article
'Veni, VD, vici'?: reassessing the Ila syphilis epidemic
Journal of southern African studies • 23 (3) • Published In 1997 • Pages: 421-440
By: Callahan, Bryan Thomas.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document is a re-examination of the historical origins of syphilis epidemics among the Ila-speaking people of Zambia. It argues that colonial era reports vastly overestimated the incidence of this sexually transmitted disease because they were based on misinterpretations of the role of sex in Ila exchange relations. The colonial fabrication of the problem was further reinforced by two other factors. One was the high prevalence of yaws, misdiagnosed as syphilis. The other was the role of local Ila elites who drew on the colonial discourse of eliminating syphilis through centrally-designed health and awareness campaigns to improve their own political standing.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Morbidity
- Mortality
- Birth statistics
- Cultural identity and pride
- External relations
- Sexuality
- Extramarital sex relations
- Sex training
- Social relationships and groups
- Community heads
- Ethics
- Property in movables
- Labor supply and employment
- Population policy
- Gender status
- Acculturation and culture contact
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Ila
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2015
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Historian
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi Abate Adem; 2014
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1893-1963
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Namwala and Itezhi-Tezhi districts, Southern Province, Zambia
- NotesAdditional notes
- Bryan Callahan
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 75642679
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Ila (African people)