Influence of African traditional healing practices on environmental sustainability in bulamagi sub-county- Iganga district

Abstract

This study explored the influence of African traditional healing practices and environmental sustainability in Bulamagi Sub-county-Iganga District. The researcher was motivated by the rapid increase of traditional religious healers, making healthcare a serious business on the expense of the declining flora and fauna in Bulamagi Sub-county-Iganga District (Ssenku, Okurut & Namuli, 2022). The study was guided by three specific objectives namely; (i). Examine the common Traditional healing practices and sites used in Bulamagi Sub-County- Iganga District. (ii). Discuss the implications associated with the extraction and use of natural resources in traditional religious healing in Bulamagi Sub-County-Iganga District (iii). Explore strategies which enhance the integration of environmental sustainability in traditional religious healing practices in Bulamagi Sub-County-Iganga District. The study was anchored on the interpretivist paradigm which emphasizes understanding the meaning and experiences of individuals within their social context. It adopted a Phenomenology Design with a qualitative research approach, employing in-depth interviews and participant observation as the primary data collection methods. In this study, since the collected data was grouped under themes and subthemes, the thematic analysis technique was adopted in analyzing and reporting the data. The study revealed that traditional medicine played a dual role of preserving cultural heritage and at the same time, contributing toward environmental sustainability if well managed or degradation when mismanaged. The findings highlight that while traditional religious healing practices encourage the sustainable use of natural resources such as sacred groves, wetlands, wild life and forested areas, they are now under threat due to overharvesting, habitat destruction and the declining influence of religious and cultural taboos that once protected the environment. Moving forward, while majority of the participants argued that traditional religious healing practices might offer a pathway to environmental sustainability, the minority thought that the reverse could be true. The study concludes that healing sites are currently treated as sacred dwellings for ancestral spirits and religious healing centers /traditional clinics; however, traditional healing practices have increasingly continued to project negative implications on flora and fauna in the area under study due uncontrolled harvesting. The study recommends to recognize and popularize the traditional religious healing sites as sacred centres (traditional clinics) through mapping and documentation, integrate indigenous knowledge into policies by advocating for environmental and cultural heritage policy, work with Busoga Kingdom (Obwakyabazinga) to sensitize and encourage sustainable harvesting practices, empower and formally involve traditional religious healers as active practitioners in environmental conservation advocacy who preserve cultural religious heritage and practices to promote conservation of environment by partnering with NGOs, e.g., Cultural Survival, Nature Uganda etc. Ultimately, this study positions traditional religious healing not only just as a religious cultural practice, but also as a viable model for sustainable resource use and above all, capable of supporting health, heritage, and environmental flexibility in rural areas across different parts of Uganda and beyond.