Anthropology

In this paper I will analyze the healing practices of the different churches I observed during my fieldwork in 2010, that took place in the Zion Church in Maputo and Matola. Zion Church, classified as AIC, African Independent Church, is a transnational phenomenon that spread in South Africa at the beginning of 20th century by the action of North-American missionaries.
The Zion church was introduced in Mozambique by the local workers returned from the South African mines during the colonial period, but its diffusion in the country became considerable after the economic liberalization of the 80’s and, especially, after the end of the civil war in 1992.
Nowadays, the Zion church, whose principal characteristic is that of healing and exorcising evil spirits through the Holy Ghost’s force, is one of the most popular religious movements in southern Mozambique, although it is often depicted as the religion of the marginalized people.
In Maputo, Zion church is a heterogenic reality; each church has, in fact, its peculiar way of healing and bargaining with spirits.  Being a ‘Zion’ implies different ways of experiencing the world, coping with spirits, reworking the past, and interpreting local cosmologies. In fact, the Holy Ghost is just one of the many healing spirits helping people to restore their life.
I will discuss how church members, leaders, prophets and patients come to terms with affliction, interpreting it and manipulating the world of the ancestors and spirits.
Thereafter, I will show how the healing process among Zion Church is a long negotiation of meanings between prophets and patients, through which they attempt to manage and, at the same time, exploit a “heathen” past. This memory of the past, embodied in evil spirits, is experienced as a dangerous legacy which may threaten people life, provoking poverty and family problems.
Finally, by presenting the life story of two woman prophetess - pastors, I will discuss how women play a relevant role in the churches and how they usually lead not only the healing processes, but the whole community church, subverting the general idea of a hierarchy based on the power of men.

The Zion churches, classified as AIC, are part of a transnational phenomenon that spread in South Africa at the beginning of 20th century by the action of North-American missionaries.
In Mozambique, the “Work of Zion” was introduced by the local workers returned from the South African mines during the colonial period, but its diffusion in the country became considerable after the economic liberalization of the 80’s and, especially, after the end of the civil war in 1992. Nowadays, the Zion churches, whose principal characteristic is the spiritual healing through the prophets’ work, represent one of the most popular religious movements in southern Mozambique.
In this paper I will show how the complex local spiritual world is reshaped among some Zion churches in Maputo and Matola, Southern Mozambique.
In Southern Africa the missionary work introduced a dichotomist vision about spiritual forces, in which all the “heathen” spirits, especially those that cause possession, were considered evil and classified as “demons”. Despite the missionary influence, especially in the lexicon, the Zion churches which I worked with in Maputo and Matola reformulate every day, through the performance of their healing practices, the local perception of evil, which is much more fluid and connected to the logic of kinship allegiances. In this way, among the Zion churches the meaning of “mademonio” and “angels” is quite different than the one introduced by the missionaries and this linguistic ambiguity represented the major challenge for my work.

