Why are there so many drums playing until dawn? Exploring the role of gamba spirits and healers in the postwar recovery period in central Mozambique

Article

Igreja, Victor. 2003. "Why are there so many drums playing until dawn? Exploring the role of gamba spirits and healers in the postwar recovery period in central Mozambique." Transcultural Psychiatry. 40 (4), pp. 459-487. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461503404001
Article Title

Why are there so many drums playing until dawn? Exploring the role of gamba spirits and healers in the postwar recovery period in central Mozambique

ERA Journal ID201669
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorIgreja, Victor
Journal TitleTranscultural Psychiatry
Journal Citation40 (4), pp. 459-487
Number of Pages29
Year2003
Place of PublicationUnited Kindgom
ISSN1363-4615
1461-7471
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461503404001
Web Address (URL)http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1363461503404001
Abstract

In the wake of a civil war, local resources can play a potential role in shaping the recovery process by providing both old and new exegeses for the disturbing effects of the past. Using the case of Gorongosa, this article aims to explore the ways in which the war has impacted upon traditional medicine by creating Gamba spirits that cause havoc but can also transform the psychosocial hurts of war survivors. Historically, traditional healing practice was under the sole responsibility of the Dzoca, an ancestral spirit that for generations was embodied in living people through lineage descent to exercise its healing powers. There is consensus among healers that the Gamba spirit and healers emerged after the war and are rapidly spreading throughout Gorongosa. I explore the emic theories to explain the Gamba’s puzzling origins and the role they are currently playing in Gorongosa.

KeywordsCentral Mozambique, Gamba spirits and healers, post-war reactions, recovery strategies, traditional medicine
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020420313. Mental health services
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsLeiden University Medical Centre, Netherlands
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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