Traditional Medicine
Before the introduction of western medicine there were certain symptoms which were being cured using traditional medicine. Children used to suffer Wintu (mouth sore) was a fungal ailment thought to come from the mother’s breast. It was treated by giving the child sheep’s milk instead of the breast. Kirumu, kirutu, and kinyoka (eye infection of the newborn). This may be neonatal conjunctivitis. The juice of leaves from a plant called mwore was used as a cure. Mtoro (diarrhea), made ‘the child as thin as firewood.’ Ash of the root of wild banana was administered orally as medicine. Mwana equhiwe ntembo was believed to be caused by a witch who had been able to take a piece of the placenta. The child died with difficulty in breathing after a short time for no apparent reason, as if it had been buried alive.
Beliefs. The most prominent and notable belief in Pare people was that,when a baby is born and milk teeth starting to grow from the upper jaw,it is believed to be a curse to the society and thus will be killed by being pushed on the edge of a large rock with the steep slope facing down the mountain,this belief has now been faded away due to the civilization brought by the literate among the early scholars of the society.
Read more about this topic: Pare People
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