This paper tests the validity of the circumference at the nutrient foramen of the tibia for sex determination on two human osteological collections: the Lisbon Collection of Identified Skeletons (n = 160) and the São Martinho medieval archaeological collection from Leiria, Portugal (n = 57). The methodological approach chosen to conduct the test was the sectioning point method. The overall accuracy (males and females combined) in the Lisbon Collection was 78% and in the São Martinho Collection it reached 90%. In both series, females were more accurately classified than males. This paper advocates the importance of developing and using sample specific methods for sex determination in modern and in archaeological human osteological assemblages. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Contribuir para o conhecimento do estado sanitário de uma população urbana portuguesa que teve na Idade Média o seu tempo e espaço de vivência foi o objectivo central desta dissertação. Para cumprir este propósito privilegiou-se o estudo do crescimento, de indicadores de stresse não específicos (linhas de Harris, hipoplasias lineares do esmalte dentário e cribra orbitalia), de sinais infecciosos não específicos (sinusite maxilar crónica, lesões endocranianas e periostite, periostose e osteomielite) e a pesquisa de patologias crónicas que deixam vestígios da sua presença no osso humano (ex. tuberculose e brucelose). Uma abordagem comparativa foi adoptada no estudo de vários parâmetros demográficos, padrões de crescimento em crianças e estatura em adultos. A amostra analisada compreendeu 157 indivíduos, 94 adultos e 63 não-adultos, exumados do cemitério medieval (século XIII-XVI) situado na Praça de São Martinho em Leiria. Importa referir que o estado de conservação dos esqueletos analisados era bom (em média foram recuperados cerca de metade dos ossos de cada esqueleto), permitindo a estimativa da idade à morte em todos os esqueletos de não-adultos e na maioria dos esqueletos de adultos (76,6%), recorrendo-se para o efeito a vários métodos (desgaste dentário, modificações degenerativas da extremidade esternal das costelas, da sínfise pública e da superfície auricular). Na diagnose sexual de adultos foi possível testar alguns procedimentos metodológicos recentes com base em variáveis métricas do esqueleto pós-craniano que permitiram diagnosticar o sexo em quase todos estes esqueletos (93,6%). Os resultados da análise paleodemográfica indiciam estar-se perante uma amostra aleatória, já que aqui estão representados todos os grupos etários e a razão entre os sexos é equilibrada, embora o número de homens seja ligeiramente superior (1,2:1). Os dados apontam para uma elevada mortalidade antes dos 12 anos de idade, embora uma franja considerável de indivíduos tenha atingido idades avançadas (> 50 anos). As crianças da série de São Martinho eram pequenas para a idade, embora o seu crescimento não fosse muito diferente do das crianças que viveram em Lisboa em meados do século XX e, os adultos eram inclusive mais altos que os adultos portugueses de Novecentos. Por outro lado, os indicadores de stresse eram comuns na amostra em todas as idades e em ambos os sexos. Os não-adultos com indicadores de stresse e também com sinais de doença infecciosa não específica eram mais baixos para a idade do que os que não exibiam estes sinais, mas em contrapartida morreram, em média, mais tarde. Os não-adultos não apresentaram mais marcadores de stresse nem doenças de natureza infecciosa (específica e não específica) do que os adultos. De destacar a detecção de vários possíveis casos de tuberculose, encontrando-se as manifestações mais evidentes da doença em esqueletos imaturos. Este é o primeiro estudo a sugerir a presença de tuberculose em crianças medievais portuguesas. Em termos sexuais registou-se uma maior prevalência de lesões de natureza infecciosa não específica em esqueletos masculinos e não se encontraram diferenças significativas nem em relação à patologia traumática, nem em relação à prevalência de cáries ou de inflamações periapicais. Contudo, a perda dentária ante mortem era mais comum nas mulheres. A idade surgiu como um agente potenciador na ocorrência de lesões traumáticas apenas na amostra feminina, possivelmente devido ao aumento da fragilidade óssea que se segue à menopausa. Os homens eram mais afectados pela artrose nas articulações do tronco e membros superiores (esternoclavicular, acromioclavicular, ombro, pulso e mãos) e as mulheres eram mais afligidas nas articulações envolvidas na locomoção (anca, joelho e pé). A artrose ao nível das facetas articulares das vértebras era extremamente comum em ambos os sexos, mas a remodelação das facetas era mais pronunciada e frequente entre os indivíduos do sexo masculino. A análise paleopatológica indicou que a vida em Leiria, neste período, seria dura, pois registou-se uma elevada prevalência de indicadores de stresse, de fracturas e de doenças infecciosas. Por outro lado, também se encontraram indicadores que sugeriam que alguns indivíduos conseguiam sobreviver a lesões traumáticas severas e atingir idades relativamente avançadas, apresentando mazelas comuns aos idosos do presente. A perda dentária ante mortem total (ou quase), a artrose da anca e do joelho, alguns casos de osteoporose diagnosticada através da presença de fracturas de fragilidade típicas (compressão das vértebras, fractura do segmento distal do rádio e proximal do fémur) e a identificação de vários esqueletos masculinos com síndrome de Forestier, são disso exemplo.

Palavras-chave: paleopatologia, Baixa Idade Média, padrões de crescimento, indicadores de stresse, doenças infecciosas não específicas, tuberculose, trauma, artrose, patologia dentária, contexto urbano.

