Health-seeking nomads and faith-healing in a medically pluralistic context in Mbeya, Tanzania
(2018) In Mission Studies 35(2). p.245-264- Abstract
The popularity of faith-healing in sub-Saharan Africa has been widely acknowledged in research, but mostly treated as a phenomenon apart, instead of being viewed in relation to other modes of healing. In this article I focus on the reasons why believers choose faith-healing in a medically pluralistic situation and how they see other healing options available in a locally founded Charismatic church community, the Gospel Miracle Church for All People (GMCL), in the Southern Tanzanian city of Mbeya. I propose that, in order to see the medically pluralistic context in Tanzania through the journeys of health-seeking nomads, the focus must lie on two intertwined aspects of faith-healing: first, it is inevitably based on the need to be healed... (More)
The popularity of faith-healing in sub-Saharan Africa has been widely acknowledged in research, but mostly treated as a phenomenon apart, instead of being viewed in relation to other modes of healing. In this article I focus on the reasons why believers choose faith-healing in a medically pluralistic situation and how they see other healing options available in a locally founded Charismatic church community, the Gospel Miracle Church for All People (GMCL), in the Southern Tanzanian city of Mbeya. I propose that, in order to see the medically pluralistic context in Tanzania through the journeys of health-seeking nomads, the focus must lie on two intertwined aspects of faith-healing: first, it is inevitably based on the need to be healed and speaks of a failure of biomedicine to explain illness and provide healing; and second, the long journeys that are made in search of healing mean traversing boundaries and switching between parallel healing systems: biomedicine, traditional healing, and faith-healing. While health seeking nomads are in many ways in a vulnerable position, I suggest that their ability to move from one healing option to another speaks of agency: not in the sense of full control over their life situations but, rather, as a way of coming to terms with their illness.
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- author
- Gammelin, Lotta LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018-01-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Charismatic Christianity, Faith-healing, Health seeking behavior, Medical pluralism, Tanzania, Vulnerability
- in
- Mission Studies
- volume
- 35
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 20 pages
- publisher
- Brill
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85049231125
- ISSN
- 0168-9789
- DOI
- 10.1163/15733831-12341569
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 50418008-e8ea-423c-bc1f-da6214d003b1
- date added to LUP
- 2018-07-17 11:33:52
- date last changed
- 2022-04-02 01:15:31
@article{50418008-e8ea-423c-bc1f-da6214d003b1,
abstract = {{<p>The popularity of faith-healing in sub-Saharan Africa has been widely acknowledged in research, but mostly treated as a phenomenon apart, instead of being viewed in relation to other modes of healing. In this article I focus on the reasons why believers choose faith-healing in a medically pluralistic situation and how they see other healing options available in a locally founded Charismatic church community, the Gospel Miracle Church for All People (GMCL), in the Southern Tanzanian city of Mbeya. I propose that, in order to see the medically pluralistic context in Tanzania through the journeys of health-seeking nomads, the focus must lie on two intertwined aspects of faith-healing: first, it is inevitably based on the need to be healed and speaks of a failure of biomedicine to explain illness and provide healing; and second, the long journeys that are made in search of healing mean traversing boundaries and switching between parallel healing systems: biomedicine, traditional healing, and faith-healing. While health seeking nomads are in many ways in a vulnerable position, I suggest that their ability to move from one healing option to another speaks of agency: not in the sense of full control over their life situations but, rather, as a way of coming to terms with their illness.</p>}},
author = {{Gammelin, Lotta}},
issn = {{0168-9789}},
keywords = {{Charismatic Christianity; Faith-healing; Health seeking behavior; Medical pluralism; Tanzania; Vulnerability}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{245--264}},
publisher = {{Brill}},
series = {{Mission Studies}},
title = {{Health-seeking nomads and faith-healing in a medically pluralistic context in Mbeya, Tanzania}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15733831-12341569}},
doi = {{10.1163/15733831-12341569}},
volume = {{35}},
year = {{2018}},
}