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THE
UNIVERSITY OF YAOUNDE 1
UNIVERSITE DE YAOUNDE 1
FACULTY OF ARTS LETTERS FACULTE
DES ARTS, LETTRES
AND SOCIAL SCIENCES ET
SCIENCES HUMAINES DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTEMENT
D'ANTHROPLOGIE
ENEMA AND PREGNANCY FROM CONCEPTION TO CHILDBIRTH: CASE
STUDY OF THE MANYU PEOPLE, SOUTH-WEST PROVINCE CAMEROON.
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
AWARD OF A MAÏTRISE (MASTERS) IN MEDICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY.
PRESENTED BY
ARREY ARREYANYOH MARIE-TUDOR
(BA, IN ANTHROPOLOGY)
THE UNIVERSITY OF YAOUNDE 1
(237)77066625
(237)74521088
arreymt@yahoo.fr
SUPERVISOR
SOCPA ANTOINE (PH.D)
SENIOR LECTURER
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
December 2007
ABSTRACT
This work entitled «enema and pregnancy from conception
to child birth, case study of the Manyu people» has as main objective to
verify how cultural beliefs and altitudes are related to enema during
pregnancy. From the past decade, and even today, maternal mortality has really
been a call for concerned to the public. And because of that, we decided to
carry a study on the subject. To attain our objective, we developed some
objectives which are:
-To verify how beneficial cultural beliefs and attitudes are
related to ene ma during pregnancy.
-To verify how enema is an effective therapy which his both
curative and preventive.
-To asses health benefits of enema to pregnant women in the
Manyu Community.
To achieve our goal the following research questions and
hypotheses were elaborated
-Why do the Manyu people use enema during pregnancy?
-How medically effective is the practice in the process of
disease treatment?
-What is the impact of enema on childbirth and women's
health?
The hypotheses to these questions are
-The Manyu people use enema during pregnancy because of the
perceived positive impact on child birth and women's health.
-The Manyu people use enema as an effective therapy which is
both preventive and curative.
-The practice of enema in the Manyu Community has a positive
impact on childbirth and women's health.
Data collection was from two main sources .The primary and the
secondary source. The primary source was based on the collection of data from
the field with the use of the interview guides and questionnaires. The
secondary source consisted on the consultation of related literature to our
theme of research.
Our findings revealed that enema during pregnancy helps to
reduce complications associated with childbirth. Enema equally acts as a ritual
to ensure the health of pregnant women before and after birth. We equally found
out that enema was not only important to the women of this Community, but also
to the men.
Economically, enema is a source of wealth to the people. This
is because money which was supposed to be spend in the hospital to the health
of the women concern will be invested to TBA in this community.
Therapeuticallly it is a source of health to the people because, it deals with
abstract issues related to the health of the people. In the magico- religious
domain, it acts as a link between the people and their ancestors from whom they
find solutions to their health problems.
However, there were equally weak adherences in the practice of
enema during pregnancy by some people with a higher social status. This is
because they have enough money to spend in the hospital. When a situation of
complication arises they turn back to the traditional treatment. Another reason
came as the result of the fact that not everybody in this society has totems
which affect pregnant women negatively. This therefore account for the mix idea
between those in the Manyu community who practice enema during pregnancy and
the others who do not.
RESUME
Ce travail porte sur « La purge et la grossesse de
la conception à la naissance : Cas de la population de
Manyu ». Cette étude a pour objectif principal
d'étudier les liens entre les croyances culturelles, les attitudes
et la purge pendant la grossesse. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous nous sommes
fixés trois objectifs secondaires qui sont :
1) de vérifier comment bénéficier des
croyances culturelles et des attitudes liées à la purge pendant
la grossesse;
2) de comprendre comment la purge est une thérapie
efficace, curative et préventive ;
3) de présenter les vertus thérapeutiques de la
purge pour les femmes enceintes dans la communauté Manyu.
