INDIGENOUS ORTHOPAEDICS SYSTEM AMONG THE JUKUN OF WUKARI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, TARABA STATE

Abstract This paper examines the nature and practice of indigenous orthopedics system among the Jukun in Wukari Local Government Area. Pre-colonial Africans were highly innovative, inventive and development conscious, and this is confirmed by their ability to independently use herbs, roots, bark of trees, animals, soil and medical ideas or techniques in healing or solving medical problems. Wukari has been one of the areas or places in northern Nigeria where man was able to engage in ethno-medical doctoring. The paper, however, assesses the practice of indigenous or traditional orthopedics system among the Jukun. It establishes that traditional orthopedics system plays important roles in health care delivery. However, some factors like dearth of practitioners, loss of interest by the young ones, Christian beliefs and teaching, urbanization, and deforestation have been factors militating against the effective practice of traditional orthopedic system among the Jukun in Wukari Local Government Area. Methodologically, both primary and secondary sources of historical data were adopted. The paper concludes by asserting that enormous potentials and opportunities exist in the traditional orthopedics system among the Jukun as a veritable tool for health care delivery.