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Eghindi Among Sahrawi Refugees of Western Sahara

Volpato, Gabriele, Waldstein, Anna (2014) Eghindi Among Sahrawi Refugees of Western Sahara. Medical Anthropology, 33 (2). pp. 160-177. ISSN 0145-9740. (doi:10.1080/01459740.2013.844129) (KAR id:37519)

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2013.844129

Abstract

Eghindi is an illness built around a set of pathological states experienced by Sahrawi in the desert environment of Western Sahara. Its core symptoms are caused by osmotic imbalances related to salt consumption. In 1975, many Sahrawi were exiled into refugee camps, and they have since experienced radical socio cultural changes, which are reflected in changing explanatory models of eghindi. Older and conservative refugees, attached to traditional Sahrawi culture, have expanded its conceptualization to include new pathogenic factors, while younger and progressive refugees, acculturated with Western culture, began challenging its existence. Eghindi became embodied within a broader process of negotiation of Sahrawi cultural identity. Our findings provide a framework for thinking about the evolution of illness in response to displacement, and highlight that when explanatory models evolve, intra-cultural tensions can arise within a population.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/01459740.2013.844129
Uncontrolled keywords: displacement, ethnoecology,ethnomedicine, explanatory models, refugee camps, salt intake
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Anna Waldstein
Date Deposited: 12 Dec 2013 12:14 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:56 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/37519 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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