Our Families are Killing Us: Aahvion Pointer


April 28, 2020

Our Families are Killing Us

Caprivi Region & Background:
The Caprivi region is located in Namibia in the far north eastern region. It is known to be the least developed region in Africa. Due to the spread of HIV within this region, Caprivi has experienced a sharp incline in illnesses and death. The Namibians of Caprivi believe the cause of these illnesses are because of Witchcraft. The effects of the witchcraft the tribe believes varies from minimal to harsh such as failure to get married, bad grades to car accidents and deaths.
Witchcraft:
The Namibians believed these illnesses are caused by witchcraft due to the fact that their deaths happen at a quicker rate making it harder to find cures. With the lack of medical knowledge and attention, it is left to blame witchcraft. In an article by Felicity Thomas she explains, "In the Caprivi region of Namibia, an upsurge of witchcraft accusations can be seen as a direct reaction to increasing AIDS-related illness and deaths, and to changes in socio-economic attitudes and expectations." By blaming witchcraft as the reason for HIV and AIDS is one way for the people of Caprivi to cope.

Life with "Witchcraft":
With the wide spread of these diseases, many people have decided to blame the use of witchcraft. This is to help the Namibians cope with the death of the individuals and not place shame on those with the disease.


Conclusion:
In 1963, the Namibian politician said "notion is that all people should grow old and die from old age. If anything happens to them before then, then it is the result of machinations of evilly disposed persons" With the lack of help and knowledge the tribe has had to turn to their own understanding which has been determined as a form of witchcraft.




Comments

  1. Daniel de LeonApril 29, 2020 at 4:29 PM

    I found this article very interesting because it really offers insight to how illness can some times be interpreted as supernatural phenomena. In a way blaming the illness on witchcraft could probably be a very effective coping mechanism and it probably helps them contextualize their own suffering.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Classrooms Are Closed. Now What?

Image
Presentations without an audience make no sense. For those who still have presentations to complete, there are new parameters geared to our newly online classroom. Most importantly, this assignment is no longer a presentation .  A few things about the assignment will remain the same: 1.       Your grade is still individual 2.       You are not required to work as a group [1] 3.       Focus on one aspect/section of the reading and build on it with your own research 4.       It should include relevant visual elements 5.       It should be shared with your classmates So, what is the assignment now? Good news! You have options! Option 1: Write an online-style article Think about the kinds of posts you read online. They are informative without using too many words. Plan on having 5 sections with obvious sub-headings  (see how I’ve been modeling this here?)  and at least one relevant image for each section.   Mark Nichol offers excellent tips
Read more

Spirituality in Haitian Vodou

Image
Spirituality in Haitian Vodou By Frank Nieblas What is Vodou? According to Karen McCarthy Brown, vodou is the name assigned to the various religious practices that originated in Haiti. Only until recently, Haitians have started using the word vodou to describe their religion. This religion is still the dominant religion in Haiti today, and it is even largely practiced in some other places such as New Orleans and Santiago, Cuba.  Like many other non-Chrisitan religions, western society has seriously misrepresented Vodou. Americans have adopted the word vodou as a derogatory term for black magic. History of Haitian Vodou According to Britannica, “Vodou is a creolized religion formed by colonial Europeans and native Haitians’ interactions with the beliefs of African slaves who had been brought to colonial Haiti which was known then as Saint-Domingue”.  These African slaves that were brought in the 16th century were forced to convert to Catholi
Read more