Medical Syncretism and Maasai Ethnoveterinary Practices

Livestock health is of paramount importance to the wellbeing of Maasai pastoralists. Ethoveterinary skills, including diagnosis and treatment, are crucial elements of cultural knowledge to insure livestock and human survival, which is interrelated. Research among 170 Maasai households in Tanzania’s Serengeti ecosystem investigates treatment availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability. Data comes from participant-observation, household surveys, and ethnographic interviews with Massai people, Tanzanian agricultural extension workers, and drug shop personnel. Bovine-caprine herd composition is associated with market integration and veterinary antibiotic use. Local diagnosis is based on live and post-mortem necropsy observations. Antibiotics are integrated into the ethno-diagnosis through a step-wise process that involves response to antimicrobial medications. This research illuminates antibiotic and botanical medicine use relevant to ecosystem preservation and risks.