Throughout Katherine Dettwyler's Dancing Skeletons she describes her experiences, observations, and research in Mali. Amongst her writing she discusses the different health problems associated with the citizens, specifically children and women. After reading, I was able to gather new information on iodine deficiency and its effect on children, while also recollecting my thoughts and opinions on health and healthcare. The first example of misunderstanding within the Mali culture I found to be the most mind-blowing is regarding iodine deficiency. According to Dettwyler’s findings in her text, one of the symptoms, a swollen thyroid gland or a goiter, is “sexy” and beautiful to the women and men of the culture. Iodine is extremely crucial to one’s diet; it allows brain growth and helps hormones function properly. If a woman is pregnant and has iodine deficiency, her child may be born with cretinism, also known as a stunt in growth and possible mental retardation. Although this problem sad, the saddest …show more content…
Personally, I hate going to the doctor due to personal fears, but they do make the world a better place. Although in countries such as Mali, there may be difficulties in getting the best doctor and care for a sickness which is crippling to know. Knowing there are countries who do not have the best healthcare makes me take advantage of America’s primary care system. Speaking of taking advantage, I typically try to go to a doctor as soon as I know for sure something is wrong with my immune system. Whether if it is just a cough or headache, it is important to get a check-up. For example, Dettwyler talks about a friend named Kay who was having headaches for weeks and did not think much of it, but she ended up having a drug-resistant strain of malaria. There are many misdiagnosis’ when it comes to certain diseases, but it is still significant to get symptoms seen
Selection of Book: There were numerous purposes and objectives as to why I chose to read this particular anthropology manuscript of all the various other options available. For one, I selected this book initially due to the title of the book. “Dancing Skeleton” was the portion of the title that primarily stuck out to me, and made me imagine African children – who we see on commercials all the time in third world countries, which tend to look malnourished all throughout their adolescents – dancing around with skin-wrapped skeletal bones. Personally, for me, seeing children suffering from malnourishment and starvation must be one of the most unbearably agonizing pains a child can go through, not to mention the suffering of a mother having to watching her child gradually starve to death. I was additionally very much interested in understanding precisely what other individuals in different parts of the world and specifically Mali, are lacking that is affecting their health and well-being so noticeably. Furthermore, I was especially interested is reading informal stories and accounts through the eyes of the author about conducting specified field research on infant feeding and the importance of children
...ral and written methods. The important part is what can be learned from these sources. Though Americans might not be accustomed to hearing great details of their history recited to them as their only means of learning it, it certainly does not mean that other means produce false information. The griots of ancient Africa are sincere in their efforts to consistently pass down their countries' histories, and much of what they say should at least be taken into consideration, this includes the words of Mamadou Kouyate, the griot who tells of Sundiata and ancient Mali. The things learned from his wisdom, including how Sundiata came to power, are important not only to the people of Mali, but also to the world as Sundiata proved to be one of the greatest rulers of the ancient world (Niane 1-84).
Although the !Kung San of southern Africa differ greatly from the people in the west African nation of Mali, both areas share similar problems. Both suffer from diseases, illnesses, malnutrition, and having to adapt to the ever changing and advancing cultures around them. What I found to be the most significant problem that is shared between both areas is that the people suffered from a lack of education. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine A. Dettwyler, there is a lack of education in proper nutritional practices, taking care of children and newborns, and basic medical knowledge and practices. The Dobe Ju/’hoansi have recently started putting in schools to help children receive an education to help them have better success with the surrounding peoples and culture, but there is a lack of attendance in these schools. There are also many education issues in proper sexual practices that would help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS, in a place in the world were theses illnesses are at surprisingly high levels.
Mali’s rise to fame can be attributed to its great trading networks and resources, Islamic faith, great leaders, and strong military. It also helped create stronger relationships with trading partners and allies as well. The Islamic people of Mali followed the lead of Mansa Musa and held academics and scholarly learning in the highest of regards. Many great works can be attributed to the people who learned and taught at Muslim centers of education.
The land where Mali was located was first controlled by Ghana. Ghana had control over the gold-salt trade, but they lost it when they came in the war. Ghana was now very rich because of the gold-salt trade. Many people came there to trade, and the leader took taxes for trading, so he got rich. Ghana had lasted from 900 to 1240, said fofweb (//www.fofweb.com//). But then was attacked in the 11th by a Muslim group called the Almoravids. The Almoravids had power in North Africa at that time. They wanted other Muslims to follow the Almoravids interpretation of Islam. During the attack, Ghana began to crumble and the big empire of Ghana started to get weak. In 1076, the Almoravids seized the capital city of Koumbi Saleh.One guy named Sumanguru, the King of Sosso, was killing all Sundiatas brothers except one of his brother who was the King but he was really weak. Sundiata was handicapped and couldn’t use his legs and was only seven years old so Sumanguru let him live. Sundiatas last brother got killed after a while by Sumanguru.
