Abstract
In Nigeria, modern medicine exists side by side with traditional medicine. Despite the advantage of age enjoyed by traditional medicine, only allopathic medicine is officially recognised. A good number of the literature on the healing systems in Africa is repleted with derogatory comments about the person and work of the traditional healer (Oyebola, 1978; Ndeti, 1976; Saunders, 1953; Jahoda, 1962; Mbiti, 1976; Uyanga, 1979).
In spite of all these, WHO (1978) has continued to maintain that 80 per cent of the inhabitants of Third world countries seek health-help from the traditional healers and has consequently directed their integration into nations' health care delivery services.
All these heighten our curiosity about the real identity of this set of healers about whom so much have been said, but who have some-how managed to escape the scrutiny of analysts. The provision of information to fill this vacuum constituted the thrust of this work.
On the whole, the results in section A (Clients) showed that residents in Benin City employ the services of the tradomedical practitioners irrespective of social classes. In section B (Healers) we discovered that a good number of the myths concerning the traditional healers were unfounded. Furthermore, that for the most part, healers were not too different in social attributes from the average man in the population and are highly responsible people.
