services in Tanzania. Health Policy15 (3): 296–302.
NeisBFeltLF. (1999) An interdisciplinary method for collecting and integrating fishers’ ecological knowledge into resource management. In: NewellDOmmerRE (eds) Fishing Places, Fishing People: Traditions and Issues in Canadian Small-Scale Fisheries. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 217–238.
26.
OgboleOOGboladeAAAjaiyeobaEO (2010) Ethnobotanical survey of plants used in treatment of inflammatory diseases in Ogun State of Nigeria. European Journal of Scientific Research43 (2): 183–191.
27.
OhmagariKBerkesF (1997) Transmission of indigenous knowledge and bush skills among the Western James Bay Cree women of Subarctic Canada. Human Ecology25 (2): 197–222.
28.
OjuaTABisongPOIshorDG (2013) Theoretical overview and socio-cultural implications of urban dwellers patronage of trado-medical homes and services in Nigerian urban centres. International Journal of Development and Sustainability2 (1): 183–193.
29.
OladeleATAdewunmiCO (2008) Medicinal plants used in the management of malaria among the traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) in South-Western Nigeria. African Journal of Infectious Diseases2(1): 51 – 59.
30.
OlagunjuOS (2012) The traditional healing systems among the Yoruba. Archaeological Science Journal1 (2): 6–14.
31.
OlatokunWM (2010) Indigenous knowledge of traditional medical practitioners in the treatment of sickle cell anaemia. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge9 (1): 119–125.
32.
OlatokunWMAjagbeE (2010) Analyzing traditional medical practitioners’ information-seeking behaviour using Taylor’s information-use environment model. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science42 (2): 122–135.
33.
OmobuwajoORAladeGOSowemimoA (2008) Indigenous knowledge and practices of women herb sellers of SouthWestern Nigeria. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge7 (3): 505–510.
34.
OpatolaMOKolawoleTO (2014) Factors affecting the patronage of traditional herb sellers in Osun State, Nigeria. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology6 (4): 130–135.
35.
OviedoGZamudioTNoejovichF (2007) Challenges for the maintenance of traditional biodiversity knowledge in Latin America. Available: http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_tk_in_la.pdfRetrieved October 25 2012.
36.
PidatalaKKhanAR (2003) Women and indigenous knowledge: A South-South perspective. IK Notes No. 63. Available: http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/iknt63.pdfRetrieved April 20 2013.
37.
Reyes-GarcíaVBroeschJ. (2009) Cultural transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge and skills: An empirical analysis from an Amerindian society. Evolution and Human Behavior30 (4): 274–285.
38.
Reyes-GarcíaVKightleyE. (2010) Schooling and local environmental knowledge: Do they complement or substitute each other?International Journal of Educational Development30(3): 305–313
39.
RuddleK (1993) The transmission of traditional ecological knowledge. In: InglisJT (ed) Traditional Ecological Knowledge: concepts and cases. Ottawa: International Development Research Center, pp. 17–31.
40.
SetalaphrukCPriceLL (2007) Children’s traditional ecological knowledge of wild food resources: A case study in a rural village, Northeast of Thailand. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine3(1): 33. Available: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/3/1/33Retrieved June 18 2012.
41.
SimboDJ (2010) An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in Babungo, Northwest Region, Cameroon. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 6(1): 8. Available: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/6/1/8Retrieved July 12 2011.
42.
SoewuDA (2008) Wild animals in ethnozoological practices among the Yorubas of SouthWestern Nigeria and the implications for biodiversity conservation. African Journal of Agricultural Research3 (6): 421–427.
43.
SoewuD.A.AdekanolaT.A.2011. Traditional medical knowledge and perception of Pangolins (Manis sps) among the Awori people, SouthWestern Nigeria. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine7(25). Available: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/7/1/25Retrieved June 18 2012.
44.
SoewuDAAyodeleIA (2009) Utilisation of Pangolin (Manis sps) in traditional Yorubic medicine in Ijebu province, Ogun State, Nigeria. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine5(39). Available: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/39Retrieved June 18 2012.
45.
SomnasangPMorenoGChusilK (1998) Indigenous knowledge of wild food hunting and gathering in Northeast Thailand. Food and Nutrition Bulletin19 (4): 359–365.
46.
SrithiKBalslevH. (2009) Medicinal plant knowledge and its erosion among the Mien (Yao) in Northern Thailand. Journal of Ethnopharmacology123 (2): 335–342.
47.
TsujiJSL (1996) Loss of traditional ecological knowledge in the Western James Bay region of Northern Ontario, Canada: A case study of the sharp-tailed grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus phasianellus. The Canadian Journal of Native Studies16 (2): 283–292.
48.
VoeksRA (1999) The roots of Candomble. Proceedings of the Pacific Coast Council on Latin American Studies From the Macro to the Micro, Latin American Studies in a Global and Local Context17, 113–25.
49.
VoeksRANyawaS (2001) Healing flora of the Brunei Dusun. BorneoResearch Bulletin32, 178–195.
50.
WahabB (2011) Integrating endogenous knowledge system into higher education and research in Africa: Processes, prospects and challenges. Paper presented at the 2nd African Regional Conference on Endogenous Development held at University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana, 17–19 August 2011.
51.
WarrenDM (1991) The role of indigenous knowledge in facilitating the agricultural extension process. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Agricultural Knowledge Systems and the role of extension. Bad Boll, Germany, May 21–24, 1991.
52.
World Health Organisation (2001) Legal status of traditional medicine and complementary/alternative medicine: A worldwide review. Available: http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/pdf/h2943e/h2943e.pdfRetrieved October 20 2011.
