Topic: Your Friend the Witch Doctor
400 words
Topic: Your Friend the Witch Doctor?! You are working in a remote area of the world. To simplify the discussion we will refer to this place as Hypothea. In the village of Hypothea the indigenous people are animist and the local Shaman holds considerable political clout. You traveled to Hypothea to identify the epidemiologic factors contributing to a host of diseases in the area in order to introduce public health measures to improve the overall well-being of the villagers. As an isolated river village deep in a tropical jungle, the usual tropical diseases are suspect. Your efforts have been highly unsuccessful to date, however, to identify cultural determinants of disease related to diet, housing, maternal health, etc. The Shaman, because of his status within the community, is vital to your success. He alone is responsible for your lack of progress. Unfortunately, the Shaman is extremely suspicious of your presence and speaks no English. No one in the village is permitted to speak without the permission of the Shaman for fear of bad juju. Your job is to befriend the Shaman to gain his trust to provide access to the information you desire. He is particularly distrustful of Western religions which patronize his animistic roots. How do you go about building a working relationship with the man without undermining his worldview while maintaining your own Christian ideals? Although this assignment has no requirement to access the research literature, consultation with sources beyond the texts may prove beneficial.