According to source 4, sheet 4 (B), there was no conflicts between the people of Mali, which resulted in them to be able to come together to advance their society in things like technology, education, and economy. When most people think of Mali they instantly think of their amazing trade routes and their growing economy, but never really the people of Mali. Along with valuing the Islamic religion (the religion their king, Mansa Musa, followed) the people really valued education. According to source 1, sheet 5 (B), they made Qur’anic schools where children went to learn basic reading skills and the meaning of the Qur’an, which demonstrates that they wanted their kids to be able to grow up and understand their values and beliefs of their religion, also they wanted their children to be able to read and write. Children went to schools where religion and education, two very important factors to a complex society, were connected to help them learn. Overall, Mali was an empire because of its magnificent ruler, Mansa Musa, their significant impact on increasing the value of education and religion, and their wonderful people who wanted to
Some cultural differences may not seem as if they could act as a barrier but within countries language can make or break a relationship. In Mali where all of Katherine Dettwyler’s research takes place language is quite an important thing to them. The people of Mali instantly believe that any toubabou, white person, only knows how to speak in English which quickly surprised them when discovering the Dettwyler in fact can speak Bambara, their native language. Being able to speak their language made it easier ...
Sundiata developed into a great leader of Mali through hardships, religion, and core/tributary/periphery relationships of states. The djeli who transmitted this information to the translators, is also a manifestation of an institution important in Sundiata’s epic, because without djelis these stories would be lost forever. Sundiata learned about the formation, running and maintenance of African states through interactions with the communities he was introduced to.
"Hunger and Malnutrition." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Mary L. Gavin. The Nemours Foundation, 01 May 2012. Web. 12 May 2014.
In the field of applied anthropology, the concept of cultural relativism is central to any form of research. The concept of cultural relativism encompasses the ability of an anthropologist or an observant to understand a different culture in its own context, without imposing one's belief and values on that culture. Ideally, in her book Monique and the Mango Rains, anthropologist Kris Holloway provides a descriptive account of her ethnographic fieldwork in the country of Mali. Through her book, the readers get an opportunity to understand the lives of Malian women in multifarious aspects. In this essay, an analysis is drawn on the situation of women in the Nampossela village of Mali in terms of their social, economic and health status in
For many years, the validity of Oral Tradition as a source was in question. In the recent years, the validity is no longer in question because it has been proven to be a reliable source. In this paper, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali will be used to examine the benefits of using Oral Tradition in reconstructing the social, political, and economic history. Throughout the paper, it will first create a comparison between the textbook’s account
Most people try to visit a doctor to help them become healthy. Many suffer from
Chronic food shortages are widespread, and malnutrition levels among young children are high. These statistics are slightly higher in rural as opposed to urban areas.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Kingdom of Mali was an African hub of wealth, trade and education for over 225 years. Mali is an Arab version of the Mandinka word that means, “Where the king dwells”, and was vitally important in spreading trade, education, religion and culture along the Niger River. The rise of Mali into an Empire occurred in the early 13th century, when Sundiata defeated his enemies and won control of the West African gold mines. In 1312 Mansa Musa became ruler of Mali. During his reign which was known as Mali’s, “Golden Age”, he introduced Islamic beliefs to many communities along the Niger and enhanced education after his historic pilgrimage to Mecca. Mali’s rise was attributed to the Trans-Saharan Trade routes leading to and from Western and Eastern Africa. These trade routes contributed to the rise and fall of powerful African Kingdoms for hundreds of years, but for 250 years, Mali was the crown jewel of Africa.
Iodine deficiency diseases are a group of diseases that are or can be caused by the lack of iodine in the body. Iodine is a dark violet non-metallic element that belongs to a group of halogens but is less reactive than the other halogens. It has a boiling point of 13.5ºc and a melting point of 183ºc, when heated a violet vapor is given out. It can be extracted from seawater, seaweeds, and oil well brines. It is also concentrated in the thyroid gland as a part of the thyroid hormone. Iodine can be found in water more than it can be found on land this is because iodine cycling is very slow and incomplete in most regions so it takes a long time for the soil to regain the iodine (Michael Zimmermann & Creswell J. Eastman, 2009), which is washed out of the soil by processes such as leaching and ongoing erosion. So crops grown on such soil becomes iodine deficient. The iodine washed away usually ends up in seawater hence the high iodine (World Health organizations, 1995) areas and areas of frequent flooding, but can also occur in coastal regions (Michael Zimmermann & Creswell J. Eastman, 2009). Iodine is needed for growth and development even for the fetus. Lack of iodine is also known as an iodine deficiency and can cause abortion stillbirth, mental retardation, growth retardation and goiter. Human being needs a very small amount of iodine to prevent deficiencies (World Health organizations, 1995).