Note 5.—On Native Diseases
List of Native Diseases and their Native Names
1. Scrotal hernia, liboke denotes an early stage, and the word also means a parcel, bundle; benda is a later stage when the hernia is large; and likuku the last stage when the hernia reaches the knees. I have seen two or three examples of the last stage.
2. Paralysis from sickness, boboku. I never saw a case of this.
3. Smallpox, kokotu. We had an epidemic of this disease in 1893. Some people died, and others carry the marks to this day.
4. Bad diarrhœa, bolete, is supposed to be the result of a curse.
5. Bleeding at the nose from any cause, bolongo.
6. Insanity, bomwa; mild insanity in which there is extreme foolishness, lemana.
7. Madness of a violent character, mokalala.
8. Idiocy, bowewe and ewelewete.
9. Asthmatical wheezing, yoko and likoko.
10. Cough, ekokótu. Coughs and colds are very common.
11. Crack in skin, etena. This is common and very troublesome, especially when on the sole of the foot, as the hard skin takes months to heal.
12. Crippled limb, etengumwi. This is very rare and results from a wound received in a fight, or from a burn, or from walking on the toes, heel, or side of the foot when there is a crack in the sole.
13. Nervous condition, jita-jita-jita, i.e. twitching.
14. Bad fever, molungi juku-juku = heat, or fire plenty plenty. Fevers are common among the natives and yield to simple treatment. The temperature often goes very high.
15. Great debility, lela.
16. Poor state of health, indicated by frequent crops of boils breaking out on various parts of the body, libembe.
17. Patches of pustular sores, lifwanja.
18. Sore throat, lilele.
19. Yaws, lingala, mostly used in the plural, mangala.
20. Puffy condition of the body, probably a form of dropsy, lontutu.
21. Blindness, lulanda; not common.
22. Sleeping-sickness, luwa, yobi, and makwata.
23. Form of non-infectious leprosy in which the skin becomes a sickly white, indurated, cracked, and peeling. It is found generally on the hand and the arm below the elbow, munkana.
24. Very bad rheumatism, yambaka. Persons suffering from this complaint must not burn the wood of a certain tree called lobaka, or the pain will become more acute.
25. Intestinal worms, munsobi, and munsembe.
26. Dysentery with much blood, mwajakongo.
27. Ague fever, nyankili.
28. Chest complaints of all kinds, as pleurisy, pneumonia, etc., are called ntulu = chest; to feel or suffer from such is oka ntulu = hear, i.e. feel the chest. It is also called mobanji = side, ribs.
29. Elephantiasis, mungita; not very common.
30. Abscesses and severe boils, litunganaka.
31. Umbilical hernia, muntolu; very common.
32. Scabies, mputu.
33. Fits and convulsions, bonsinga.
34. Sciatica, and extreme debility, yombi.
35. Boil, ndala; very frequently found.
36. Mild form of rheumatism, mokoko.
37. Cataract of the eye, elalei and molondo; common.
38. Blindness in one eye, muntelele; occasionally found.
39. Ganglion on back of hand and wrist, etai.
40. Deafness, lōko; very seldom noticed.
41. Dumbness, mbubu. I never met with a case, but the fact that a word is known for it shows that the complaint is occasionally to be found among the people.
42. Venereal diseases, lisabu.