Madness (Eemwengu) and Its Sources: Conceptualizing Mental Illness in Namibian Ovambo Culture

Integrating indigenous cultural knowledge into conceptualizing mental illness offers fruitful avenues to better contextualize mental health. What is abnormal and indicative of psychological distress varies in the meaning given to symptoms and the actual identification of disorders. This is no less true in Ovambo culture in Namibia, Southern Africa. The Namibian government, however, has noted that little is known about the mental health needs throughout the country. Although some researchers have identified symptoms of psychological distress in Namibian men and women, cultural tradition and belief systems are typically missing. The purpose of this study was to use ethnographic data to develop an understanding of what Ovambo men and women living in a rural area of Northern Namibia believe about mental illness. Informal discussions and formal interviews served as data. Participants (N = 14) were all Ovambo men or women who were sampled after ongoing engagement in a rural community in northern Namibia. Data from field observations and interviews were analyzed using grounded theory open coding, resulting in two key categories: (a) Eemwengu (madness) and Omunanamwengu (the mad one) and (b) Where Madness Comes From: Explanations of Mental Illness. The first category offers insight into a culturally embedded way of identifying mental illness in Ovambo culture. The second category includes several subcategories oriented to the etiology of mental illness in Ovambo culture. Etiological beliefs about mental illness, eemwengu as a culturally embedded construct, and social control in the beliefs about psychological distress in Ovambo culture are discussed.