The main purpose of this study was to explore health and disease patterns in a late medieval urban Portuguese community. The sample utilized comprises the skeletal remains of 157 individuals, 94 adults and 63 non-adults, excavated from the urban (13th to 16th century) medieval cemetery of São Martinho in Leiria (central Portugal). The frequency and prevalence of non-specific stress indicators (Harris lines, linear enamel hipoplasias and cribra orbitalia), non-specific infections (chronic maxillary sinusitis, endocranial lesions, periostitis, osteitis and osteomyelitis) and specific infectious and non-infectious diseases like trauma was recorded. Reconstruction and comparative analysis of demography, skeletal growth patterns and adult stature were also carried out. Overall, the skeletal material was very well preserved (on average half of the bones were recovered from each skeleton), which provided excellent conditions to estimate age at death in all of the non-adult skeletons and in 76.6% of the adults. For the non-adults, age at death was primarily estimated by methods based on dental linear growth, but when no teeth were available age was estimated by diaphyseal lengths and skeletal maturation. Several methods were used in estimating age at death of the adults: dental wear, degenerative changes of the sternal ends of the ribs, metamorphosis of the pubic symphisis and of the auricular surface. A hierarchical approach was used to determine the sex of the adults and 93.6% of individuals could be sexed. The paleodemographical reconstruction suggests that the study sample was randomly formed because all age groups are represented and the sex ratio is balanced, although more males were recovered (1.2:1). Non-adult mortality was probably very high in this population, as 36.6% of all skeletons in the sample are under 12 years of age. Comparatively, only 31.9% of the adults died after 50 years of age. Children were found to be small for their dental age but, unexpectedly, they were not much shorter than early to middle 20th century children from Lisbon. On average, medieval adults were even taller than modern adults from Lisbon (20th century), suggesting a prolonged period of growth in the past since non-adults were smaller. Non-specific stress indicators were very common in all age groups and in both sexes. Non-adults with stress indicators or with non-specific infections were shorter but died at an older age compared to non-adults without the same stress markers. Non-adults did not show significantly more stress indicators or non-specific infections than adults. Several possible cases of tuberculosis were identified in the study sample, being the non-adults the most affected. These are the first documented cases of tuberculosis in medieval Portuguese children. Males showed more signs of non-specific infections than females, but no sex differences were detected in prevalence and frequency of fractures and of caries and periapical lesions. However, tooth loss was more common among females. Old age was a fracture risk only to women, which could have resulted from osteopenia. Osteoarthritis was more prevalent among males in the following joints: sternoclavicular, acromioclavicular, shoulder, wrist and hand. More females than males were affected by hip, knee and foot osteoarthritis. Apophyseal facet modification caused by osteoarthritis was very common in both sexes. However, facet remodelling was more severe among males suggesting a more demanding activity. Paleopathological analysis suggests that life was difficult in this medieval urban community, due to the high prevalence of stress indicators, trauma and infectious diseases. On the other hand, life was probably not much harder than in the beginnings of the 20th century in Portugal as the patterns of growth of non-adults and adults were similar, life expectancy for some individuals was high and some were also affected by modern illnesses, such as tooth loss, root caries and osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. Females were also affected by osteoporosis and males also by DISH.

Key-words: paleopathology, Middle Ages, growth patterns, non-specific stress indicators, non-specific infection, tuberculosis, trauma, osteoarthritis, oral pathology, urban context.

Aqui tentarei deixar algumas das impressões sobre uma experiência que vivi durante oito semanas numa pequena comunidade nigeriana. O objectivo da viagem era o de fazer trabalho de campo com primatas não-humanos em Kwano (Estado de Taraba, Gashaka) no nordeste da Nigéria, junto à fronteira com os Camarões, ficando integrada no The Gashaka Primate Project fundado em 2000 pela University College  ondon. Apesar de não ser o propósito desta aventura o estudo das comunidades humanas, durante a minha estadia o contacto com os habitantes locais foi constante até porque devido a questões de segurança ia sempre para o terreno acompanhada por um assistente de campo da aldeia de Gashaka.

Abstract

Identity, culture, ethnicity and community are concepts that all peoples are using now in any kind of context, giving them comprehensiveness and a multiplicity of meanings with the risk of itself to lose in sense and in content. 

The present article as the intention to give a more accurate analysis put into context appealing, in base essentially, to one anthropological dimension and approach, without ignore the contributions of the others social sciences, focus itself  in a comprehensive model of the maintenance and perpetuation of the singularities and cultural( ethnical)  issues  patterns in a social groups.

The current live in societies, today more than the past, living  in a rhythms of unforeseeable change, namely in Asian reality that itself modernizes in a growing rhythm, reformulating and reconfiguring the identities dimensions that the social groups go assuming.

The analysis through the referential of the "ways of life" healthy here set out like vector analytic of those reconfigurations, supporting itself in a case of paradigmatic community of Macanese as illustration of the analytic model, intending, in this way, give a justification to the lines of inquiry that the Oriental Institute provide to develop in matter of the questions of identity in contexts of social change in the Asian reality.