TRADITIONAL HEALERS IN TANZANIA - SOCIOCULTURAL PROFILE AND 3 SHORT PORTRAITS

Traditional healers are an important part of African societies, but un fortunately the knowledge of the extent and character of traditional h ealing and the people involved in the practice is limited and impressi onistic. They are frequently ignored in studies of user/provider patte rns, although they cover the health needs of a substantial proportion of the population. For future health planning it is necessary to know what the reasons are that even in big cities, where western health car e services are available, traditional healers flourish, and even compe te with each other for certain aspects. The aim of this study was to i nvestigate certain aspects of the profession of traditional healing in general in different areas in Tanzania in order to get an idea about the kind of traditional medical services which are available, and abou t the people who provide such services. For this reason traditional he alers were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire in differe nt rural and urban places: in the Kilombero valley (Kilombero/Ulanga D istrict), on the main island of Ukerewe (Ukerewe District), in the reg ion near Bukoba town (Bukoba District), and in the settlement of Dar e s Salaam (largest city of Tanzania). The results of the study show tha t traditional healers are a very heterogeneous group of persons not ha ving much in common relating to their religion, sex and level of educa tion. The traditional practice is very often taken over from a family member, but also other reasons for becoming a healer, like initiation through ancestor spirits, are very frequently given. More than 50% of the respondents practice full time. These full time practitioners are mainly found among men and in the younger age group. Treatment of in-p atients, who can stay in special patient-houses, is offered by half of the traditional healers. Divination used as a diagnostic tool was fou nd mainly among men. Referral of patients to the hospital was mentione d by almost all respondents in cases where they failed with the own tr eatment or when they knew that the patient would be better treated in the hospital or dispensary.