Mother Nature’s massage… driving on unpaved roads
On Wednesday I traveled 2 hours off the tarmac road with three work colleagues to visit villages in Mang’ola - a neighboring ward (a ward is composed of a couple villages). We were planning logistics for a five-day training for traditional birth attendants in that area. Mang’ola is along the edge of Lake Eyasi; a beautiful lake surrounded by hills, palm trees, and semi-desert terrain. Whereas Karatu is known for its red dust/mud, Mang’ola has light brown sand everywhere. Most of the houses and buildings are built out of mud and sticks with thatch roofs. No one has electricity, except for a few select cement buildings. Everyone uses kerosene lamps – including the restaurant and guesthouse we stayed at. The stars are spectacular to say the least! Besides its beauty, Mang’ola alone supplies 1/3 of East Africa’s onions. In the rainy season the road is inaccessible and in the dry season about 1/2 of the bridges are rerouted for repair.
On our way to Mang’ola we stopped to meet with the Hadzabe – a local tribe and one of the only hunter/gatherer tribes left in this part of the continent. There are only 1,200 Hadzabe left in Tanzania. Almost all Hadzabe are located within a 2,500 km2 area. They speak a language that combines spoken words with click sounds. Their houses have no walls or ceilings – just knee-high brush in a square with an opening for the entrance. They use traditional medicine and what they find around them to treat illness. For example, when one man was having problems with his eyes the traditional healer tied a piece of string around the man’s head with two small sticks above his eyes.
The men still make and use bows and arrows. The bows are made out of wood from a willow tree and animal tendons. The arrows have a poison near the tip – and of course they have the antidote nearby in case there is an accident while making the arrow! We started talking with the women; one woman knew Swahili and translated for us. I pointed out that there was only one baby in the group. In a country where the average woman has 6 kids and you see kids EVERYWHERE you go, I was shocked to not find any. The women responded that the babies usually die before they turn five years of age. To them this is life.
Thinking aloud for a second, why are the Hadzabe insistent on using traditional medicine when it is not working and the very existence of their tribe is at stake? If I am sick and go to my doctor I expect to get better. And if I don’t get better I would ask for different treatment or go to a new doctor. If babies are dying at an alarming rate and people are getting sick without batting an eye how can they be motivated to seek proper treatment? They live in the moment and accept life as it comes. The government built the Hadzabe a school and dispensary, but the tribe does not want to use them. They don’t need to completely dispose of traditional practices, especially if they are beneficial. In addition, I don’t think the Hadzabe know that a multinational corporation is trying to displace them and use their land for game hunting. This will impact their very existence. Some people even told me, “You’ve seen something amazing and might never see them again.” On a positive note, Minnesota International Health Volunteers is working closely with their leaders to identify their greatest needs and to help bridge the gap between the government and the local community.
One thing that has been confirmed for me this summer is that even when we don’t understand health practices we need to listen to the story behind the practice. Reserve all judgment and treat everyone with dignity – because they may think we’re crazy!