BRINGING HEALING TO THE NATIONS THROUGH ETHNOVETERINARY MEDICINE

BRINGING HEALING TO THE NATIONS
THROUGH ETHNOVETERINARY MEDICINE

Paper presented at:
International Conference of Medicinal Plants, Traditional Medicines &
Local Communities in Africa: Challenges & Opportunities of the New
Millenium
Nairobi, Kenya 16-19 May 2000


Dr. Jean T. Grade & and Dr. Valery S. Shean
Christian Veterinary Mission/World Concern (CVM/WC)
P.O. Box 22 Moroto, Uganda
Ethnovet@maf.org or Africavet@maf.org

Abstract:

The proud, pastoral Karamojong tribe of Uganda is in the midst of
violence, confusion and change. This cattle rustling, nomadic tribe
relies heavily on their livestock: socially, emotionally and
physically. As modernization encroaches on their lifestyle, their
self-respect and indigenous knowledge is slipping away, resulting in
cultural degradation. Reversal of this cultural degradation can be
possible through honoring and recognizing the inherent wisdom of
Karamoja, including their Ethnoveterinary Knowledge (EVK). This paper
reviews the outline of a project to investigate and incorporate EVK into
community based animal health programs within the region, thereby
empowering the Karamojong with the wisdom of their elders to better care
for their animals and to enhance their appreciation of their own
culture.


Key Words:

· Karamoja
· Ethnoveterinary Knowledge
· Community-Based Animal Health Care
· Peace-building
· Environment


Summary of Abbreviations Used:

CAHW Community Animal Health Worker
CBPP Contagious Bovine Pleuro-pneumonia
CVM Christian Veterinary Mission
CVM/WC Christian Veterinary Mission/World Concern
EV Ethnoveterinary
EVK Ethnoveterinary Knowledge
EVM Ethnoveterinary Medicine
IK Indigenous Knowledge
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
TOT Training of Trainers
TVP Traditional Veterinary Practitioner

Introduction:
The People. Hundreds of people died this year as a result of the
violence in Karamoja. These frustrated, aggressive, cattle-rustling
pastoralists have become angry and vindictive as a result of being
misunderstood, mishandled and misinformed. Bloody, armed conflicts have
arisen both from outside the tribe and within. As the only culturally
intact people group remaining in Uganda, these communities are
continually ridiculed and belittled for maintaining the integrity of
their cultural traditions. While being misunderstood by outsiders and
raided by other Karamojong subtribes from within Uganda, the neighboring
Turkana tribe in Kenya also pose a threat to their livelihood, as
cross-border cattle thievery is common. With the Uganda government
forces often unable to protect or work together with them to maintain
peace on the border, the Karamojong have resorted to taking the
situation into their own hands. Introduction of guns during the rein of
Idi Amin in the late 70’s allowed them to become a powerfully armed
force in the region, capable of doing whatever was necessary to maintain
their herds. This paper describes the growth, expansion and application
of ethnoveterinary knowledge (EVK) obtained from the Ngibokora
sub-tribe, who live in the heart of Karamoja, Bokora County.

The Place. Bokora County, with approximately 70,000 people, lies in the
south-central portion of Moroto District in the Karamoja Region of
Northeastern Uganda. The lives of the people and animals of Karamoja
and their environment change dramatically with the seasons. The
Karamojong are transhumant; the men move west with the cattle to swampy
pastures during the dry season for grazing; while in the semi-permanent
settlements, women, children and the elderly live year-round.

The Climate. The cattle migration is dependent on seasonal pasture
availability across Karamoja’s sparse savanna. The flat brush land is
characterized by thorny acacia plants and grasses that only become green
during the sporadic rains from April to November. Bokora has a
semi-arid climate with approximate annual rainfall of 650mm. There is no
surface water in Bokora, only occasional rain-filled puddles, man-made
valley dams and riverbeds that dry up shortly after each rain. Most of
Karamoja is flat with scattered cone-shaped inselbergs and three
mountain ranges, one of which is in Bokora. The mountainous area located
in South Bokora provides a good climate for a unique variety of
medicinal plants and trees, as the temperatures are slightly cooler and
the precipitation is higher. The drier areas also have a variety of
flora which are used therapeutically, especially the sandy areas around
Iriiri.