Les questions de recherche sont les suivantes : Pourquoi
la population de Manyu utilise la purge pendant la grossesse ? Quel est
l'impact de la purge sur le nouveau-né et sur la santé de la
femme ? Les hypothèses de recherche sont les suivantes : La
population de Manyu utilise la purge pendant la grossesse à cause des
résultats positifs perçus sur le nouveau-né et sur la
santé de la femme. La population de Manyu utilise la purge comme une
thérapie efficace qui est à la fois préventive et
curative.
Les données ont été collectées
à partir deux sources principales. La source première
était basée sur les données de terrain avec l'utilisation
des interviews et des questionnaires. La source secondaire est basée sur
l'analyse documentaire
Cette recherche révèle que la purge pendant la
grossesse aide à réduire les complications associées avec
la naissance. La purge est également comme un acte rituel pour assurer
la santé de la femme enceinte avant et après la naissance. Nous
trouvons également que la purge n'est pas importante seulement aux
femmes dans cette communauté mais aussi aux hommes. Sur le plan
économique, la purge permet de réduire le coût
d'accès aux soins de santé. Sur le plan thérapeutique,
elle est une source de santé pour la population. Pour ce qui du domaine
magico-religieux, la purge est acte faisant le lien entre la communauté
et ses ancêtres en vue de trouver des solutions aux problèmes de
santé.
Toutefois, l'étude a permis de constater qu'il existe
une mauvaise adhérence dans la pratique de la purge pendant la
grossesse chez certaines personnes ayant un statut social élevé.
Cette situation s'explique par le fait que certaines personnes estiment que la
purge a des effets négatifs sur la santé de la femme enceinte.
D'où l'opposition entre ceux qui pratiquent la purge pendant la
grossesse et ceux qui n'y sont pas favorables dans la communauté Manyu.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
0.1 overview of the subject
matter....................................................1
0.2 Justification of the
study.........................................................2
0.3 Scope of
work.....................................................................3
0.4 Problems encountered in the
field..............................................3
0.5 Outline of the
work...............................................................4
CHAPTER I: PROBLEMATIC, METHODOLOGY AND PRESENTATION OF
STUDY AREA
1.1 Statement of research
problem...................................................6
1.2 Research
questions...............................................................7
1.2.1 Central
Question...........................................................7
1.2.2 Secondary
Questions.....................................................7
1.3 Research
hypotheses..............................................................7
1.3.1 Main
hypothesis..........................................................8
1.3.2 Secondary
Hypotheses...................................................8
1.4 Objectives of
study................................................................8
1.4.1 Main
Objective............................................................8
1.4.2 Secondary
Objectives.....................................................8
1.5 Interests of
study......................................................................8
1.5.1 Theoretical
Interests.....................................................9
1.5.2 Practical
Interests........................................................9
1.6
Methodology...................................................................10
1.7 Qualitative Research
Methods................................................11
1.7.1 Unstructured
Interview.................................................11
1.7.2 Structured
Interview.....................................................11
1.7.3
Observation.............................................................11
1.8 Quantitative
methods...........................................................12
1.9 Field work
procedure...........................................................12
1.10 Data
analysis....................................................................12
1.11 Target
population..............................................................12
1.12 The location of some Bayang
villages......................................13
1.13 The origin of the name
Mamfe...............................................15
1.14 Descent Group
Organizations...............................................15
1.15 The Non Native
Population...................................................16
1.16 Socio-cultural set
up...........................................................16
1.16.1
Marriage................................................................16
1.16.2
Birth....................................................................17
1.16.3
Death..................................................................17
1.17 Internal And External
Dynamics............................................18
1.18 The Physical
Milieu...........................................................19
1.18.1Vegetation..............................................................19
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW, CONCEPTUAL AND
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.0 Background notes on the
subject..............................................21
2.1 Literature
Review................................................................22
2.2 Definition of
