“IT'S THE FAITH YOU HAVE TOWARDS SOMETHING WHICH HEALS” HERBS, HERBALISTS, AND HEALING IN THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS OF KENYA ____________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Chico ____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Anthropology ____________ by © Dayne Anthony Gradone 2019 Fall 2019 “IT'S THE FAITH YOU HAVE TOWARDS SOMETHING WHICH HEALS” HERBS, HERBALISTS, AND HEALING IN THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS OF KENYA A Thesis by Dayne Anthony Gradone Fall 2019 APPROVED BY THE INTERIM DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES: _________________________________ Sharon Barrios, Ph.D. APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: _________________________________ _________________________________ Carson Medley, Ed.D. Brian Brazeal, Ph.D., Chair Graduate Coordinator _________________________________ Jesse Dizard, Ph.D. _________________________________ Garrett Liles, Ph.D. PUBLICATION RIGHTS No portion of this thesis may be reprinted or reproduced in any manner unacceptable to the usual copyright restrictions without the written permission of the author. iii DEDICATION To Germana and Pierina, For Everything iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Jesse Dizard for his continuous guidance, advice, support, and friendship throughout my graduate and undergraduate career at Chico State. His courses and teaching style spurred my initial interests in cultural anthropology, and have left an intellectual imprint that will last a lifetime. I am also deeply grateful for his comments and suggestions during the writing of this manuscript, and his dedication to helping me reach the finish line. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Brian Brazeal, who also acted as Chair for this thesis, for his expert advice, insightful comments and questions, and supreme teaching ability and professorship throughout my time at Chico State. His courses in cultural and visual anthropology were top caliber, and an honor to be a part of. I will always be grateful for his expertise as an ethnographer, filmmaker, professor, and friend. Many thanks are due to Dr. Garrett Liles, who acted as a Committee member for this thesis, and introduced me to the world of soil science. He helped open my eyes to a whole new way of seeing the world and the landscapes we live in, and his suggestions during the editing of this manuscript were extremely helpful. I appreciate his willingness to join my committee, and to offer a perspective and background outside of anthropology. And of course, I must express deep thanks to Dr. David Eaton for his mentorship, and inspiring me to perform fieldwork in Iten. He nurtured my nascent interests in Africanist and medical anthropology and I consider myself lucky to have spent untold hours with him both in the classroom and in office hours. He has been a v tremendous friend over my graduate career, and I severely doubt that I could have made it here without him. Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to the rest of the anthropology faculty, especially Dr. Ariane Bélanger-Vincent and Dr. Will Nitzky, it was a pleasure working with you and learning from you over the years. You have been both wonderful professors and exemplary human beings, for which I am tremendously grateful. The lessons I have learned from you, and the rest of the faculty, are treasures that I will carry forth the rest of my life. I must also express my deep thanks to the Office of Graduate Studies at Chico State for all the hard work, assistance, funding, and care that they provided during my graduate education. They played an instrumental role in making my graduate experience all the more memorable, and for making this thesis a reality. Thank you! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Publication Rights ....................................................................................................... iii Dedication ................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments....................................................................................................... v List of Tables .............................................................................................................. xi List of Figures ............................................................................................................. xii Abstract ....................................................................................................................... xv CHAPTER I. Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................... 1 Elgeyo Marakwet County ............................................................. 7 Environment and Topographical Zones ...................... 10 Administrative Zones and Health Statistics ................ 13 II. Literature Review...................................................................................... 16 Introduction ................................................................................... 16 Part I: Theory ................................................................................ 17 Medical Anthropology and Critical Ethnography: Situating This Thesis............................................. 17 Theory: From Big Picture To the Models I’ll Be Using ..................................................................... 19 Healthcare Systems ..................................................... 20 Medical Pluralism ....................................................... 22 Part II: The Kalenjin, Prehistoric Migrations, and 20th Century Ethnographies......................................................... 24 20th Century Ethnographies on the Kalenjin ............... 27 Part III: Situating Traditional Medicine ........................................ 31 A Global Perspective: Traditional Medicine in the World Today ......................................................... 31 Traditional Medicine in Kenya and Greater East Africa ............................................................ 34 vii CHAPTER PAGE Kalenjin Ethnomedical Studies ................................... 38 Situating Kalenjin Modes of Healing ......................... 44 The Social Role of Chepkerichinik and Herbs ........... 44 Environmental Basis and Adaptation.......................... 45 III. Getting to Iten, Kenya ............................................................................... 48 Office Hours.................................................................................. 48 Take Off: from San Francisco to Iten ........................................... 51 Taking a Ride on the Easy Coach ............................... 54 Meeting Julien and the Road to Msitu .......................................... 61 Biretwo ........................................................................ 68 Dr. P and Dr. J............................................................................... 73 Returning to Iten ........................................................................... 76 Njema Safari ............................................................... 78 IV. Being There ............................................................................................... 85 Life at Msitu Resort ...................................................................... 85 In the Chepkerichot's Shack ........................................ 91 Into the Bush ............................................................... 94 Visiting Abigail ........................................................... 104 Experimenting With Herbs ......................................... 107 Living With the Kiprops ............................................. 109 “You Are Our Mzungu” .............................................. 115 Getting Roasted ........................................................... 119 Apartment Life ............................................................ 124 V. Doing Anthropology ................................................................................. 127 Outline of Methods ....................................................................... 127 Finding Chepkerichinik ................................................................ 133 Negotiations With Julien and Chepkerichinik .............................. 136 The Ethnographic Encounter: the Mzungu, Julien, and the Chepkerichot ........................................................................ 138 Greenhorn Ethnography: a Reflection on Method ........................ 139 VI. Discovering Knowledge............................................................................ 141 Introduction ................................................................................... 141 Part I. “Only the Blessed Ones”: Becoming a Chepkerichot and Aspects of Familial Transmission ................................. 145 Beginnings .................................................................. 145 viii CHAPTER PAGE “It Must Be Transferred”: Receiving a Blessing ........ 149 “Those Who Have It In Their Minds” ........................ 151 Genealogies of Healing ............................................... 153 Part II. The Dynamics of Healing and Medical Services Provided by Chepkerichinik ................................................ 158 Ngwanet ...................................................................... 158 Services Provided .......................................................