The Culture. As a typical Nilotic tribe, the Karamojong rely heavily on
their animals and their environment. They have lived on the barren
land, surviving, and at times thriving, with their cows for hundreds of
years. They have taken advantage of the elders’ knowledge about animal
diseases and the use of natural medicines in both treatment and
prevention. Historically, their traditional system was quite viable,
with plant-based treatments for over 90% of the animal diseases in the
area. It is apparent that the people, their livestock and their land
are intricately entwined. Although the seasonally parched land of
Karamoja is not highly suitable for herding, the people have received
benefits from the land without impoverishing it.

The Problem. Unfortunately, the relationship of the people with their
land is changing with the encroachment of modernization upon these
nomadic people. The three-part introduction of guns, formal education
and relief programs have led to the steady decay of the community’s
respect for the elders and the heritage that they embody. First of all,
guns have enabled young warriors to take raiding into their own hands
without consent of the elders, introducing new livestock diseases and
vectors, which were formerly unknown in the area. Secondly, formal
education has brought in western ideas to the impressionable younger
generation, eroding their confidence in the oral traditions of the
elders. As these school-going children are absent from the home, their
time of participatory learning with the elders has also diminished.
Finally, relief programs of the past have tended to be paternalistic
without reciprocity, which was demeaning to the proud, self-sufficient
Karamojong. The Karamojong’s internal system of helping one another
requires reciprocal relationships in gift giving. This has not been
the pattern for most of the relief or development interventions in
Karamoja over the past 50 years. As a result of the demeaning
dependency relationship created through those programs, the Karamojong
began to seek only external support instead of relying on the
traditional support network of the elders. These negative impacts,
related to cultural degradation and loss of personal heritage, have left
the Karamojong communities looking at a dismal future.
The Proposal. Reversal of this cultural degradation in Karamoja can be
possible through honoring and recognizing their inherent wisdom of their
culture. In a land where the cattle "their wealth, self-worth, pride,
insurance, food, currency in essence - everything" to the people.
(Karamojong Elder In Lodwar, Kenya at the Karamojong Cluster Border
Harmonization Meeting) their livestock should be part of the approach.
We feel that encouraging the Karamojong's indigenous knowledge through
livestock healthcare programs can be one of the most appropriate tools
to revive their culture.

Ethnoveterinary knowledge is the indigenous or local knowledge base of a
particular people group including their beliefs and practices related to
their livestock. Since Biblical times, people have been using herbal
remedies to bring healing. In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 47 as well as
in Revelation 22, we are told that the trees of the field are not only
for food, but also for medicinal purposes, as He has designed. Each
culture discovers a melange of therapeutic plants, which hold the keys
to health for both people and their livestock.







The Need. Traditional treatments have long been used in Karamoja for
both the people and their animals. Western medicines and practices
within the district are fairly new and have not completely penetrated
Karamoja. This is due to two reasons: first, these services can be too
difficult to obtain. The obvious lack of a viable animal health service
delivery system, as well as widespread security problems through out the
Karamojong cluster severely limit the mobility of service providers and
suppliers. Secondly, not only are the western practices and medicines
not widespread, but the medicines that reach the people are often
perceived to be too costly for this semi-nomadic society that rarely
uses hard currency. Furthermore, there is a question of drug quality.
Many times, medicines are purchased at local markets where they often
have been improperly handled, adulterated or sold past their expiration
date. Because of the inadequate western veterinary care on Karamoja,
there is an obvious need for the continued use of traditional
treatments, or ethnoveterinary medicine and practices. These medicines
however need to be tested further to establish the most efficacious
dosage and formulation.


Materials and Methods:
The Techniques. An essential component of community development work is
that it must be participatory in nature. Since 1996, Christian
Veterinary Mission (CVM) has been training CAHWs in various livestock
programs within Karamoja, incorporating input from the participants
themselves. This includes knowledge of local diseases, their causes,
prevention and treatment as well as information on husbandry, such as
seasonal calendars of pastoral life and progeny histories. By starting
with the baseline foundation of indigenous knowledge (IK) a much
stronger and more acceptable finished product results, with the members
claiming greater ownership of the program because it sprouted from
them. The ancient saying is still true: