Indigenous people tend to consult traditional healers when a family member manifests change in behaviour, whilst conventional treatment disregards spirituality when preserving mental health. The aim of the study was to explore the perceptions of indigenous people and the role of traditional healers in the management of mentally ill persons within the Cacadu District in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study has adopted a qualitative approach which was exploratory and descriptive in nature. The sample consisted of nine relatives of mental health care users (MHCUs) and six traditional healers. Ethical principles were also taken into consideration by the researcher during the process of conducting the study. Data were collected from two strata, namely, relatives of the MHCUs and the traditional healers and an interview guide was used to conduct in-depth face-to-face interviews. Data were analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Four themes emerged from the data categories and sub categories were identified. According to the themes participants indicated the negative impact of mental illness; as a result they portrayed great desperation regarding the means of accessing a cure for mental illness. Some participants showed insufficient knowledge regarding mental illness and had different perceptions and beliefs regarding the origin of mental illness. Available literature was used to emphasise and support the views that were expressed by both traditional healers and relatives of MHCUs. It has been highlighted from this study that indigenous people of Cacadu District view mental illness as spiritual in origin but they include Western medication for the benefit of the mentally ill. In addition, the relatives of the MHCUs highlighted the economic burden as the major problem that results from mental illness.

Na busca pela saúde muitos recorrem a práticas religiosas que, ao longo do tempo, foram consideradas estranhas e extravagantes. Nossa cultura racionalista perdeu de vista a imensa contribuição que as rezadeiras, ainda hoje, oferecem para a vida de muitas pessoas que a elas recorrem em busca de alívio de suas dores materiais e espirituais. Nesta dissertação nossa tarefa, como cientista da religião, é reconstruir pontes que possibilitem um diálogo integrador e transdisciplinar das ciências com a vida. Nas benzeções, busca-se saúde e se encontra salvação, entre, através e além dessas práticas. Negar a complexidade deste fenômeno é negligenciar a força revitalizadora que anima e fortalece a experiência de fé e de solidariedade que é possível identificar em nossas periferias. / Searching health, many people resort to religious practices that along the time were considered strange and extravagant. Our racionalistic culture has lost the great contribution that the sorceress offers to the lives of many people who appeal to them looking for relief to their material and spiritual pain. In this dissertation, our work, as a religion scientist, is to reconstruct bridges that could make possible an integrated and transdiscipline dialogue between science and life. In magic blessing practice, health and salvation are in a dialogical relationship between, through and beyond prays and blesses. Deny this phenomenon complexity is the same as negligence the revitalization strength that empowers and encourages the faith and solidary experience which could be find in all society levels.

Among the Xhosas, the healing sickness called intwaso is interptreted as a call by the ancestors to become a healer. Transpersonalists also see these initiatory illnesses as spiritual crises, while according to the widely accepted Western psychiatric view, illness is purely perceived in physical and psychological terms. A case study was conducted where a single participant who has undergone the process of ukuthwasa and is functioning as a traditional healer was interviewed. A series of interviews were done where information was gathered about significant experiences related to ukuthwasa process. Tapes were transcribed and a case narrative was written and interpreted using the traditional Xhosa beliefs, the western psychiatric and the transpersonal psychology perspectives. Strengths and weaknesses of each perspective were then examined.

