Eyes of the Ngangas: Ethnomedicine and Power in Central African Republic ~Arthur C. Lehmann
Introduction:
"People of the Third World have a variety of therapies available for combating diseases, but because of cost, availability, and cultural bias, most rely on ethnomedical or traditional treatment rather than "biomedical' or Western therapies. Dr. Lehmann;s field research focuses on the importance of ngangas (traditional healers) as a source of primary health care for both the Aka Pygmy hunters and their horticultural neighbors, the Ngando of Central African Republic. Tracing the basis and locus of the ngangas' mystical diagnostic and healing powers, he shows that they are particularly effective with treatments for mental illness and, to an unknown extent, with herbal treatment of physical illnesses as well. The powers of the Aka ngangas, however, are also used to reduce the tensions between themselves and their patrons and to punish those Ngando who have caused the hunters harm. Lehmann points out the necessity of recognizing and treating the social as well as the biological aspects of illness and appeals to health care planners to establish counterpart systems that mobilize popular and biomedical specialists to improve primary health care in the Third World" (1996:138).
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