Concepts.........................................................25
2.3 Theoretical
Framework.........................................................29
2.3.1 Structural
Functionalism................................................29
2.3.2 The Marxist Political Economy
Model...............................29
2.3.3 The Transactionalist
Model............................................30
CHAPTER III : ENEMA AS THERAPY, ITS PROCEDURE,
TRADITIONAL TOOLS AND PAYMENT RITES
3.0 Traditional
Tools................................................................32
3.1 The Practice Of Enema During
Pregnancy...................................34
3.1.1 In situation of
sterility..................................................34
3.2 The State of Art of
Enema......................................................35
3.3 Modern
Tools....................................................................37
3.4 Complete Enema Bag / Bucket Must
Contain...............................37
3.5 People's Reasons For Change In Tools And
Procedure...................38
3.6 The Evolution of the practice of
Enema......................................40
3.7 Payment
Rites....................................................................41
3.7.1 In
Kind...................................................................41
3.7.2 In
Cash....................................................................42
3.8 Some Medicinal Plants Used In Enema
Concoction.......................42
3.9 Some Animal Products Used In Enema
Concoction.......................43
3.10 Some plants to be avoided in enema
concoction...........................43
3.11 Some reasons for enema during
Pregnancy................................45
3.12 How the people of Manyu community perceive
enema..................47
CHAPTER IV : ENEMA AND MODERNISM, INITIATION RITES AND
THE IMPACT OF ENEMA ON WOMEN'S HEALTH
4.0 Cultural contact and
change...................................................48
4.1 Acceptance and rejection of enema during
pregnancy....................49
4.1.1 Conditions for acceptance and rejection of
change................49
4.2 Initiation rites to the practice of
enema......................................51
4.3 People's opinion of enema and
childbirth...................................52
4.4 Cultural beliefs and symbolic
patterns........................................53
4.5 Evolution of traditional
tools..................................................54
CHAPTER V : BELIEF SYSTEM AND HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF
THE PEOPLE OF MAMFE COMMUNITY
5.0 Witchcraft and supernatural
powers.........................................56
5.1 Totem and
fertility.............................................................56
5.1.1Totem and
inheritance..................................................58
5.2 Preventive traditional
medicine...............................................58
5.3 Health seeking behaviour of the
People...................................59
5.4 Popular Folk and professional
Sector.......................................60
5.5 Outcome of enema administration to pregnant
women...................62
5.6 Modern
religion................................................................62
5.7 Health patterns of the people of Mamfe
community...................63
5.8 Precautions to be noted during enema
administration.................63
5.9 The relationship between traditional and biomedical
healers.......64
CONCLUSION......................................................................66
BILIOGRAPHY.....................................................................71
INFORMANT
PROFILE...........................................................74
1- BIOMEDICAL PERSONNEL AND
NURSES..........................74
2- TBA/TRADITIONAL
HEALERS........................................76
3- MOTHERS AND PREGNANT
WOMEN................................78
4- ELDERS IN THE
COMMUNITY.........................................85
LIST OF MAPS
Some ethnic group and clans in Manyu
........................................ 14
Location of Manyu Division in Cameroon and Manyu division in
the South West of
Cameroon.................................................................20
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
FGO : Female Genital Mutilation
TBA : Traditional Birth Attendants
IFORD : l'institut des Formations des Recherches
Démographiques
UNICEF : United Nations Children Emergency Fund
UNESCO: United Nations, Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organisation
WHO : World Health Organisation
WWF : World Wide Fund for Nature
WB : World Bank
GLOSSARY
1. "Tangkpe"-enema
2. "Nsok-enen"-elephant in the water
3. "Manep"-water
4. "Eteh-babey"-pot of medicine
5. "Meneih"-pregnancy
6. «Etatmandem»-God
7. «Manfaifa»-put it here
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Some medicinal plants commonly used in enema
concoction......42
Table 2: Some medicinal plants to be
avoided...................................45
Table 3: Some reasons for administering
enema................................53
Table 4: Contradictory views of medical doctors and
traditional healers....64
Table 5: Some Bayang clans and their
villages..................................91
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Traditional tool used in administering
enema.....................................33
Some modern tools used in enema
administration..................................38
The three sector of a healthcare
system...........................................63
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