Illness and the meaning which people attach to them is a product of the philosophy, culture, history, religion and the belief system of a people. In Nigeria, as in most African societies, illnesses are believed to originate from two main sources- (i) natural and (ii) spiritual/super natural. Even in contemporary times, both Islam and Christianity subscribes to this notion or belief about the origin of illnesses.
The objectives of the paper are in two-fold –
(i) to identify the various types of illnesses
(ii) to examine the meanings which people attach to these illnesses and
(iii) the origin of the meanings which people attach to these illness.
The data for the paper were obtained from interviews, Focus group discussions with traditional healers and herbalists, Oral traditions and documentary sources. The data were analyzed via content analysis and Z-Y index tables. In the main, the findings revealed that even in contemporary times people still hold tenaciously to the belief that illnesses are symbolic, meaningful and could occur naturally or otherwise. And that illness in some cases come as a result of (i) sin, harm, evil done to a fellow human being (ii) involvement in abominal acts and a person-incurred the wrath of the gods and ancestors, and (iii) a person has been preordained and destined to experience the illness at creation (Fatalistic beliefs).