When a rash has two names: pese sorcery and kisigo spirits at Lake Tanganyika.
Anthropology & medicine August 1, 2018 Eva Bleyenberg, Koen Stroeken
An affliction of the skin called pese, found in Kigoma, Tanzania, has been overlooked in medical anthropology. Based on 27 interviews, the study describes pese alongside a similar local condition, kisigo, and suggests that two illness concepts for the same affliction exist because they originate from different cultures: pese is linked to witchcraft (sorcery), while kisigo is tied to spirit possession. A symbiotic relationship between the healing traditions of the Bembe and Ha peoples appears to exist. Government policies that prohibit witchcraft and target traditional healers have seemingly pushed witchcraft practices and beliefs to the periphery, where they survive clandestinely.