Kuoma Rupandi = (The parts are dry) : ideas and practices concerning disability and rehabilitation in a Shona ward

This research report on disability and rehabilitation among the Shona in Goromonzi district, Zimbabwe, consists of two parts. The first part gives a summary of the literature study and consists of four chapters. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the fieldwork area, its administrative structure and organization, its religious structure and cultural setting and its historical background. Chapter 3 introduces relevant medical definitions and theories concerning disability, rehabilitation and community-based rehabilitation. This is followed by a compilation of the statistical information available on disabled people and a summary of the development of rehabilitation in Zimbabwe. In chapter 4, a description is given of the main components of the traditional belief system. Chapter 5 consists of a summary of the introductory chapters. The rather lengthy introduction and the summary are required in view of the aim of this study, namely to understand ideas and practices concerning disability and rehabilitation within their cultural context. The fieldwork data are presented in chapters 6, 7 and 8. A summary of the interviews with the disabled informants, their relatives and relevant others concerning the terminology and the explanations used for their disability forms the content of chapter 6. Chapter 7 provides information on the diagnosis and treatment practices as reported by the traditional healers, while in chapter 8 the social position of disabled informants interviewed for the survey is presented