Utilising the Concept of Protection in Health Maintenance among the Bena in Tanzania

Abstract

This article reports the findings of a study of the protective health care actions by the Bena. The article is based on an ethnographic research project that dealt with cultural care among the Bena tribe in the Ilembula villages in Tanzania. The data were collected with open-ended interviews and participatory observation. Forty-nine villagers were interviewed. The findings show that childhood and adulthood include some sensitive phases of the Bena life span that require protective actions to ensure reproductive, physical, and mental health. The following main protective actions were related to health protection in the sensitive phases: taking local herbs, avoiding sexual relations, hiding menstruation and early pregnancy from others, avoiding contacts with magic, avoiding kitchen work, using one’s own utensils, and omitting greeting others.