Suicide in India is a complex social issue and a neglected area by the state. Research has focused on risk factors and the epidemiology of suicide; studies concerning the intersection of culture with attempted suicide are limited. The aim of this study is to explore cultural implications of attempted suicide and its prevention in Southern India by means of comparing and contrasting the accounts of survivors of attempted suicide, mental health professionals and traditional healers engaged in treating people with suicidal behaviour. Methodology: A qualitative design is used drawing on constant comparison method and thematic analysis. The analysis of the data is underpinned by the theoretical concepts of Bourdieu’s work. In-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen survivors of attempted suicide, eight mental health professionals and eight healers from Southern India. Results: Application of Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic power and violence, cultural capital and habitus to the analysis of data revealed the process of constant interaction among visible and invisible fields such as faith, power, control, family, religion and social systems which impact survivors’ disposition to situations. Disparities in gender and role structures within families, financial challenges, health concerns, abuse, and violence were commonly cited factors by all three groups of participants. A few survivors and healers attributed misfortunes and distress to magic, spells and ‘bad times’. Healers and professionals were particularly of the opinion that cultural transition has added to stress among people. Survivors considered religious and traditional methods of support as socially accepted norms. Medical assistance was sought only during apparent ill health. Psychosocial support was very rarely accessed and availed. A lack of awareness among family members and friends to identify mental health concerns and a wide gap between identification of severe stressors and treatment increased the risk of suicide and limited timely intervention. Conclusion: This study identified a set of cultural mechanisms that produced negative impact and led to attempted suicide. The role of culture in causing suicide and attempted suicide is explained by unraveling the dynamics of cultural mechanisms and support processes that survivors experienced and as reported by professionals and healers. This research evidence presents pathways into attempted suicide and a life away from suicide.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:12:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sandro Roberto de Santana Gomes.pdf: 1780148 bytes, checksum: 6d03202084b16927940ab012851d64c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-04-12 / Searching health, many people resort to religious practices that along the time were considered strange and extravagant. Our racionalistic culture has lost the great contribution that the sorceress offers to the lives of many people who appeal to them looking for relief to their material and spiritual pain. In this dissertation, our work, as a religion scientist, is to reconstruct bridges that could make possible an integrated and transdiscipline dialogue between science and life. In magic blessing practice, health and salvation are in a dialogical relationship between, through and beyond prays and blesses. Deny this phenomenon complexity is the same as negligence the revitalization strength that empowers and encourages the faith and solidary experience which could be find in all society levels. / Na busca pela saúde muitos recorrem a práticas religiosas que, ao longo do tempo, foram consideradas estranhas e extravagantes. Nossa cultura racionalista perdeu de vista a imensa contribuição que as rezadeiras, ainda hoje, oferecem para a vida de muitas pessoas que a elas recorrem em busca de alívio de suas dores materiais e espirituais. Nesta dissertação nossa tarefa, como cientista da religião, é reconstruir pontes que possibilitem um diálogo integrador e transdisciplinar das ciências com a vida. Nas benzeções, busca-se saúde e se encontra salvação, entre, através e além dessas práticas. Negar a complexidade deste fenômeno é negligenciar a força revitalizadora que anima e fortalece a experiência de fé e de solidariedade que é possível identificar em nossas periferias.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:25:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 josinaldo_monteiro_tavares.pdf: 656008 bytes, checksum: 89c2cbeaeec5de865e69e9245867d65b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The purpose of this research is to answer the question how prayer, as linguistic utterance, has curative effectiveness. Knowing why the benzedura rite attached to pray makes operational the therapeutic healing of cultural origin illnesses. And in that case, the cure of diseases caused by the spell, such as evil eye, weakness, brokenness, stickleback fallen, and others. In order to answer these questions, this research is founded on the work How to do things with words, which gave birth to theory of speech acts of John Austin (1962), and whereby the act of "saying is doing." According to John Austin's theory, in fact, the symbolic effects of prayer are related to the ritual of prayer and faith, which produce healing through prayer ritual that is performed by traditional healer, and those who seek them and believe in her ritual. Notwithstanding this theory was further developed by John Searle (1969) with the work Speech Acts. Even so this theory of speech acts was flawed; this is why it was expanded to deal with the various types of linguistic acts whether constative or performative; so all speech acts have an illocutionary force. That is, the speech acts in the new pragmatic are all performatic acts (happy or unhappy according to Austin). The performance of language in this new pragmatic was conceptualized by several authors as Derrida, Rajagopalan, and Paul Ottoni, among others. In this new pragmatic performance of the language which was conceptualized initially by Austin and later by several authors as Derrida, Rajagopalan, Paul Ottoni, among others. In fact, the performativity of language is what determines through locutionary act. In performativity (speech-action), the subject (self), to perform an act of specific speech is not enough by himself to perform the action, but only if he is the right guy for this. It is therefore with this in mind that this investigation will chase to apprehend the symbolic effectiveness of prayer. As such this paper aims to identify the symbolic effects of prayer on the suffering client, from the perspective of 'symbolic effectiveness' of Lévi- Strauss, in accordance with the performativity of Austin; namely the prayer is a performatic speech act, so it is an act of effectively speech against socially bounded diseases (diseases arising spell). John Austin's theory points out that, in fact, the symbolic effects of prayer are related to the ritual of benzedura and faith, and they produce healing, which it is achieved by the action of rezadeiras . The methodology used in this study was the systematic or bibliographical review, which has as its premise set up a survey of the state of art in pragmatic. Finally, a holistic health perspective, the prayer can be used as complementarity between therapeutic approaches with a different logic such as biomedicine, among others. The prayer as symbolic efficacy is a healing instrument used by rezadeiras (Brazilian women healers) as a result of the northeastern Brazilian culture. It should and can be used according to the sociocultural context. Indeed, what it should be done is to align these two systems because both are products of Brazilian culture and all take care of healthcare of the people. / O objetivo desta investigação é responder como a prece (oração ou reza), na qualidade de enunciado linguístico, tem eficácia curativa. Saber o porquê de o rito da benzedura apensa à reza operacionaliza a cura terapêutica de males de origem cultural, tais como mau-olhado, quebranto, espinhela caída, e outras. Para responder a essas indagações, esta pesquisa se fundamenta na obra How to do things with words, a qual deu origem à teoria de atos de fala de Austin (1962/1990) e divulgada, posteriormente, por John Searle (1969) com a obra Speech Acts. Mesmo assim esta teoria dos atos de fala apresentava imperfeições. Por isso a teoria dos atos de fala foi ampliada para dar conta dos diversos tipos de atos linguísticos sejam eles constatativos ou performativos; assim, todos os atos de fala têm uma força ilocucionária. Ou seja, os atos de fala na nova pragmática são todos performáticos (felizes ou infelizes, conforme Austin). Nesta nova pragmática, a performance da linguagem foi conceituada, inicialmente, por Austin e, posteriormente, por diversos autores como Derrida, Rajagopalan, Paulo Ottoni, dentre outros. De fato, a performatividade da linguagem é o que a determina através do ato locucionário. Na performatividade (fala-ação), o sujeito (self), ao realizar um ato de fala específico, não é suficiente sozinho de realizar a ação, mas tão somente se ele for o sujeito adequado para isto. Portanto, é nesta perspectiva que esta investigação perseguirá apreender a eficácia simbólica da reza. Assim sendo, este trabalho objetiva identificar os efeitos simbólicos da reza sobre o padecente-cliente, sob o olhar da eficácia simbólica de Lévi-Strauss, em consonância com a performatividade de Austin; ou seja, a reza é um ato de fala performático, logo é um ato de fala eficaz contra doenças delimitadas socialmente (doenças originadas de feitiço). Sob a perspectiva da teoria de John Austin, os efeitos simbólicos da reza estão relacionados ao ritual da benzedura e à fé, e que produzem cura, a qual é concretizada pela ação das rezadeiras. A metodologia empregada neste estudo foi a da revisão sistemática ou bibliográfica, que tem como premissa estabelecer um levantamento do estado da arte na pragmática. Enfim, numa perspectiva holística de saúde, a reza pode ser usada como complementaridade entre práticas terapêuticas com lógicas diferentes - biomedicina. A reza como eficácia simbólica é um instrumento de cura usado pelas rezadeiras como fruto da cultura nordestina, deve e pode ser usada conforme o contexto sociocultural. De fato, o que se deve fazer é harmonizar esses dois sistemas, pois ambos são produtos da cultura brasileira e todos cuidam da saúde do povo.

