African indigenous knowledge systems have historically contributed to medicine, healing, and therapeutic practice, yet they remain marginal within dominant biomedical discourse. Within Igbo society, Odeshi has long functioned as a protective and preservative system aimed at safeguarding life against physical and metaphysical harm. The problem addressed by this research is the persistent dismissal of Odeshi as superstition or occultism due to the dominance of Western scientific epistemology, which inadequately accounts for force-based and experiential systems of knowledge. Employing a philosophical-analytical and ethno-pharmacological method, the study examines Odeshi through Igbo epistemology, African traditional medicine, metaphysics of force, and contemporary pharmaceutical discourse. The findings reveal that Odeshi operates as a proto-pharmaceutical system grounded in preventive therapeutics, material substances, experiential validation, and procedural regulation. The study concludes that the future relevance of Odeshi lies in its scientific systematization, ethical regulation, and integration into modern healthcare frameworks, thereby affirming indigenous Igbo therapeutic knowledge as a legitimate contributor to global pharmaceutical science.

Odeshi, Indigenous Pharmacology, African Traditional Medicine, Igbo Epistemology, Pharmaceutical Ethics

1. Abdullahi, A. A. (2011). Trends and challenges of traditional medicine in Africa. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, 8(Suppl.), 115-120.

2. Ezekwesili-Ofili, J. O., & Okaka, A. N. C. (2019). Herbal medicines in African traditional medicine. In Herbal medicine (Chap. 10, pp. 191-207). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.80348

3. James, P. B., Wardle, J., Steel, A., & Adams, J. (2018). Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review. BMJ Global Health, 3(4), e000895, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2018-000895

4. Mahomoodally, M. F. (2013). Traditional medicines in Africa: An appraisal of ten potent African medicinal plants. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, Article 617459, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/617459

5. Sawadogo, W. R., Schumacher, M., Teiten, M.-H., Dicato, M., & Diederich, M. (2012). Traditional West African pharmacopeia, plants and derived compounds for cancer therapy. Biochemical Pharmacology, 84(10), 1225-1240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2012.07.002