Back From Manyana

Dumela

Made it back from rural Manyana. A whole month of bathing in tubs, smelly outhouses, donkeys, cows, dirt roads, huts, traditional doctors, witches, cochroaches, and lots of rain. I will pot some pictures soon and something more discriptive of my time there.
Travis

PS. I have been given a Setswana name by my Manyana family. You can now call me Mothusi (mo-two-see) if you want.

INFORMATION ON MANYANA

Manyana is a small rural villiage of around 6 thousand people. There are no paved roads but are plenty of donkey carts and trucks. Everyone gets their frood from either the local co-op, tuck-shops (a kind of 7-11 out of someones house or a shack), or small gardens. The only commercial buildings there are the Co-Op, a couple of bars, and the post office. Everything else there is homes in a traditional mud,straw roof style or concrete/tin roof homesteads. There is no indoor plumbing and electricity is a luxury. While in Manyana I was previlaged enough to have electricity and a refridgerator. Baths are usually done in a tub with a bucket of warm water. Your toilet is usually infested with cochroaches and is just a concrete whole.

About Traditional Medicine
Manyana is a villiage that is juxtaposed between the traditional and the modern. People here go to church regularly but I was suprised to find many still had deep beliefs in the Botswana traditional spiritual world. While in Manyana I did a little research on on the local traditional doctor and his patients. Very interesting stuff. If sick (or experiencing bad luck), you can go to the doctor and see if he can help you. The doctor goes into a trance and reads bones he throws on the ground. These bones tell him what is wrong with you and if you can be cured. My host mother Bogadi told me of a time when she took her sick son to the doctor. The doctor read the bones, and then proceeded to remove hair and fingernails from his stomache which were put there by witches or in Setswana "Bolowie". Afterwards, he became well in a few minutes (dont try this at home). The doctor keeps a variety of herbs and potions around his house he collects out in the desert or the bush which he uses as medicine. However, in Botswana you can now recieve medical attention from state run clinics for only about 40 US cents. The doctor can cost anywhere from 4 to 20 dollars and has become an alternative or last ditch effort to the clinic. I hope to post some pictures of the doctor and his bones soon.

Just thought you'ld like to know that

Travis