This study is an investigation into the use of an African indigenous narrative game, Masekitlana, which I used as a therapeutic medium for four children, aged eight to 12 years. The participants are of Zulu origin and culture and were affected and orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. The game involved the participants in activities, such as hitting stones together or arranging them at will, that they felt familiar with and that enabled freer verbal expression from them. I employed a single-system research design that consisted of mixed methods approaches in the form of a qualitative thematic analysis and a quantitative graphic presentation of the results. The research design was a time series design that involved using, at four different times along the process of therapy, the measure of the Roberts-2 test (ethnic version). Therapy consisted of three sessions of standard of care therapy (therapy that was routinely being used in the psychology clinic) and three intervention therapy sessions of Masekitlana. I found the mixed-methods approach to be a practice-friendly form of research as it helped to describe the concerns of the participants in depth and enabled a concrete, quantitative conclusion about the efficacy of Masekitlana as an intervention. Syncretism of both approaches meant that qualitative data helped to clarify and confirm the findings of quantitative data and vice versa. Qualitative analysis showed how Masekitlana helped participants to express their traditional African beliefs, such as belief in the guidance of their ancestors, in the influence of bewitchment in their lives, and in the animation of the natural world. Thematic analysis also revealed the anger that participants felt resulting from the sense of disempowerment they experienced in Children’s Homes and from their separation from their biological families, and their need to sublimate this anger into future careers in the police force or alternatively to resort to crime. Thematic analysis also revealed the strategies employed by participants for coping with peer conflict in the Children’s Homes, and the challenges they face with schooling difficulties. Quantitative analysis revealed how participants progressed to complex forms of adaptive functioning and explanation of situations in their lives as a result of Masekitlana therapy. Recommendations arising out of this study are that psychologists strive to use forms of therapy that are familiar to the cultural backgrounds of indigenous children, and that training psychologists learn about the cultural beliefs of their patients and be exposed to the rituals used in traditional environments in order to understand indigenous clients. Psychologists should also be aware of the fact that, with the effects of television on children, and with present globalization and ease of international travel, children of African origin and culture are a mixture of traditional African and modern Western values. Therefore an integration of Western and indigenous forms of psychology might be considered. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

MAAS / Centre for African Studies / See the attached abstract below

PhD (African Studies) / Department of African Studies / Traditional health practice is an important and often underestimated part of health care. Since time immemorial traditional health ensured and covered all major areas of health promotion, which included preventative, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and surgical practices. In low- and middle-income countries where the number of practitioners of modern medicine may not be enough to meet the health care needs of the country, traditional health promotion is central. Given that in many societies the practices are done in secret, it therefore makes it difficult for people in general to access proper service from traditional health practitioners. This study explored the role of traditional health practitioners in promoting health in a rural community. The study adopted a qualitative approach which was descriptive, explorative and interpretative, targeting the registered traditional health practitioners in villages of Ward X of the Pfura Rural District Council. A non-probability purposive and snowball sampling method was used to identify twenty-two (22) male and female participants. The participants were registered diviners, herbalists and traditional birth attendants. The data which was collected through in-depth interviews, field notes, audio recordings and observation were thematically analyzed using Tesch’s method of data analysis and presented in categories, themes and subthemes. The study revealed that the traditional health practitioners in Pfura, are playing a vital role in offering primary health care for the people. Traditional health practitioners offer healing through their extensive knowledge of herbal and animal-based medicines and therapeutic actions such as rituals. The study established the use of herbs, traditional ceremonies, taboos, cultural norms as health promotive practices. Traditional healers in Pfura have demonstrated their efficacy and remained a powerful establishment in society through their easy access to the ancestral spirits, which has sustained the healing culture of Kore-kore people. Despite the central role being played by traditional health system in health promotion, impediments were found against the practice and its practitioners. Poor professional development, research and training of the Traditional Health Practitioners as well as the advanced age of practitioners is a setback in the practice as it contributed negatively to the sustainability of the traditional health practice. Guided by both study findings, key action areas of health promotion of the Ottawa Charter and the objectives of the World Health Organization, Traditional Medicine Strategy of 2014-2023 target, a framework/guide was developed and recommended an integrative and sustainable health promotion in a rural setting. / NRF

Infectious diseases are the world’s leading cause of premature deaths in humans and animals. The resistance to antibiotics and the emergence of new infectious diseases has increased the need for additional effective antimicrobial products. Despite numerous publications investigating antimicrobial activity of plant extracts it appears that no effective single product antimicrobial has yet been developed from plants. In many cases, however crude plant extracts have excellent activity and may provide useful products. Plants are frequently selected based on traditional use. Traditional healers usually use aqueous extracts of plants which in our experience generally have very low activities and it may be one of the reasons why no new products were developed from plants. Another approach to select plants for research is to use the taxonomic approach based on the premises that: (1) there is a correlation between active chemical compounds and antimicrobial activity; and (2) species in a family or order may have similar activities if the chemical precursors are inherited from a common ancestor. Future screening programmes could then concentrate on close relatives of species within these promising families and orders. The main aim of this study was to randomly screen leaf extracts of several hundred southern African tree species against important microbial pathogens to determine which taxa have the highest activity and may yield useful products to treat infections in human and animal health markets. A wide selection of plant species improved the possibility of finding promising extracts and has the advantage that active compounds may be discovered from plants that are not used traditionally. To ensure sustainable use only leaves of trees were examined. A spin off of this study would also indicate the susceptibility of different organisms, correlate the antimicrobial activities of the different organisms and determine what minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) represents a good activity based on investigating many extracts against many microbes. The antimicrobial activity was determined by using a sensitive serial dilution microplate method. Acetone extracts were tested against two Gram-positive bacteria, two Gram-negative bacteria and two fungi, i.e. Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Small and mostly insignificant differences were found between the susceptibility of the microbial pathogens to the extracts. E. faecalis was the most sensitive bacterium and C. neoformans the most sensitive fungal organism. The strongest correlations in activities among the pathogens were between C. albicans and C. neoformans, and among the pathogen classes between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The tree extracts analysed in the present study had a wide range of activities against the different pathogens. Twenty six per cent of the extracts inhibited the pathogens at MIC levels of 0.16 mg/ml. This clearly shows that 0.16 mg/ml is not low enough to discriminate between promising species. Some of the extracts inhibited the growth of more than one pathogen while other extracts had selective activities and could be the most promising to follow up. The study identified families and orders with either statistically significantly higher or lower antimicrobial activities. Among the large families, Combretaceae and Fabaceae had high mean activities against all test pathogens. The families Anacardiaceae and Moraceae had high activities against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria whereas the families Proteaceae and Meliaceae had higher antifungal activities. Among the large orders, Fabales had relatively high activities against all the pathogen classes. Considering that plants in related taxa often contain similar compounds and therefore similar activities, future studies could analyse more representative species in the promising taxa. Many tree species, genera, families and orders, including well-known and lesser known medicinal taxa in southern Africa, were identified with promising activities. To evaluate the potential use of these results, additional cytotoxicity, phytochemical and pharmacological studies should be carried out. The study, although still exploratory, underlined the potential of southern African tree extracts as sources of antimicrobial products. Application of these results within the Phytomedicine Programme has led to patents and products that were as good as commercial products in animal and field trials. We hope that our results will provided a starting point for discovering new products with useful activities. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Paraclinical Sciences / Unrestricted