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His mother became medicine: drinking problems, ethical transformation and maternal care in central Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2019

China Scherz  and
George Mpanga
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Abstract

Excessive alcohol consumption often appears as an issue of great concern for the friends and family members of drinkers in Uganda, where per capita consumption rates among drinkers are among the highest in the world. In many cases, these families seek care for their loved ones in small shops run by herbalists, in the shrines of spirit mediums, in the pews of churches, or in one of several newly established inpatient rehabilitation centres. Yet, acts of intervention come not only from living family members or friends, but also from an array of spiritual beings who may arrive uninvited and outside intentional therapeutic contexts. In this article, we consider a case in which a mother's spirit intervenes in the life of her son, first by possessing his body and then by continuing to dwell there in ways that make it impossible for him to drink. This case highlights the importance of forces experienced as non-self in life-transforming processes, and demands that we give attention to a moment in a person's life when the work of care is achieved through an act of physical force.

Résumé

Une consommation excessive d'alcool est souvent un sujet de préoccupation important pour l'entourage familial et amical des buveurs en Ouganda, où le taux de consommation d'alcool par habitant est l'un des plus élevés au monde. Dans de nombreux cas, ces familles cherchent des remèdes pour leurs proches dans des petites boutiques tenues par des herboristes, auprès des spirites, dans les églises ou dans l'un des centres de cure nouvellement créés. Cependant, les actes d'intervention ne viennent pas uniquement des parents ou amis vivants, mais aussi d'esprits divers susceptibles de se manifester sans y être invités et en dehors de contextes thérapeutiques intentionnels. Dans cet article, les auteurs étudient un cas dans lequel l'esprit d'une mère intervient dans la vie de son fils, d'abord en possédant son corps puis en continuant à l'habiter de manière à le rendre incapable de boire. Ce cas souligne l'importance des forces vécues comme non-soi dans les processus de transformation de la vie et exige qu'on prête attention à un moment, dans la vie d'une personne, où le travail de soin se fait par un acte de force physique.

Type
Medicine, care and mediation
Information
Africa , Volume 89 , Issue 1 , February 2019 , pp. 125 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2019 

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