The Influence of Chinese Medicine on Traditional Muslim Medicine in Africa

Paper Abstract: "Prophetic medicine (tibb an-nabawi) constitutes a medical corpus developed from the 8th century, grounded in religious teachings associated with the rise of Islam. Early in Islamic history, medical treatises titled 'Prophetic Medicine' were published. One of the primary therapeutic practices was the use of cupping or 'Hijama,' which involved the application of suction cups, either with or without scarification. This method closely resembles the traditional Chinese cupping technique (拔罐).

Since the 1990s, there has been a resurgence of interest in Hijama (or neo-hijama) across muslim communities in Africa. The number of books and scientific publications on Hijama has multiplied, and also the number of application points for cupping.

Our research indicates that this expansion reflects a significant influence of Chinese acupuncture points on neo-Hijama. In documents explaining the new Hijama points, the reference to Chinese medicine is evident. This renewal is supported by academic research and the involvement of universities and research laboratories.

The acupuncture points from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), as well as certain therapeutic explanations of cupping, have been, so to speak, 'imported' into traditional Arab knowledge or modern science, creating controversies about the status of Chinese medicine and its legitimacy within the corpus of Muslim sciences.

This original study highlights unexpected and little-studied pathways of the influence of Chinese medicine in the rest of the world. It is based on a socio-anthropological field study and a documentary study of Arabic and Chinese texts conducted between 2018 and 2023.