Angel Debeer
SOC208WASP2024
X-rays, Spirits, and Witches
Tanzania, like many African nations, is a nation originally formed and governed by European colonial powers in the 19th century. The legacies of that status are numerous and profound. One of those legacies has to do with introduction of modern medical technology to a people who are still not far removed historically from tribal societies, and their acceptance of them. This paper will demonstrate how the defining characteristic of Tanzanian approaches to health and medicine are the side-by-side existence, the ‘medical pluralism’ of modern medical technology with traditional tribal techniques and beliefs, along with the typical challenges of maintaining medical standards in economically challenged nation.
In the United States, and other western nations, there is very little belief in any spiritual significance to health and medicine. Medicine is accepted as a hard science with earthly explanations. Health is a matter of mundane agreed upon factors. Diet and exercise improve health, ailments are caused either by microscopic infection or by irregularities in the body, and certain medicines and treatments will aid healing and maintaining good health. There is no room for spirits, magic, or divine punishment.
This cannot be said of Tanzania. The existence of tribal beliefs is still strong. Even the followers of mainstream religions like Islam and Christianity are still prone to medical explanations of ailments that seem more in line with tribal beliefs. Hospitals with modern facilities exist but many Tanzanians also use the services of traditional healers (Murchison 22).
Traditional healing in Tanzania is primarily based on herbal remedies, spirit-based treatments, and divination. Herbal remedies, in this case, means plant-based treatments, often meant to be mixed with water and drunk, bathed in, or even smoked. These remedies are the most widely accepted as beneficial or, at the very least harmless by the public at large and the medical profession. Interest in many herbal remedies by pharmaceutical companies has added to the legitimacy of these remedies in public perception. Spirit based treatment has to do with treating spirits that invade the body and cause ailments. Treatment in this case often has to do with the nature of the spirit. Many Tanzanians believe that there are Muslim and Christian spirits and treating those spirits might include behaving in way consistent with those beliefs. For example, to treat a Muslim spirit, a person might avoid alcohol or pork-based foods. Divination is about calling on supernatural help to identify the causes of ailments. Divination is also much more interested in finding causes like curses or witchcraft (Murchison 23-27)..
The use of traditional healers isn’t just a matter of belief. Many Tanzanians resort to tribal remedies as an alternative when they feel that modern medicine has failed them. Often patients expect routine medical examinations to quickly diagnose any and all explanations and, should that not happen immediately, traditional healers are used. X-rays, for example, are expected by many to provide exact diagnosis of any kind of medical ailment. The fact that x-rays are not effective on all issues is often not understood and convinces many that biomedicine has failed them. They then seek out traditional healers (Murchison 69, 70).
This conflict between modern and traditional medicine is pervasive in Tanzania but it is not the only driver. Tanzania, like many third world nations, faces challenges due to its economic situation. Child mortality among the lowest economic quartile is double the rate of among the highest (Murchison 88). Tanzania has also been ravaged by the HIV epidemic. This has been exacerbated by the social stigma that HIV caries in Tanzanian society, much like others. The very subject of HIV is still rather taboo in society. Many people speak of it in euphemisms, likening it to a strand of malaria. The presence of antiretroviral therapy, or ART, has made progress in Tanzanian society. Over time, the success of ART has helped ease the stigma of AIDS as it allowed the infected to maintain health but it also introduced complications for them. The social stigma associated with HIV is still present, and the success of ART requires certain lifestyle changes of the patient which are highly noticeable in Tanzanian society. One example is that ART requires reduced alcohol consumption which is conspicuous among males in several sectors of Tanzanian society (Murchison 112-117).
Like many societies affected by 19th century colonialism, much modern technology, along with the mindset to go with it, was thrust upon Tanzania that was very much in conflict with its society at the time. The result is people that has not been quick to let go of its traditional attitudes of healing and medicine. Modern. Medicine is present and has not been rejected, but it hasn’t proven itself superior to traditional healing to many Tanzanians. This has created a phenomenon of two medical establishments existing side by side. While there doesn’t seem to be much conflict between the two, there has been little cooperation either. Many Tanzanians seem to accept both and, when dissatisfied with one, the employ the other. Economic realities also haunt Tanzanian medical progress. Financial realities often dictate the quality of care Tanzanians receive and may also be contributing to the continued reliance of traditional healing as a more affordable option.
Murchison, Julian M. 2017. X-rays, Spirits, and Witches. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield.
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