The legal pluralism debate attempts to locate law beyond the traditional precincts of the nation-state. This essay is about locating law; its aim is to examine the extent to which legal pluralism can serve as a valid theory for grounding self-governance for indigenous/alternative medical systems. The author contends that the pursuit of legitimacy for indigenous health systems must begin from within the state system, understood as a malleable and contestable system of laws, and goes on to argue that the hegemony and centrality of the state can be deployed in fostering an integrated pluralistic health-care system in which orthodox and indigenous health systems have equal recognition.
