Customer Reviews

Hausa Medicine: Illness and Well Being in a West African Culture

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Dr. Wall combines a scholarly survey with an approachable writing style. Where else can one find the combination of a Rhodes Scholar anthroplogist and a world-class academic physician as the author of such a work?

Hausa traditional medical practices are of tremendous import to millions in West Africa. Anyone involved in medical care in West Africa should read this book.

I've lived in Niger and Nigeria for over 7 years and Wall has done a better job of describing Hausa culture than any other source I have come across. The first half of the book does an excellent job of detailing Hausa world view, which then helps explain how the Hausa understand medical illness and so much else.

My only other comment is that it appears to me that the fieldwork for this book was done in the mid-to-late 1970s. That's more than 30 years ago and a lot has changed, even in rural villages. More Hausa have gone to school or have listened to Hausa radio programs produced by the BBC, VOA, RFI, etc. and have thus been exposed to more "modern" health and science concepts. Therefore, the "spiritual" explanations for illness may not be as prevalent as before. This is a matter of degree and one should always judge any interactions with Hausa (and any other Africans) on a case-by-case basis as to the source of their medical world-view. Don't paint everyone with the same brush, which is a mistake that too many Westerners make after reading a solid, but dated, book on African people such as Wall's.