Traditional Sakkiya Practice: A Public Health Issue in Northern Nigeria

Sakkiya is a Hausa word, which has its origin from the Hausa culture, and it means the act of using hot pointed metallic tip to puncture bodily swelling with the aim of achieving a curative effect. The Hausa culture is one of the three most popular cultures in Nigeria. The Hausas are predominantly located in the northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria, predominantly working as farmers. The majority of the Hausa people practice the Islamic religion. Encounters from the medical setting with cases of complications arising from failure of Sakkiya treatment, where some patients did not survive this treatment made investigation into this form of alternative medicine a paramount issue. In order to fill the void of information and literature on Sakkiya treatment, the authors embarked on a literature search and field studies resulting in this book. The authors found a lack of historical evidence concerning the old traditional Sakkiya practice, and therefore urge archaeologists, anthropologists, sociologists and historians to investigate into the historical evolution of Sakkiya practice in northern Nigeria.