Pragmatic Acculturation and Health: Production and Utilization of Ágbó in South-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Pragmatic acculturation is increasingly becoming a global phenomenon particularly in the health sector. It is evident among providers and users of traditional herbal tonics in Nigeria involving inter-cultural/ethnic herbal exchanges. ‘Agbo’ is a traditional Yoruba herbal and root remedy believed to cure a lot of ailments like malaria, sexually transmitted infections, and infertility issues, stomach upset, menstrual cramps, back aches, among others. This herbal remedy initially produced by the Yoruba ethnic group is now produced and utilized by other ethnic groups in Nigeria mainly because of its capacity to meet the health needs of all class of people and for its affordability and availability. This is an ethnographic study which employed participant observation, key informant and in-depth interviews anchored on Stella Quah’s ideas on pragmatic acculturation to ascertain why this cultural borrowing and transformations, who are the producers, distributors and users and what is its implication on health of Nigerians? Findings reveal willful and conscious migration and borrowing otherwise known as pragmatic acculturation as the main reason. Other factors are failure of the Nigerian health system to meets health needs of all especially the poor, erroneous beliefs about biomedical drugs, ignorance, and low level of health education among others. Study recommends a re-visitation of the primary health care policy, regulation of traditional herbal practitioners and proper health education of the Nigerian populace on the negative impacts of culture-borrowing/pragmatic acculturation on health.

Keywords: Pragmatic acculturation, ‘agbo’, health education, herbal remedy, health risks.